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School News - Tip Sheet - 12/3/2008

The Street School Staff: Getting Noticed 

12/2/2008

Street School, a tuition-free dropout prevention, intervention, and recovery program for high school students living in the district, is busy as one instructor is selected as a Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year while another has just received National Board Certification.

The Teacher of the Year program involves each Wal-Mart store, Sam’s Club, Neighborhood Market and distribution center individually soliciting nominations and picking a deserving educator. Kim Camp, a Street School life skills teacher, will now receive a $100 gift card for school supplies. The school gets $1,000.

One of Camp’s nominees wrote, “Kim gave me strength and confidence when no one else would. She helped us achieve our goals and makes us want to come to school everyday.”

An Oklahoma State University, graduate, Camp has been teaching at Street School for seven years.

“Street School is a community which allows teachers to have the freedom to soar and explore ways to educate. We bring in new ideas and utilize a variety of skills we’ve acquired through our lives because not all students learn the same way,” Camp said.

Camp’s colleague, Street School English teacher Sheila Jones, is now nationally board-certified. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers that receive certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review.

 

Grissom Teachers Achieve National Certification 

12/5/2008

There are approximately 110 teachers in the Tulsa Public Schools system that have achieved National Board Certification. The board’s official website (www.nbpts.org) pretty much sums it up: “Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. NBPTS offers 25 certificates that cover a variety of subject areas and student developmental levels.”

Seven of those board-certified teachers work at Grissom Elementary. Principal Jennifer Gripado and teacher Karen Fowlkes had already scaled the mountain. Now add Grissom educators Stephanie Andrews, Missy Pearson, Rebecca Drabek, Cindy Lee and Clydia Forehand.

All seven sing certification’s praises.

“It increases the professional standards you use in the classroom,” said Gripado. “It makes for what I would call a reflective teacher. You think about your practice, how it can be modified, and what you can do to make your students learn.”

“It helps you become accountable for what you teach,” said Pearson, a fifth-grade teacher.

“It helps to give you clarity,” said Andrews. “It helps you understand what’s most important.”

Other experts agree. The National Research Council of the National Academies issued a report stating that board-certification “has had a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention, and professional development.”

The program is coordinated by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a nonpartisan group founded in 1987 and formed in response to a report calling for the creation of a board to “define what teachers should know and be able to do” and “support the creation of a rigorous, valid assessment to see that certified teachers do meet these standards.”

 

School Gives Students a Look at the Inner-Workings of TPS 

12/9/2008, 9 a.m.

In an effort to introduce their students to various career paths, administrators at Academy Central Elementary are taking their charges to the hub of Tulsa Public Schools.

It’s a chance to “expose our students to different professions and plant a seed early,” said Academy Central Principal Ebony Johnson.

Second-graders will come to the Education Service Center on December 9 at 9 a.m.

Johnson reports that Academy Central is also introducing its charges to entertainers (attending a performance by the Trio Orchestra), the horticultural and carpentry professions (building a home for Habitat for Humanity), medical fields (a trip to St. John’s Medical Center), and banking and finance (studying the stock market).

 

Wilson Signs PIE Agreement 

12/10/2008, 10:15 a.m.

 

Woodrow Wilson Middle School today signed a Partners in Education agreement with both the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by black college students, and a business specializing in oil and natural gas recovery.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and New Dominion, L.L.C., have already been mentoring and providing other assistance to Wilson students. Today’s ceremony formalized the partnership.

“We cannot have enough mentors” said Wilson principal Oliver Wallace. “It is so important to our students. Our parents are appreciative and so is our staff.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha was established in 1908 and currently has 200,000 members. The sorority’s partnership with Wilson includes mentoring sixth graders.

“We will talk with the students about careers, colleges and leadership skills,” said sorority president La Verne Ford Wimberly. “You name it—we’ll talk about it.”

Partners in Education is a collaborative effort between the Tulsa Metro Chamber and Tulsa Public Schools. The program's focus is to link TPS students with community resources in order to provide skills and knowledge needed for success.

“It’s cool,” said Wilson student Selma Drake. “It’s nice to know someone is out there to help.” To view current Partners in Education success stories or for more information go to www.tulsachamber.com.

 

FREE Parent/Guardian Class
"Don't Pop Your Cork!": Dealing with Anger and Stress in the Home 

12/10/2008, 6:30 p.m.

The CREOKS Family Life Training Program provides families, grandparents, etc. with outstanding parenting classes, resources, and referral services to strengthen our parenting skills and parental involvement. Every parent faces challenges while raising children. Unfortunately, our children were not born with an instruction manual. This program will also provide parents with new ideas, tips, advice, and even a support group for the rollercoaster journey of raising children. Reservations are required.

For more information, or to enroll please contact Stacey Berry, the Family Life Coordinator, at stacey.berry@creoks.org or by phone 227-2016 ext. 150.

According to the Family Life policy, a class minimum of 3 is required. All classes are subject to cancellation.

"Don't Pop Your Cork!": Dealing with Anger and Stress in the Home

WED. 12/10/08. 6:30PM - 8:00PM, Memorial High School Library – 5840 S. Hudson Avenue, Tulsa

Anger is an emotion that exists in all families and all human beings. Unfortunately, families of this generation bear little resemblance to the “Leave It to Beaver” clan. The lifestyles of this generation create a host of stresses on the family. Come learn about the emotion of anger, develop skills in recognizing the underlying causes of anger, and learn how to express anger in healthy ways. You will also learn to recognize that stress is a natural part of life, learn how to identify and cope with stressors and the signs of stressors, and recognize ways we can help our families get the support they need during times of stress.

 

Tulsa Academic Center to Receive Thousands of Books 

12/16/2008, 11:30 a.m.

The largest after-school math and reading program in the world is donating in the neighborhood of a thousand books to the Tulsa Academic Center.

Kumon Central Math & Reading, a Tulsa franchise of the New Jersey-based company with offices in forty countries around the globe, is delivering the books to TAC on Tuesday, December 16, at 11:30 a.m. The timing is intentional.

“We thought that by putting the books in the hands of the students during the holiday season we could generate more reading,” said Varsha Desai, director of Kumon. “Maybe their parents and siblings will read them, too.”

Kumon solicited the donated books from multiple sources including students, parents, private businesses and civic organizations. For the past several weeks visitors to the company’s south-central Tulsa offices were greeted by a box outside affixed with a note asking for new and used books. Kumon staffers coordinated with TAC Principal Candas Bullock on the project.

Created by educator Toru Kumon, Kumon centers—incorporating the Kumon Method—allow students to work at their own pace in order to master fundamental skills in reading and mathematics. There are 1,500 of the centers in North America.

“Most of the schools out there do a good job,” Desai said, “but there are always going to be students that fall through the cracks. That’s where we can come in and help. We can partner with the schools and help them.”

Go to www.kumonsctulsa.com for more information

 

District Students Selected by Music Educators Association 

1/28/2009

Tulsa Public Schools is extremely well-represented as the Oklahoma Music Educators Association selects its All-State Choir and Jazz Ensemble.

Paige Godfrey, the district’s music curriculum specialist, reports the choir and ensemble are “very prestigious groups chosen from the top musicians across the state.”

Here is the TPS line-up: Betsy Hays, Edison High School and Madelyn Edwards, East Central High School, were selected for the choir.

Ben Cowen and Taylor Johnson, Edison, have been tapped for the jazz ensemble. Booker T. Washington’s Terri Fleming and Madeline Lackey and Memorial High School’s Sara Weisman are part of the All-State Women’s Choir. The association’s annual conference is January 28-31, 2009, at the Tulsa Convention Center. Go to www.OKMEA.org for more information.

 

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