The morning weather was brisk – cool enough that I could see my breath when I reached the school just after 7 a.m. – but invigorating, too.

You can read more about the walk at Western Village and watch a video about it tomorrow on NewsOK.com.

In the meantime, I’d like to know: Did you walk to school growing up, and do you let your children walk now?

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

The list of open schools will be updated on the district’s Web site, and officials are thinking about how to make up the lost time.

This is similar to how Oklahoma City Public Schools recovered from the devastating ice storm last December – cancelling classes for a week, then opening all the buildings that were safe for children as they were ready.

Meanwhile, many commenters on the Chronicle story sounded off about what’s expected of teachers, and if it’s realistic or fair to expect them to all be back in the classroom at a moment’s notice while they’re still coping with the personal impact of the storm.

What advice would you share from your ice storm experience with parents and teachers in southern Texas as they roll out their school reopenings? Post it here.

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

Toyota representatives who came to Oklahoma City to present a hybrid Prius to the 2009 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year today weren’t present at the ceremony.

They were with Gulf States Toyota — based in Houston — and had to return home to clean up from Ike, said Tim O’Toole, president and general manager of the Oklahoma State Fair.

O’Toole extended some words of thanks and hope to the representatives and others in the hurricane’s path before stepping aside for the teacher recognition program to continue.

Check out NewsOK.com and tomorrow’s Oklahoman for more about the state’s new Teacher of the Year, math teacher Heather Sparks of Taft Middle School in Oklahoma City.

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

The state’s Department of Environment Protection is entering the second year of a program that provides school boards, Head Start programs and private schools with signs declaring them idle-free, according to this Charleston Daily Mail story.

The state already prohibits school buses from idling unless it’s below 40 degrees outside. Officials hope the signs will encourage parents to do the same.

Are financial or environmental concerns enough to convince you to cut your engine while you wait for your children to get out of school? Share your comments here.

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

Here, we go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned workplace.

In New York City at an education seminar this past weekend, I went from an air conditioned hotel to a subway station more appropriately referred to as a sauna, then up the stairs to conquer a few more blocks of pavement before reaching my air conditioned destination.

All with my laptop bag on my shoulder. So heat is all relative. This is one of the things I learned at the Hechinger Institute’s seminar for new education reporters.

Lifestyle differences aside, I learned an incredible amount about reporting on education. I was an eager student for three days, absorbing everything I could from the speakers and taking copious notes for everything I could possibly need to review later on.

I want to share a few interesting notes with you.

Oklahoma singled out

First, Oklahoma got a shout-out in a session about prekindergarten.

Albert Wat with Pre-K Now cited the Sooner State in his presentation for having at least 70 percent of eligible students enrolled statewide. We’re one of only three states (Georgia and Florida are the others) to enroll more than 50 percent of all 4-year-olds.

He specifically talked about Tulsa, where a study showed that all races of students gained from one year of enrollment, and noted that Oklahoma pre-K teachers are paid equivalent to K-12 teachers, which he said doesn’t often happen.

A few degrees of separation

There was another Oklahoma tie in the presentation about academic rigor, even if by a stretch.

One of the two presenters was Jerry Weast, superintendent of Montgomery County Schools.

If that school district sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the last place John Porter worked before moving from Maryland to Oklahoma for his abbreviated tenure as superintendent of Oklahoma City schools.

Working in uni(s)on

Another highlight was hearing from Randi Weingarten, who was elected president of the American Federation of Teachers just five days earlier.

Weingarten advocated for “real collaboration” — politically and practically.

Politically, that means doing reform with teachers, not to teachers, she said. And practically, she’d like to see a collaboration of services that put after-school enrichment, medical clinics and parent help in the school building.

‘Physicians of the mind’

During the Q&A afterward, I asked Weingarten what she thought the union’s role is in recruiting enough teachers in the first place.

“In this instance, money does matter a lot,” she answered. After boosting starting teacher salaries in New York City by more than $5,000 in 2005, the hiring halls were filled and the number of uncertified teachers fell from 17 to 2 percent, she said.

Teachers want to be treated as professionals in their quest to better the lives of their students and the institutions in which they work, she said, adding that “teachers are physicians of the mind.”

Upon reflection

I’m thankful for the opportunities I had to learn from and network with experts and colleagues across the nation, and I can’t wait to start putting all my newfound story ideas and tips to work.

It was all made possible by the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Columbia University’s Teachers College, which is supported by various philanthropies, including the well known Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Oh, and I’m also thankful I won’t have to wait in underground, un-air conditioned subway stations again any time soon.

Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter

Temperatures yesterday soared into the 90s, which can be quite manageable with air conditioning. However, my a/c decided to take a vacation, sending my family out of the steamy house and into the cool waters of our wading pool.

I sure have gotten spoiled. But people manage when they must.

I went to a rural school district as a child and we didn’t have air-conditioning in most of the buildings. (They do now, thank goodness.)

It’s hard to imagine how we learned anything during those hot days in the classroom. We’d open the windows, turn on the fans and dream of cooler times. And the district let us go half-days during the warmest weeks.

Did your school have air-conditioning, and if not how did you manage? What are your tips for keeping the kids cool enough to actually pay attention to class?

Let me know at ssimpson@oklahoman.com

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

Today, volunteers with Mary Martha Outreach of Bartlesville will load a truck at the TPS Education Service Center and will deliver the cargo to Washington County. The outreach will continue through Friday at noon. Afterward, TPS will deliver a load of supplies to Miami.

TPS is still collecting donations. If you’re interested in giving something, call the service center at (918) 746-6800.

Jeff Raymond