Lori Dickinson and Constance Lori Dickinson is entering her fifth year as the foundation’s president. Her passion and enthusiasm is apparent as she talks animatedly about the district and its kids. “So many of our children do not know what the statistics say about their future,” Dickinson said. “They dream, they play, they learn. I […]
schools
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Common controversy
If things go as planned, Common Core could reorganize curriculum, change old-school teaching styles, add more weight to literacy and redefine standardized testing. In one year, it’s supposed to be fully implemented in all Oklahoma schools, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) just started looking for new tests. It has been a loaded […]
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OKC schools need real change
After more than 35 years in the education realm, retiring Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer said that he is most proud of three policies he helped implement. He brought the “Great Expectations” curriculum to elementary schools and Teach for America to the district and put into place a year-long school schedule that allowed […]
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Class act
Mary Kate Henson Credit: Mark Hancock “Childhood obesity in Oklahoma is on the rise in all areas, but in zip codes with lower incomes, lower accessibility to grocery stores and low walkability, poor health trends are even higher,” said Mary Kate Henson, health promotion specialist at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, which established the “Wellness […]
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Head of the class
Credit: Brad Gregg With the recent release of the Princeton Review’s annual “Best of the West” list, Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma Baptist University and Oral Roberts University are designated as among the top colleges in the western United States, proving the schools offer more than Scripture-quoting professors and M.R.S degrees. Perhaps less surprising, The University […]
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Terrific teachers
—Makes students his or her top priority;—Has the ability to stimulate students; —Consistently looks for and brings to the classroom current and stimulating material; —Works with students outside the classroom on projects that give students a practical application for the subject; —Keeps up with his or her field of expertise; —Has the ability to see […]
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Back to class
In less than five minutes on May 20, that world was turned upside down when a tornado demolished her school as well as neighboring Plaza Towers Elementary. Between the two schools, Singleton and some 80 teachers lost most of the classroom supplies they had bought, made or borrowed during their careers. Such items either were […]
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Avoiding a fiasco in education
High-stakes testing forced schools to narrow the curriculum, focus on remediation and test prep, and commit to basic skills instruction that verges on educational malpractice. Worse, states must start using primitive bubble-in tests for teacher evaluations. Teachers are also supposed to turn on a dime and teach the opposite types of tests, known as Common […]
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Booking it to Moore
So the 175 residents of Buckner Westminster Place in Longview, Texas, did something about it. On July 1, two administrators from the facility donated nearly 2,000 books and $800 to help restore the two schools. “The [retirees] were very interested to do something,” said Wes Wells, director of Buckner Westminster Place, who personally delivered the […]
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Taking cover
“Had we had a safe room, it would have been our procedure for our students to be there,” said Amy Simpson, Plaza Towers’ principal, at a tearful May 24 news conference. “My school will have a safe room when it’s rebuilt.” Her sentiments were echoed by Briarwood Principal Shelley McMillin. “What we normally do is […]