Technological wonders, such as Olympian's prosthetic legs and NASA's Curiosity rover, offer parents and teachers the ideal opportunity to spark students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
As school starts in districts across Oklahoma, now is the time to stay the course with reforms that will help each student move toward graduating ready for college, career and citizenship.
Just as a football team needs to know what yard line the offense is on in order to call the next play and score a touchdown, state educators use tests to measure what students know and what they don’t yet know, where extra instruction is needed and which students need additional help. Moreover, our system of education should be able to demonstrate measurable results so that taxpayers know their money has been invested well and used wisely.
Recent awards include six Oklahoma schools named among 269 national Blue Ribbon Schools and 10 elementary schools named K20 STEM-Building STEM-Ready Elementary Schools. I'm proud of the work that went into earning these titles and excited for what this means for the students in these schools.
Honoring great teaching is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. This week I honored Elaine Hutchison, a math teacher from Fairview Public Schools, as the 2013 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.
The movie “Won’t Back Down,” now in theaters, details the struggle of a parent and a teacher fighting to take over a chronically failing school. Because of the very real plight of parents and children in situations similar to those portrayed in the movie, State Supt. Janet Barresi has pledged her support to state Sen. David Holt who promises to file Parent Trigger Legislation in the next Legislative session.
State Superintendent Janet Barresi announces School Parter Data Tool during the National Indian Education Association’s 43rd annual conference in Oklahoma City.
Thursday was a historic day for Oklahoma. State Board of Education members gave their unanimous approval to release the state’s first A-F Report Cards for schools. Now, it is time to get to work and begin Raising the Grade Together.
