TULSA, Okla. — After parents demanded action, TPS created a North Tulsa Task Force. The goal was to work with the public to figure out how to improve education in this neighborhood.
"I'm the one who's helping to bury these kids. I'm the one who has to counsel these kids in their low self esteem," task force chair Reverend M.C. Potter said.
North Tulsa parents tell 2 Works for You they fear for the future of students, and they feel as though North Tulsa schools are being neglected.
"You've got to show. You've got to do. People can talk all they want, but show action. Show us something, give us something," LaKeshia Brisker said.
On Tuesday the task force recommended removing 6th graders from McLain-feeding elementary schools and 8th graders from the high school campus. They would also close the 7th grade academy and create a true middle school at Monroe Demonstration School, which is currently a magnet campus. The chair said right now the needs of middle schoolers just aren't being met.
"They don't have a science lab, they don't have a gym, there's so much missing that a middle schooler needs," Potter said.
The TPS school board will decide in two weeks if they'll accept this recommendation, and the task force is feeling optimistic on what a new future could look like for students.
"He has hope. He can make a decent salary and take care of his family. Right now he can't do that. He can't get the job that allows him to do that," Potter said.
The superintendent said in a statement the board is looking forward to exploring the logistics and potential implications of how the recommendation can be implemented.
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