Tulsa Public Schools Pathways to Opportunity is a five-year strategic plan for 2022 - 2027. The entire plan can be accessed here.
An in-depth look at the strategies in Pathway to Opportunity can be found on pages 12 - 17 of the plan document.
The plan's goals, which include tracking progress and results, begin on page 18.
Progress for each goal can be found here. The publicly-elected Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education created these during the spring 2021 strategic planning process with the input of 35 community and team member listening sessions
Tulsa Public Schools has met or exceeded all year one academic goals set by the District’s strategic plan.
Academic Progress includes:
Elementary Literacy: 43% of our economically-disadvantaged elementary students have met their literacy growth goals in the plan's first year.
Middle-Grade Literacy: Nearly 47% of economically-disadvantaged middle school students have met their literacy growth goals.
Both outcomes show the plan is working and that the District identified the necessary tools for intervention and support. This growth will lead to continued improvement over the next school year and success over the life of this strategy
College and Career Readiness: Graduation rates are increasing (71% in 2021 compared to 67.5% in 2015). There has been an increase in advanced coursework enrollment across the last ten years, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa Tech, and Career Tech.
The District acknowledges that academic performance must improve – in Tulsa and across the state of Oklahoma. We agree that our students need additional resources and targeted interventions grounded in the science of reading, strong literacy outcomes, and hands-on post-secondary learning opportunities for our students. We are willing to continue partnering with the Oklahoma State Department of Education to accomplish the goals outlined in our Board-created strategic plan and increase student achievement.
The District corrected the deficiencies identified during the accreditation process and is adhering to the collaborative, improvement-oriented intent of school accreditation.
Tulsa is accredited and remains focused on welcoming our 34,000 students back to school on August 17th for the 2023-24 school year.
Tulsa will continue to move forward developing and implementing evidenced-based strategies that address student needs. We rigorously assess programs and interventions to identify the resources and approaches that are best contributing to gains in students' performance, and then we invest in and provide interventions targeted on students’ progress and needs.
The District welcomes the opportunity to bring more student-focused improvement opportunities to the table. Moving forward and addressing these needs will take continued partnerships, including working with the state department to identify financial resources and additional programs or other services known to increase these standards in other states and within Oklahoma.
The state requires that no more than 5% of a school district budget be spent on
administrative costs. In the 2022-2023 school year TPS spent only 4.2% of total expenses on administrative costs. Some statements have misconstrued or mislabeled “non-instructional” costs as administrative, but the vast majority of “non-instructional” expenditures also directly benefit students. These "non-instructional" expenditures include such vital supports such as child nutrition (meals and cafeteria expenses), buses and transportation services, library media, student services, facility operations, maintenance, and school nurses and counselors.
When comparing "Instruction Vs. Non-Instruction" spending, Tulsa Public Schools aligns very similarly with the state averages, as shown below.
Since 2020, Tulsa Public Schools teachers have attended training and implemented strong instruction aligned with the Science of Reading.
Schools and teachers intentionally address specific students' reading needs, including developing reading improvement plans for all students who need intervention support.
On average, elementary students receive 2.5 hours of reading instruction daily with state-approved, evidence-based curriculum and interventions.
Tulsa Public Schools understands that each child learns differently, and with that comes individualized instruction. There are multiple resources available across the district. Meeting children where they are currently should look the same across the district. So when students transfer from one school to the next, their teacher can pick up where they left off, utilizing the same district-recommended curriculum across the district.
Our schools are focusing on providing opportunities for all students to excel in literacy.
In K-5, students engage daily in intervention time known as Walk to Read. During this time, students engage in teacher-led small groups for targeted instruction on specific literacy skills. Students also engage with digital programs.
Amira is used in K-5 for English and Spanish Language Arts. Istation is also used for Spanish Language Arts in our dual language schools.
Imagine Learning is used for language development for Multilingual learners.
In grades 6-12, Read180 is implemented for the dedicated intervention block.
Multilingual learners use Achieve3000.
Additionally, Exact Path is a personalized reading and math resource available to all our 6-12 students at all levels of learning.
Locally elected board of education members represent their communities within Tulsa. With local control, there are more opportunities to stay engaged with the community and keep your finger on the heartbeat of issues. It is also a way to increase the connection with the community. Studies have shown that schools improve with greater levels of community engagement and investment.
Representatives from across the Tulsa community co-developed the District’s strategic plan, Pathways to Opportunity. The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education hosted 35 community meetings representing people from all backgrounds and professions across our Tulsa area. From these community members and conversations, they identified the academic measures and goals most important to the Tulsa community. This is one way we can see local control in action.
