TULSA, Okla. — After months of tension, Tulsa Public Schools leaders answered Ryan Walters' bell.
"This work is very, very important to us; we know that it’s important to you," TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson said.
Their work resulted in improvement or plans for improvement in three key areas:
- reading proficiency
- teacher professional development
- improvement of MRI (More Rigorous Intervention) schools
Recently, four schools: McClure Elementary, Walt Whitman Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, and Tulsa Met Jr. and Sr. High, moved from MRI to the lower CSI (comprehensive support and intervention) status.Leaders hope to get 12 out of 18 sites off MRI designation.
Johnson said those schools need volunteer tutors to work with kids, much like Trevon Lee.
The students are "all are very characteristic, and they’re very fun and energetic, have a lot of potential," Lee said.
Another area of concern is reading scores. TPS’ data shows on average, 35% of any Oklahoma district's students are at a “below basic” reading level. Meanwhile, 59% of Tulsa's kids are below basic.
"Proficiency benchmark, across the state, is rigorous, it’s very high bar," TPS Data Chief Sean Berkstresser said.
Johnson said encouragement around testing can help those performances.
"Basically, assessment culture is just a reminder of things we know work to get students prepared for any assessment," Johnson said, "Students draw a lot of anxiety around assessments. Sometimes they get apathetic around another test."
Educators are also getting professional development. By the end of the school year, they plan to have 100% of teachers trained in “The Science of Reading” program. Every principal and assistant principal will be trained, too.
"We know that [the work is] most important to our Tulsa community," Johnson said.
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