Oklahoma unveils creative student-submitted snowplow names
ODOT received 400 clever and creative snowplow name submissions from school students across the state, and the public got to vote on the top 24.
If kids don’t show up at school, they can’t learn, state Rep. Ellen Pogemiller says, so the Oklahoma City Democrat put together a legislative hearing examining the causes – and potential solutions – of chronic absenteeism.
Pogemiller’s study included speakers from public school districts in Moore, Yukon, Norman, Tulsa and Sand Springs, among others.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10% or more of school days. It has plagued schools across the nation, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oklahoma State Report Card the past two years has given the state either an “F” or “D” grade in the category. It’s since been removed as a category on the report card.
“I have heard from school counselors that the biggest issues seen in schools are the ones that occur outside of the school,” Pogemiller said. “This means that schools cannot solve chronic absenteeism on their own. It is important to understand the root causes of chronic absenteeism and work to develop solutions that help improve the lives of students and make it easier for them to attend classes.”
During the October hearing on absenteeism, members of the House Common Education Committee heard from groups explaining how they are addressing the issue. One, ImpactTulsa, is working to help Tulsa Public Schools identify families that are being evicted and provide support to those families. During the past three years in that district, eviction records show 2,121 students experienced at least one eviction filing.
Moore Public Schools works with the nonprofit Bridges of Moore and the Moore Public School Foundation on an initiative aimed at providing housing for students experiencing homelessness. Bridges, which already has a presence in Norman, is expanding into the Moore district, where 10 duplexes, resident adviser apartments and a student center will sit behind Sky Ranch Elementary School in southwest Oklahoma City to house up to 20 teens in need.
Moore Superintendent Robert Romines said the project is about 80% funded and that the district’s students have raised nearly $800,000 toward it.
Yukon Public Schools created an attendance officer position using pandemic-era funding. In his third year in that job, former middle school principal Clay McDonald works with city and county government officials to support school-based specialists from the state Department of Human Services, in an effort to “remove those barriers of those economically disadvantaged students,” which he said is the number one subgroup that has the biggest issues when it comes to chronic absenteeism.
“We’re just here to try to totally support them,” McDonald said.
Oklahoma Hall of Fame teaching OKCPS students about Ralph Ellison
The Oklahoma Hall of Fame and Oklahoma City Public Schools are partnering to bring the museum’s “Oklahoma Originals” program to every third-grade student in the district this school year.
The program tells the story of an Oklahoma Hall of Fame Member through free history lessons, art activities and books. The current program features Ralph Waldo Ellison of Oklahoma City, a legendary Black author and winner of the National Book Award. He is best known for his novel “Invisible Man.”
The program is supported by a grant from Allied Arts.
As part of the program, students learn about segregation and civil rights in Oklahoma while exploring the music and art that inspired Ellison’s writing. Mariana Llanos, a children’s book author, leads the art activity, encouraging students to write a poem and create a pastel masterpiece. Every student receives a children’s biography of Ellison written by Oklahoma author Quraysh Ali Lansana, while teachers receive supplies.
“Oklahoma Originals is unique because it’s focus is solely outreach,” said Jorge Chavez, the Hall of Fame’s manager of program outreach. “Teachers do not have to put in the extra planning or travel time, and the lessons connect directly to Oklahoma education standards while also filling the need for art programming.
OKCPS Foundation celebrates Wall of Fame honorees
The Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation has inducted new members into its Wall of Fame. The class includes civil rights activist Marilyn Luper Hildreth, former OKC Police Chief Bill Citty, business and community leaders Richard and Glenna Tanenbaum and the late former Mayor Patience Latting.
A Douglass High School graduate, Luper Hildreth was 10 when she joined her mother, Clara Luper, in the historic Katz Drug Store sit-in, igniting a movement that spread nationwide.
Citty, a Northwest Classen High School graduate, worked for the Oklahoma City Police Department for more than four decades, serving as chief from 2003 to 2019. Latting, who graduated from Classen High School, served as Oklahoma City’s first female mayor from 1971 to 1983. She was one of the first women to lead a major U.S. city. She died in December 2012.
The OKCPS Foundation named the Tanenbaums as its Mary Mélon-Tully Unsung Hero Honorees, saying the couple has invested millions in support of Oklahoma City Public Schools and other local organizations.
“This year’s Wall of Fame honorees represent the very best of who we are,” said Kendra Horn, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer.
New national FFA president hails from Oklahoma
Trey Myers, a former member of the Perkins-Tryon FFA Chapter in Payne County, has been elected as president of the national FFA organization.
Myers, now a student at Oklahoma State University, was elected Nov. 1 during the group’s national convention and will serve in that role the 2025-26 school year.
Officers of FFA, which originally stood for Future Farmers of America, interact with business and industry leaders, student members and teachers, corporate partners, government and education officials. They also will lead training conferences for FFA members nationwide and help establish organizational policies.
Broken Arrow, Southmoore capture 6A band state titles
Bands from Broken Arrow High School and Southmoore High School marched off with honors in their Class 6A divisions in the annual Oklahoma Bandmasters Association championship event on Nov. 1.
Broken Arrow – the largest high school in Oklahoma, with about 6,000 students – finished atop the overall 6A and 6A Division I standings for the 23rd straight year, followed by Owasso, Jenks, Bixby and Deer Creek. All those schools are among the top 16 in overall enrollment in the state.
Southmoore finished sixth overall in 6A but first in 6A Division II, which consists of schools ranked 17th to 32nd in enrollment. Southmoore has about 2,000 students. It’s the second straight 6AII state title for the SaberCat Marching Band, which is directed by Adam Mewhorter.
Mustang, Edmond Santa Fe, Tulsa Union, Yukon, Westmoore and Choctaw rounded out the top 12 finishers in the 6A event. All but Choctaw are 6AI schools.
Other OBA state champion bands included Collinsville (5A), Fort Gibson (4A) and Perkins-Tryon (3A-1A).