Tulsa Public Schools, welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! School starts Wednesday, August 20!

We have plenty of excitement in our buildings already. Teams are preparing vibrant learning environments and engaging experiences. Orientations for PreK and Kindergarten are getting our youngest learners ready to succeed and enjoy the transition to school. Students and families all over Tulsa are meeting their teachers. Many relationships that start today will stick with our young people their entire lives. I can think of many teachers who made a lasting impression on me, and I’m so excited to think of all those transformational interactions happening today!

A reminder for pre-K families – your students have their first full day of school on Friday, August 22. Check with your school on what you need to do before then!

If you need bus schedules, bell times, or haven’t filled out that all-important Back to School Form, please visit tulsaschools.org/backtoschool.

Families and students, remember that every day counts on the path to graduation.

For students, daily school attendance is one of the strongest predictors of success. That’s why we emphasize it so much. This year marks the third year of Attend to Win!, our proactive approach to support student attendance. Enhancing this initiative this year will include regular updates to families on each student’s progress, along with personalized support when improvement is necessary.

Families, we also encourage you to set a goal for improving attendance. Team Tulsa works hard every day to make school a safe, supportive – and fun – place to be. We can’t wait to see your young people there!

2025-26 is an exciting and pivotal year for Tulsa Public Schools, as we create our next strategic plan and prepare for an important school bond vote next spring. Both initiatives will help shape the future of our district for years to come.

There’s also so much recent progress to celebrate for Team Tulsa and our students. Through the hard work of educators, students, and families, we are on track with the majority of our board goals, and many of our schools improved their state report card scores or met improvement milestones. And because our goals focus on student outcomes, this means student outcomes are improving! Improving, but also not yet where they should be. So we must build on our momentum this school year. And we will.

As you return to school buildings, we have many exciting new spaces, resources, and opportunities for you! These include projects like the new athletic facility opening at Hale, refreshed building entrances, sparkling libraries, welcoming learning spaces, high caliber arts facilities, and so much more. As our learning environments become safer and more inspiring, they remind students that Tulsa believes in their future, too.

For everyone in Tulsa Public Schools – we are thrilled to learn and grow with you this year! Thank you for choosing Oklahoma’s largest school district. There is so much more greatness to come from Tulsa Public Schools. You and our young people are such an important part of that greatness!