MUSKOGEE, Okla. — It’s the first day of school for thousands of students in the Muskogee Public School District.
“When you look at our school district there’s a lot of great things going on,” said Dr. Jarod Mendenhall, superintendent of Muskogee Public Schools.
Dr. Jarod Mendenhall has headed the Muskogee Public School District for the last five years. He says this year there are a number of new features students will see.
“It’s just a fabulous facility now that we’ve redone it,” said Dr. Mendenhall.
The Sadler Arts Academy houses 400 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. The fully renovated building, new for 2023, helps showcase all the magnet arts school has to offer.
The emphasis on fine arts doesn’t stop there. There is also a new fine arts wing at Muskogee High School. The fine arts addition is a first for the high school. Band, choir, music, and drama will all benefit from the dedicated space.
“Engagement is so important for every kid,” said Dr. Mendenhall. “So it doesn’t matter if it’s the arts, athletics, or some type of activity, we’re really encouraging all of our Muskogee kids to be a part of something greater than themselves.”
A new entrance to Muskogee High School is providing a facelift to the building and a safer entryway. With all these new additions, the superintendent says it’s vital to have teachers in the classroom.
“We’ve got a plan of staffing every classroom and making sure we have classroom teachers ready to go but I will tell you it has been harder than ever before,” said Dr. Mendenhall. “I thought lat year was difficult, this year has even been double tough.”
As of August 1st, Muskogee Public Schools said they had about 20 teacher openings to fill. The hardest area to fill is special education.
“To go ahead and become a highly qualified educator is difficult enough, but if you can imagine special ed you’ve got to be pretty well versed in all of the courses and it’s very difficult to do that and we’re just seeing less and less people major in special education,” said Dr. Mendenhall.
Getting ready for each new school year takes a concerted effort for district leaders and the State Department of Education. Dr. Mendenhall says it’s a relationship that’s been difficult.
“It’s harder to get answers,” said Dr. Mendenhall. “It’s harder just the operational piece that we’ve always been able to do and call the State Department of Education and get answers. One it’s hard to get through. Number two the answers are different.”
He says he just wants what’s best for the students in Muskogee.
“Chasing all these other things that we’re doing that I would call political theater is not advantageous for kids,” said Dr. Mendenhall.
As the school year gets underway, Dr. Mendenhall says one of his biggest concerns for the district is attendance.
He says they have about 175 school days a year. They’re asking students not to miss more than 10% of school, about 17 days. He says many students are missing too much instructional time, so it’ll be a big focus for them this year.
“I think since the pandemic a lot of kids and parents have felt like it’s okay to stay home,” said Dr. Mendenhall. “When the doors are open we want you here so that’s going to be something that you’re going to see a really big push from Muskogee Public Schools this year.”
Dr. Mendenhall says the best way for students to get the best education is to show up in person.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
