BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The state of Bartlesville Public Schools is strong. Safety and hiring good teachers are top of mind for district leaders.
Bartlesville Superintendent Chuck McCauley says one of the most significant and needed changes that people will see in this upcoming school year is that every school site will have an armed police officer on duty for students' and staff safety.
The Bruins are back and safer than ever.
Once the elementary school shooting happened in Uvalde, Superintendent McCauley says he got with the city manager and police chief and formed a partnership to get school resources officers at district schools.
"The world has changed," he told 2 News.
$300,000 later, and he says they obtained nine armed school resources officers this year. It's up from six SROs the year before and three the year before that.
"They only assign people for these positions that are experienced police officers," McCauley said. "They don't want just anyone in those. It takes a special person to be around kids."
They'll be full-time Bartlesville police officers working in the schools during the school year, including after-school events, and for the city in the summer.
"Their plan is for the same officer to be at the same school for the entire year. We want them to build a relationship with the kids and the staff," McCauley said.
Superintendent McCauley says Bartlesville isn't immune to the teacher shortage either. He attributes it to fewer students majoring in Education and some rhetoric going around since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That doesn't help the teacher shortage when you talk negatively about education moving forward," McCauley said.
They've since started a Teacher's Academy for teachers new to the profession to get training before school starts. At times during the school year, those teachers get substitutes so they can observe classrooms and go to experienced teacher panels.
McCauley says 42 teachers went through the program last year, and they retained 38 of them.
Thanks to successful school bonds, Students will also see an indoor agricultural building to add to their FFA program, which started five years ago. Plus - Ranch Heights Elementary School will soon undergo an expansion to meet growing enrollment.
"We're here," McCauley said. "Our goal is to get them to the next step."
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