TULSA, Okla. — For 12 years, Reading Partners staff and volunteers have been inside Tulsa Public Schools classrooms.
“They just want every student to have access to every resource, every opportunity,” said Olivia Martin.
Reading Partners Executive Director Olivia Martin says it’s a one-on-one hour a week between a tutor and a student designed to increase literacy.
“Some of them have tutored in the same place for 10 years,” said Martin.
Now 18 TPS schools will not have Reading Partners in the classroom for the 2025-2026 school year. It’s a decision that’s left Martin surprised.
“We’re of course disappointed not to be planning to serve in Tulsa Public Schools next year,” said Martin.
Martin says she’s sad they’ll no longer be able to provide in-the-classroom support for the hundreds of TPS students they’ve served over the years.
“Whoever is delivering programing, we just want more and more students to be strong readers,” said Martin.
She says this isn’t the end.
“We’re planning to have at least 10 schools supported in Union and then we’re talking with another district as well,” said Marin. “So, it will shrink our footprint a little bit but that also gives us an opportunity to think about different partnerships.”
In a statement, Tulsa Public Schools said,
“Tulsa Public Schools is immensely grateful for everyone who cares about supporting our young people.
We have redoubled our focus on student outcomes, and that means we have to prioritize what we know is working best right now. This is an uncomfortable but necessary part of being laser-focused on student outcomes. We have carefully analyzed what is moving the needle most, for the most students, at this moment in time. Together with input and thoughtful feedback from school leaders, we had to make some tough decisions given time and resource constrictions. There are many programs and initiatives that we would love to have as part of the student experience, but meeting the needs of students today demands that we face these hard choices head on.”
TPS says as covid-era funding ends they have to make difficult choices.
"It is a big blow, however we have so many engaged volunteers and incredible AmeriCorps members who are still committed to student literacy no matter what,” said Martin.
Martin is hopeful in the future they can partner again as they work on new ways to serve students in the community.
You can read the full TPS letter from Dr. Ebony Johnson here.
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