Lights, camera, education
Oklahoman editor Ed Kelley occasionally records videos that focus on education in the state for his “Oklahoma Matters” feature. One went online today in which he talks about the big job facing new Oklahoma City Superintendent Karl Springer.
Here are some other recent examples:
-Early education: The next Oklahoma City superintendent must be a champion of early childhood education if the district is ever going to improve.
-Dropout dilemma: Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor has intriguing things to say about Tulsa public schools, trying to put badly needed focus on the high number of teenagers who drop out.
If you haven’t been keeping up with them before, you can do so from now on at http://www.newsok.tv.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
New superintendent search turns up old photo
Court records, voter registration records and the Nexis database are a few of the tools I’ve been using to gather information about newly named Oklahoma City Superintendent Karl Springer.
And Google — who could forget Google?
The search engine turned up something that gave me a chuckle – a 22-year-old yearbook photo of Springer.
An alumni site has black-and-white pictures of the teachers and administrators at Norman High School in 1986, with updates about where they are now.
It made me wonder: Are any of my old yearbook photos on the Web for the world to see?
They’re not, but with the wide reach of the Internet I can imagine that one day some old photo of me will turn up on Google and give me a blast from the past.
But for now, it’s all about Springer, so it’s all about sharing his blast from the past.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Pizza, ice cream and security
Oklahoma City School Board members are in their executive session now, so it seems like a good time to share some things with you.
Among other action tonight, board members just approved a smorgasbord of contracts on a consent agenda, including one item worth up to $60,000 for food from Pizza Hut.
The list of consent items on tonight’s agenda is the longest I’ve seen yet — 135 items, compared to 34 at the board’s previous meeting. Board members approve all the items on the consent agenda with a single vote, unless someone wants to discuss a particular one separately.
Here’s a taste of the other types of contracts approved Tuesday:
- -BUILDINGS: Building leases and architectural contracts.
- -MAINTENANCE: Repair needs for electrical, roofing and other systems, and custodial services for daily upkeep.
- -SAFETY: School security services, asbestos and lead abatement, and fire extinguishers and alarm monitoring.
- -TEACHING TOOLS: Library media services, art supplies, software programs and truancy intervention programming.
- -MEMBERSHIPS: District memberships to various civic organizations.
- -LEGAL: Legal counsel.
The cheapest item is district membership to the Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with a maximum price tag of $125. The priciest is a contract with ONEOK Energy for $3,403,939.82 for natural gas.
Someone also had the bright idea to include light bulbs on the list.
Still, my favorite just might be the $90,000-maximum contract for “ice cream/novelties” from Blue Bell Creameries, which is, as their commercials say, “The best ice cream in the country.”
No disagreement there. In fact, that sounds pretty good right about now.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Six Okla. school districts make top-500 list
The National Center for Education Statistics, which I use for statistical information, just released a list of the 500 largest school districts based on enrollment in 2005-06.
Six Oklahoma districts made the list:
- Tulsa, 123rd largest with 41,568 students
- Oklahoma City, 128th largest with 40,322 students
- Moore, 374th largest with 20,028 students
- Putnam City, 398th largest with 19,207 students
- Edmond, 400th largest with 19,178 students
- Lawton, 462nd largest with 17,020 students
None made the top 100, which is what most of the report focuses on. Nevertheless, Tulsa and Oklahoma City were close, and you may find the highlights of the report interesting.
According to the NCES, these are some characteristics of the 100 largest public school districts in the U.S. and its territories:
- -The 100 largest educate 23 percent of all public school students even though they make up less than 1 percent of all school districts.
- -The 100 largest have an average school enrollment of 695, compared to an overall average of 518 for all districts. They also have a higher student-teacher ratio.
- -The percent of nonwhite students is 71 percent, compared to 44 percent in all school districts.
- -The lowest per pupil expenditures among the 100 largest districts are $5,104 and $5,503 for the Puerto Rico Department of Education and the Alpine District in Utah, respectively.
- -The highest per pupil expenditures are $17,988, in Boston, and $18,878, in the District of Columbia.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
‘MAPping’ out school changes
There’s a MAPS for Kids community meeting tonight and another tomorrow for Oklahoma City schools.
These meetings are held to get input from teachers, parents, students and others in the community about construction and renovation plans for the school.
For those who have attended one of these meetings, I’d like to know what you think of the forum. Or, share why you choose not to go.
Leave your comments here on NewsOK’s Education Station blog.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Back to school so soon?
I wrote a story for Sunday’s Oklahoman about schools on “year-round” schedules, in which the school year is spread across a longer stretch of the calendar year by taking more frequent breaks.
Here’s a little more of the story – a breakdown of the scores of the traditional public schools on the year-round calendar and the years they started, plus a list of exactly which other places in the state follow the model.
SCHOOL 2007 API SCORE INITIAL YEAR
Oklahoma City Public Schools 1062 (average)
Horace Mann Elementary 1394 2002-03
Sequoyah Elementary 1430 2001-02
Westwood Elementary * 2002-03
Tulsa Public Schools 1065 (average)
Chouteau Elementary 1396 2000-01
Eugene Field Elementary 869 2004-05
Kendall-Whittier Elementary 1304 1998-99
Mark Twain Elementary 1375 2000-01
Marshall Elementary 1195 2000-01
Office of Juvenile Affairs centers
Juvenile Center, Tecumseh
Education Unit-Manitou, Tipton
L.E. Rader Center, Sand Springs
Other state-accredited schools
Lakeside School, Granite
Tulsa Job Corp Center, Tulsa
*NOTES: Westwood did not meet the minimum number of test scores required for reporting. However, in 2006, the school’s API score was 1232, higher than the Oklahoma City average that year of 1006. Scores reported for 2007 were taken in the 2006-07 school year. The reporting samples were too small for juvenile affairs centers, and the final two are not required to report test scores to the state. (Sources: State Department of Education, Oklahoman research)
What do you think of this “continuous learning” model of school scheduling? Share your thoughts here on NewsOK’s Education Station.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Because money doesn’t grow on trees
I wrote a story for today’s Oklahoman about a newly approved increase in school lunch prices in the Oklahoma City School District.
Steve Gallagher, director of child nutrition services, said at Monday night’s board meeting that the increase is needed to keep up with general rising food costs. He gave some reasons for the price jumps:
- Shifting corn and cropland to bioenergy uses.
- Using healthier but costlier foods like whole grains.
- Unusually severe weather patterns.
- Mandatory increases in minimum wage.
- Exporting food overseas to stronger markets.
“I wish that I could say that prices will go down and maybe we’ve maxed out, but I don’t think that’s the case,” Gallagher said Monday.
“It’s having a major impact on the entire food industry, as I’m sure Ms. Vines can attest to,” said Gallagher, referring to school board member Gail Vines, who co-owns Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria, a restaurant in the city.
Gallagher said another reason for the price hikes is the rising cost of fuel, which also was cited in a report Monday night about the transportation department.
The district started the year paying $2.70 per gallon for unleaded and $2.35 per gallon for diesel, transportation director Stephen Foster Jr. said.
The district is now paying $3.35 and $4.04, respectively.
Some NewsOK.com readers already have shared their feedback about the increasing costs. Add your thoughts to the mix on this online forum.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Bloggers pick up suspended superintendent story
The story about Oklahoma City Superintendent John Porter’s suspension is more than just front-page news: It’s national news.
By virtue of the fact that Porter used to work for a school district just outside D.C., The Washington Post picked up the story Tuesday. (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR2008010702942.html)
Bloggers are picking up the story, too — some from Oklahoma, and some not.
I am not endorsing any opinions expressed on any of the pages, but want to share these as a way to show and promote the continuing dialogue surrounding the recent days’ events.
-The McCarville Report Online: The Gadfly on the Boardroom Wall: “Oklahoma City’s now-suspended school superintendent, John Porter, is fighting tooth and toenail to keep the job he’s held for slightly more than five months. But Porter’s strategy to keep that job, accusing Board of Education Chairman Cliff Hudson of things Hudson said never happened, or happened differently than Porter claims, is a poor way for Porter to wage his campaign.” (Read more: http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/01/gadfly-on-boardroom-wall.html)
-The Green Flame: My Take on John Q. Porter: “I wish that we could say, ‘We’ve all learned a valuable lesson here, and we will do better together in the future.’ That only works in sitcoms. Perhaps the board could allow Dr. Porter the opportunity to state how he would change his procedures to comply with board policy. I think he could become a good community leader. But I fear he has been weakened too much to do the job he was hired to do.” (Read more: http://greenlynn.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-take-on-john-q-porter.html)
-Moving at the Speed of Creativity: Political Fireworks in Oklahoma City Public Schools: “Clearly ‘interesting politics’ are involved in this situation. It will be instructive to follow this news thread in the weeks ahead.” (Read more: www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/01/06/political-fireworks-in-oklahoma-city-public-schools)
-Peyton Wolcott: ‘Family emergency’ – or ‘vacation’? “Could it be that because John was an assistant (superintendent) and information officer in Maryland before taking over the top spot in OKC in July that he was not used to the daily demands of the new job? Or was this a clash of work ethics and cultures? … We’re watching something play out in Oklahoma City Public Schools which goes to the core of one of the most fundamental issues in public education in America today: Who really runs our schools?” (Read more: www.peytonwolcott.com)
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
The way of school fundraisers
Last month a student at the new John Marshall School knocked on my door.
Did my husband or I want any candy? There’s a whole catalog of foods for us to choose from.
For more than a month now we’ve been waiting on our peanut butter cups and white chocolate covered pretzels.
Often it seems that’s the way of school fundraisers: it starts with a knock, a call or an e-mail; continues with a check; and ends in a wait for the product so long that by the time it arrives you’ve forgotten you ever ordered anything in the first place.
Do you appreciate the chance for home delivery of candy or wrapping paper and the opportunity to support your local school, or do you feel pestered being asked year after year to buy into the same thing?
Share your thoughts about school fundraisers on the forum at NewsOK.com.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Statehood Day and schools
There’s a video on the Oklahoma City Public Schools Web site of students singing ”I’ve Been Everywhere in Oklahoma” for the state’s 100th birthday.
The Nichols Hills Elementary School students keep up well with the fast-paced tune of Johnny Cash’s drawn-out ditty.
But they’re certainly not the only ones with a centennial tribute in the works.
Tell me, what’s your child’s class planning? And, will it mean you have to use a vacation day to stay home while your child is off for a holiday? I’d like to know how working families work around that situation.
Write to me at wkleinman@oklahoman.com.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
