Norman educator Cari Elledge began teaching elementary school 19 years ago.
Now, she is the president of Oklahoma’s largest teachers union.
The Oklahoma Education Association advocates for educators, students and schools and works to provide each student with quality public education.
Elledge replaced former President Katherine Bishop, who resigned from her position in January to spend more time with her family. Elledge served as Bishop’s vice president since 2021 when Bishop first became president.
Elledge moved to Norman in 2001 where she studied education and earned a master’s in instructional leadership and academic curriculum at OU. After graduation, she began her teaching career at Adams Elementary School.
Elledge spent 15 years teaching third and fifth grade at Norman Public Schools, during which she was involved with the Professional Educators of Norman where she would go on to serve as vice president and president.
Elledge said her job as the Professional Educators of Norman president was to represent teachers and ensure all needs were met. She said going into the job, she wanted to do it right.
“I was actively involved in our local association and eventually became the president of that association,” Elledge said. “So my full time job as an employee of Norman Public Schools was to represent teachers and make sure their concerns were addressed and contracts were followed and all that stuff. … Whenever I get involved in something, I like to do it right, so I immerse myself completely.”
Elledge was president of the Professional Educators of Norman for nine years before being elected to serve in the Oklahoma Education Association. Throughout her career, Elledge has served on the Oklahoma Education Association board of directors, the communications committee and the elections committee.
Elledge was elected to be vice president of Oklahoma Education Association in 2021 and said her job allowed her to explore different interests she hadn’t worked in before. Her responsibilities included working with early career educators and aspiring educators and working on the year round organizing plan.
“Lots of different experiences, lots of different passions, and I just love that. It all goes back to the students in the end,” Elledge said.
Elledge said her experience in Professional Educators of Norman helped make the job transition from Oklahoma Education Association vice president to president easier and allowed her to focus on visiting schools and getting to know her new team. She said in her role, she gets to do what she loves most — traveling to meet educators around the state and finding unique ways to solve their concerns.
“This job is what you make it, so you can fill the time being out in the field, visiting members, which is a great way to learn what’s happening in our classrooms,” Elledge said. “It’s a lot of collaboration and teamwork, which I really enjoy, because we’re getting to know each other while we’re figuring out what responsibilities and roles we want to have moving forward.”
In addition to connecting with Oklahoma educators, Elledge said her favorite part of her job is working with the Oklahoma Legislature. She said the Oklahoma Education Association works with lawmakers to find solutions to problems that benefit students.
“Everything we do is about our students and their future,” Elledge said. “This is all about us joining together, making sure we’re pulling the rope in the same direction and doing what’s best for the kids.”
Elledge said the Oklahoma Education Association is currently working with legislators to raise salaries for Oklahoma teachers and school staff.
According to a 2023 report from the National Education Association, Oklahoma ranks 43 in the nation for average teacher salary and is in the bottom three in per-student expenditure. The National Education Association also reports Oklahoma ranks 51 in school support staff earnings.
Elledge said the organization is always fighting for more funding and is doing whatever it can to advocate for underserved students and staff.
“We’re one of the lowest per-people expenditures in even the region, but definitely the entire country,” Elledge said. “We’re part of those conversations so we can make sure that we are doing everything we can to advocate not only for our students, but also for our profession, to ensure that it’s going to be effective for those kids.”
Elledge said she’s seen the impact the Oklahoma Education Association can make in the lives of teachers and students and she wants to continue making a difference in Oklahoma education.
“If they’re supporters of public education, we want to work with all of our allies to move public education forward for the state of Oklahoma. So we’re not in this alone. It’s way more than a moment in time. This is a movement, and we have to make sure that our students’ education is the best that it can be.”
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele. Ryan Little and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story
Natalie is a sophomore journalism and criminal justice student from Frisco, TX. This semester, she’ll be covering education and Norman Public Schools. She works to amplify student voices and promote transparency within the district. She can be contacted at nataliedarmour@ou.edu.