Graduation season begins with John Marshall
Thank you to John Marshall for sharing their fabulous photos with us from their May 10 graduation ceremony. Principal Aspasia Carlson said it was a wonderful night. Star Spencer and Southeast honor their graduates tonight, and a full list of Oklahoma City Public Schools graduation will be in The Oklahoman tomorrow.
John Marshall High School students get super-fancy
Look at this fabulous young ladies and gentlemen. The leadership class from John Marshall High School made a trip to the Petroleum Club to have a lunch and learn all about etiquette. A majority of the students at John Marshall are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunches. How was this exciting outing paid for? The John Marshall staff. They donated to the trip and sponsored students.
Overheard: John Marshall High School
I spent a week in John Marshall High School last month, and my story about my time there ran April 15. (Click here to read it.) After spending so much time covering a story, reporters always lament that there are things left out. There are a couple of anecdotes I wished I could have fit in, but there had to be room left in the Sunday paper for the comies and the crossword. I was already way – way! – over my limit. So I’m going to share two of those little asides here. To me, they really illustrate the humor that Principal Aspasia Carlson uses with her kiddos.
Students milled around the breakfast tables, eating particularly slowly. One boy claimed he was eating breakfast late because he slept in.
“Do I need to call your mom?” Carlson asked him. He smiled when he knew he was caught. “What’s your number?” Carlson said. “I’ll call and wake you up.”
And one more …
Carlson came out of her office to find a boy slouching in a chair next to the copier.
“OK, I just heard the bell ring,” she said. “Where are you supposed to be?”
“I’m getting my transcript so I can go to college,” he said with a grin.
Carlson laughs. “OK,” she admits, “that’s allowed.”
Oklahoma House passes school counselor bill
Here’s some news out of the capitol:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives would implement better intervention efforts when students are identified as needing counseling.
House Bill 2641, by state Rep. Lee Denney, creates the Twenty-first Century Successful Living Act. The legislation would require the Office of Juvenile Affairs and the Oklahoma Association of Youth Services to identify an evidence-based counseling curriculum for schools.
“This legislation will allow schools to be more proactive dealing with students who are in need of counseling to help them resolve the issues that may prevent these kids from succeeding in school and becoming productive citizens,” said Denney, R-Cushing. “Hopefully, we can put a lot of troubled youth back on the path to being model students.”
Under the bill, the Office of Juvenile Affairs would make the counseling available to students and school districts through designated youth service agencies.
If the bill becomes law, each of the existing 41 youth services agencies would train two staff and deliver services to approximately 75 students, for a total of 6,150 students served in the coming fiscal year.
During the second year of the program, the number of students served would double to 12,300. During the third year of the program, the agency expects to serve 18,450 students.
House Bill 2641 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 70-15 vote. It now awaits a hearing in the state Senate.
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.
School dropouts: Your feedback
I covered a student summit yesterday at the Cox Convention Center where 200 high school freshmen from Oklahoma City talked about school dropouts.
You can read the story and watch related videos at www.newsok.com/news/education.
Then share your feedback here.
Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter
