Attempted abduction at school bus stop in Broken Arrow
The Broken Arrow just sent out this press release about an attempted abduction this morning:
On 2/10/12, at approximately 7:15 A.M., the Broken Arrow Police Department received a report of a possible attempted abduction of a juvenile who was waiting at the bus stop located in the 200 block of West Timberlane. Several child and adult witnesses reported that an unknown male wearing a green athletic style jacket, a dark colored “beanie” hat, tiptoed up behind a female juvenile (13yoa). They reported he grabbed her, put his hand over her face, and drug her through a yard adjacent to the bus stop. The child screamed and several witnesses yelled at the suspect. The suspect released the child and ran northbound through the neighborhood. Several witnesses attempted to chase the suspect to no avail.
The victim stated the suspect told her that “if she screamed, he would kill her.”
Officers have inundated the area and are currently searching for the suspect. K-9 Teams are on the ground canvassing the area.
The suspect is described as race unknown, approximately 6ft tall, wearing a green style athletic jacket, and dark colored beanie style hat and possibly blue jeans.
Two local elementary schools, Childer’s and Springcreek, have been placed on “lockdown” status.
The victim is safe and unharmed.
Updates will be given if suspect is apprehended or if any new information develops.
Education in the news, 2/8/12
The paper is full of education news today. Seriuosly. It’s a ton of stories. Here’s a recap:
- Oklahoma City schools chief gets retroactive raise
- Oklahoma State System chancellor focuses on rates of graduation
- Moore schools get largest-ever grant
- Governor touts homeschooling
- Putnam City North students to raise Make-A-Wish funds (below)
- Putnam City School Board chooses new member
- Opinion column: Oklahoma education needs more creativity
Colonial Day of Cuteness
More than 500 fifth-graders celebrated Colonial Day at the Capitol. Some of the photos made it into the Saturday paper, but I wanted to share the rest. They’re too cute. Click on the individual photos to see the full version.
Reach Out and Read Oklahoma suggests books for Black History Month
A school readiness group called Reach Out and Read Oklahoma has put out a list of books good for celebrating Black History Month. The group is “encouraging parents to share the accomplishments of African-Americans with their children through the power of books.”
“Illiteracy is both a cause and a consequence of poverty,” said Steve Davis, state director of Reach Out and Read Oklahoma, in a statement. “If we are going to truly prepare our babies to enter school ready to learn, we must first make sure they can recognize letters, have a nurturing home environment and develop a love of reading. It is our belief that if a parent or loved one gives a child a love for books, they will develop a love for learning that will lead to success in school.”
Children’s books
- “Heroes for Civil Rights” by David A. Adler
- “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman and Carline Binch
- “Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)” by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
- “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky” by Faith Ringgold
- “Baby Says” by John Steptoe
- “Chicken Sunday” by Patricia Polacco
- “Barack Obama: United States President” by Roberta Edwards
- “Black Pioneers of Science and Invention” by Louis Haber
- “Afro-Bets: Book of Black Heroes” by Wade Hudson
- “Amazing Peace” by Maya Angelou
- “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope” by Nikki Grimes
- “Just Like Martin” by Ossie Davis
- “Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World” by Mildred Pitts Walter
- “Mama, I Want to Sing” by Vy Higginsen
Adult books
- “Learning While Black: Creating Educational Excellence for African American Children” by Janice E. Hale
- “Young, Gifted and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African-American Students” by Theresa Perry
- “Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and Life” by Baruti K. Kafele
- “Black Children: Their Roots, Culture and Learning Styles” by Janice E. Hale-Benson
- “The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students” by Dr. Gail Thompson
- “Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know but Are Afraid to Ask About African American Students” by Dr. Gail Thompson
- “Marva Collins’ Way: Updated” by Marva Collins
Lawmaker @jasonnelsonok wants superintendent salaries frozen
Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, sent out this press release today about his idea to put a moratorium on all Oklahoma superintendent raises.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Now that many lawmakers are calling for a freeze on judicial pay and the salaries of all statewide officeholders, state Rep. Jason Nelson said it’s time to also freeze school superintendent salaries.
“Last year we saw hundreds of instances of superintendents getting pay raises while furloughing teachers and increasing class sizes,” said Nelson, R-Oklahoma City. “If it doesn’t make sense to give statewide officeholders a pay raise while Oklahoma is climbing out of recession, the same thing holds true for school superintendents at a time when education budgets have been cut. They should not be getting pay raises when teachers are being asked to do more with less.”
The Board of Judicial Compensation recently recommended pay increases for judges. Since the compensation of judges and statewide officials is linked, both would get a raise under that proposal.
State Rep. Scott Inman, leader of the House Democratic caucus, has been one of the most vocal critics of potential pay increases for statewide officeholders even though none of those officials could receive a salary increase during their current term in office.
Nelson said the Del City lawmaker should now join him in opposing superintendent pay raises.
“To protect school funding, we have to do more than oppose phantom pay raises that no current statewide officeholder is eligible to receive,” Nelson said. “It is ridiculous to complain about phantom pay raises for current statewide elected officials while ignoring $1.4 million in real pay raises for superintendents across the state.”
Last year, Nelson filed House Bill 1746 to require schools to spend at least 65 percent of funds on direct instructional activities within three years.
That bill included a provision that would have prevented superintendents from furloughing teachers without first having their financial plan reviewed by the State Board of Education so that classroom teachers would be protected.
“My legislation would have protected teachers from layoffs and furloughs, yet it was opposed by superintendents and their allies, including Representative Inman,” Nelson said. “I hope he and other opponents will now join me in standing up for teachers.”
Nelson praised State Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi, who announced she would not accept a pay raise when the issue was first raised this month.
“Superintendent Barresi did the right thing for Oklahoma students,” Nelson said. “Given that many local school superintendents are paid more than the governor or state superintendent, there is clearly no reason for local administrators to get a pay raise at the expense of teachers and classroom funding. It’s time to freeze superintendent pay.”
Great Expectations model schools
We weren’t able to fit the entire list of schools who were named Great Expectations model schools in the paper today, so I’m posting the honored schools here for everyone to see the 71 dedicated sites.
Great Expectations is an Oklahoma-based professional development program that instructs teachers how to manage classrooms so students get the most out of instruction time. It’s a program that Oklahoma City Public Schools has adopted as part of a district-wide plan to reform elementary schools.
Here’s the complete list of districts and schools. Congrats everyone!
Great Expectations Model Schools
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Nichols Hills Elementary
John Adams Elementary
Monroe Elementary
Sequoyah Elementary
Van Buren Elementary
Altus Schools
Washington Elementary
Ardmore Schools
Lincoln Elementary
Will Rogers Elementary
Broken Arrow Schools
Country Lane PK-3
Country Lane 4-5
Liberty Elementary
Lynn Wood
Cache Schools
Cache Middle School
Cache Primary School
Cashion Schools
Cashion Elementary
Chisholm Trail Heritage Center
Chickasha Schools
Southwest Elementary
Choctaw Nicoma Park Schools
Indian Meridian Elementary
L.W. Westfall Elementary
Claremore Schools
Roosa Elementary
Coweta Schools
Heritage Intermediate Grade Center
Mission Intermediate Grade Center
Deer Creek Public Schools
Grove Valley Elementary
Edmond Public Schools
Washington Irving Elementary
West Field Elementary
El Reno Public Schools
Roblyer Middle
Rose Witcher Elementary
Enid Schools
Hayes Elementary
Grove Schools
Grove Elementary
Healdton Schools
Healdton Elementary
Holdenville Schools
Ethel Reed Elementary
Hydro-Eakly Schools
Hydro-Eakly Elementary
Idabel Schools
Idabel Southeast
Kansas Schools
Chetopa Elementary
Chetopa Junior High School
Lawton Schools
Hugh Bish Elementary
MacArthur Middle
Whittier Elementary
Woodland Hills Elementary
Lone Grove Schools
Lone Grove Intermediate
Lone Grove Primary
Mustang Public Schools
Creek Elementary
Trails Elementary
Noble Schools
Katherine I Daily Elementary
Oak Hall Episcopal School
Owasso Schools
Bailey Elementary
Barnes Elementary
Mills Elementary
Pauls Valley
Jackson Elementary
Jefferson Early Learning Center
Pioneer Schools
Pioneer Elementary K-8
Plainview Schools
Plainview Primary
Ponca City
Roosevelt Elementary
Ponca City Christian Academy – private
Pryor Schools
Jefferson Elementary
Putnam City Public Schools
Dennis Elementary
Sapulpa Schools
Sapulpa Freedom Elementary
Sapulpa Woodlawn Elementary
Sand Springs Schools
Limestone Technology Academy
Stratford Schools
Stratford Elementary
Stillwater Public Schools
Richmond Elementary
Tahlequah Schools
Cherokee Elementary
Greenwood Elementary
Sequoyah Elementary
Texas Schools
Spring McNabb Elementary
Spring Northgate Crossing Elementary
Turner Schools
Turner Elementary
Wetumka Schools
Wetumka Elementary
Wilson Schools
Wilson Elementary and Early Childhood Center
Yukon Public Schools
Central Elementary
Skyview Elementary
$10,000 Oklahoma scholarship open for nominees
It’s time for teachers and administrators to think hard about what lucky senior they’d like to nominate for the John W. and Mary D. Nichols Oklahoma Heritage Scholarship, $10,000 for the Oklahoma college or university of the student’s choice.
The scholarship is awarded to a student each year who demonstrates a passion and knowledge of Oklahoma history and geography, outstanding academic achievement, leadership and citizenship.
The award is paid in $2,500 increments over four years to an in-state institution. Nominations cannot be made by a student’s family.
Find the application and more information here for the 2011 scholarship and submit nominations by March 4, 2011.
Barresi “education leader to watch”
Oklahoma’s newest state superintendent of schools, who takes the oath of office on Monday, was named one of the top school chiefs to watch in 2011 by The Christian Science Monitor.
Janet Barresi, who founded two charter schools in her spare time as a dentist, became the first Republican ever elected to the office. She replaces Sandy Garrett, a democrat who held the office for 20 years.
The article by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo put Barresi behind Jason Glass in Iowa, the new Republican director of the state’s education department, who plans to reform the teacher pay, and New Jersey’s Democratic education commissioner Christopher Cerf.
“Her agenda includes increasing the rigor of the state curriculum to ensure that students are ready for both college and careers. Ms. Barresi also wants to revise testing requirements,” Khadaroo wrote about Barresi.
Tulsa contracts for new teacher evaluations
Ever wonder how much the new teacher evaluation system under Senate Bill 2033 will cost to implement by the 2013-2014 school year?
According to today’s Tulsa World, it cost the state’s second largest school district $605,000 to implement a new evaluation system that evaluates teacher and leader effectiveness based on student growth data.
The “value-added” evaluations were part of the legislation passed under the state’s Race to the Top application, but Tulsa Public Schools has had a head start on the project and will serve as somewhat of a pilot for how the program works.
Oklahoma did not receive any funding to implement the new evaluation system from the Race to the Top competition.
Teachers and administrators are evaluated under the new system once a year. Half of their score is based on qualitative factors, such as the principal’s observations of how a teacher interacts with the class. The other half of the evaluation is based on quantitative data such as student’s increasing or decreasing scores on standardized tests, or class grades.
The Tulsa School Board approved two contracts on Monday to get the pilot off the ground. The first was for $205,000 for the actual data analysis and the third was for $450,500 to a different company that will teach employees how to use the data in evaluations, according to the Tulsa World.
OK virtual school enrollment at 2,593
The State Education Department tracked a new statistic this year in its annual release of student enrollment numbers – the number of kids in virtual schools.
Virtual schools are growing across the nation offering students access to teachers, courses, text books and other students online.
According to the data released for the 2010-2011 school year, Oklahoma had 2,593 students enrolled in virtual schools where the student didn’t attend a physical school but received all of their course work and instruction online from a distance.
Another 1,863 students took virtual classes online, but in a school setting.
White Oak Public Schools had the most virtual students with 973 kids enrolled in the K12 program offered by the small rural district in north east Oklahoma.
Hanna public schools was next with 348 students enrolled in off campus programs, and Oklahoma City came in third with 236 students.
But Oklahoma City ranked first for on campus virtual programs with 337 students enrolled.
Tulsa Public Schools had 280 students enrolled in virtual online courses and Shawnee Public Schools in Pottawatomie County had 204 students on campus taking virtual courses.
