TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Public Schools’ reading initiative to comply with accreditation standards is getting an emergency expansion.
At the top of requirements for TPS to retain accreditation, the Oklahoma State Board of Education said last August, it must increase its basic reading level from 41% of students to 46%.
But during the Feb. 22 state board of education meeting, Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson reported the goal was not on track to be completed yet.
“Based on our internal predictive assessment, we are not yet where we need to be," Johnson said. "We need to accelerate the learning for an estimated 700 more students.”
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Both Johnson and State Superintendent Ryan Walters agree that flipping those 700 students will take more than the current tutoring sessions.
“Tulsa has some of the best reading teachers in the state," Supt. Walters told 2 News via Zoom. "What if we took some of the best reading teachers in TPS and we got them to go work with some of the kids that are still not up to grade level yet?”
The idea involves a matching sum of almost $500,000 from the state to incentivize qualifying current and former educators who apply to the reading tutoring initiative.
Current tutors can make up to $9,000 added to their current stipend to prepare students at failing schools for the state reading test, while any retired teachers will get a $300 stipend.
The new incentive applies to those in the high-dosage tutoring initiative focused on 4th and 5th-grade students at failing schools.
“The state department will send our staff over to help substitute, teach, to help provide training for the teachers that are struggling and help in any kind of logistical issues that Tulsa has,” Walters added.
TPS faces an uphill battle, with many factors contributing to low reading scores. One is that many students needing help don’t speak English as their first language and moved to the district within the last few years.
“What our challenge in that is of course bringing them in and ensure they get all the supports that they need to learn the language and be able to master the concepts,” Johnson said.
According to the district, all teachers who qualify for the stipend at 29 campuses will be notified this week. Johnson and Walters said this gives them reason for optimism going forward.
“We want to see and will see our students be successful, and so this is another effort towards that,” Johnson said.
“We're very much in the mode now of motivation," Walters said. "We're motivating our teams to go finish strong so that we can have this huge victory for these kids."
Johnson said the incentives would kick in just after Spring Break. Students take Oklahoma’s standardized tests for reading in April.
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