TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Public Schools is heading into the 2026-2027 school year with a new safety initiative, changes to student testing, and a $609 million bond ready to put to work.
Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson — who grew up as a TPS student herself — sat down with 2 News Oklahoma’s Julie Chin to talk about what's new and what's next for Oklahoma's largest public school district.
When asked Dr. Johnson what word would describe the year ahead? She replied, "I would say it would be exciting!”
That excitement, she said, is backed by results.
"Tulsa Public Schools is doing big things. We're on the move. We're moving in the right direction," Dr. Johnson said.
No Fight Zone
The district is entering the school year as a "No Fight Zone" — a new safety initiative designed to encourage conversation over confrontation.
"We don't fight in Tulsa Public Schools. We figure it out, we find another way," Dr. Johnson said.
"We want to decrease the amount of physical confrontation student to student and sometimes student and adult — and it lets students know we're going to create a safe and caring environment for you," Dr. Johnson said.
All 77 TPS campuses are equipped with tools including conflict resolution cards, de-escalation rooms, and adults trained to help.
"We believe that it's going to make a significant difference in our school's environment, our culture, and climate," Dr. Johnson said.
Teacher Vacancies and Testing
Keeping 32,000 students learning also means having enough teachers in the classroom. Johnson said the district is making progress on that front.
"We are seeing numbers like we haven't seen before with being able to fill the critical vacancies that we need to fill," Dr. Johnson said.
TPS is also celebrating improvement in every grade level with the results from spring Oklahoma state testing — but Dr. Johnson said math remains an area of focus.
"We see a little bit of movement in math, would want to see much more movement there, so that's definitely an area that we're doubling down this year," Dr. Johnson said.
To ease pressure on students, TPS is dropping its Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP, testing. Dr. Johnson wrote a letter to families about this change in July. Johnson said less testing does not mean less learning.
"We're ramping up homework a bit this year and just sending a very clear message that learning continues," Dr. Johnson said.
Budget Shortfall and Bond Projects
Dr. Johnson is also facing a financial deadline. At the end of July, the Tulsa Public School Board of Education passed a resolution directing her to present a plan to address what the district describes as a $12 million budget shortfall.
"We had cuts at district office. We have looked at every single contract that comes through — do we need to still have this contract? Are we spending too much on these services? Are these services we can do on our own without bringing in outside consultancy?" Dr. Johnson said.
Even as the district tightens its belt, a $609 million bond approved by voters in April is opening new doors. When asked which projects she is most excited about, Dr. Johnson pointed to what students themselves are buzzing about.
"I would say, if I riff off the excitement from the young people, it would be driver's ed because they're the most excited about that, but just in general, just excited about students having materials, books, up-to-date materials, technology that they need to thrive," Dr. Johnson said.
She added families should return mandatory back-to-school forms, which help secure federal funding and other family resources.
"Our first day of school. It's a celebration, and we're excited about it," Dr. Johnson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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