New Oologah-Talala Public Schools Teacher Shares Journey To Start Of Fall Semester

The calendar is full of different back to school dates. Teachers at Oologah-Talala High School are preparing to welcome students Wednesday for the start of the fall semester. News On 6's Ashlyn Brothers spoke with a teacher who is new to the district about the groundwork it's taken to get here.

Sunday, August 15th 2021, 9:31 pm

By: Ashlyn Brothers

OOLOGAH, Oklahoma -

Kids across Green Country are heading back to school. Teachers at Oologah-Talala High School preparing to welcome students on Wednesday.

Some educators believe the face of teaching has changed in wake of the COVID era.

This is a big year for Emma Johnson's English students at Oologah-Talala High School.

"Everything, everything matters at this point,” Johnson said. “They're so close to graduation.”

What we've learned through the pandemic, Johnson said, is education is more than a brick-and-mortar building.

"You can't go into it assuming it's like any other year," Johnson said.

And an A+ on a piece of paper doesn't always equal success.

"There's no one who hasn't been impacted socially and emotionally by this pandemic," Johnson said.

Johnson believes it's important to focus on the whole student.

"If they have a lot of anxiety or a lot of stress or things going on in their life, they're not going to be able to focus on the content area," Johnson said.

Johnson is the "new kid" in the building this semester. She has one year of teaching under her belt from nearly a decade ago.

After taking a break to raise a family, Johnson is resuming her teaching career.

"I've missed the classroom, and I think it's going to be a really great experience even with Covid," Johnson said.

Oologah-Talala High School principal Kevin Hogue said his teachers have done their homework this summer, including staying up to date on new technology and creating contingency plans in case students must quarantine or the district shifts to distance learning.

"They're prepared for any and everything," Hogue said.

Hogue said they're asking themselves two very important questions.

"What do we want kids to know and what are we going to do if they didn't learn it?” Hogue said. “Kids are going to come to us with some learning gaps, and we want to make sure we fill those. We're their last chance.”

Oologah-Talala High School is offering "lunch recess" out on the football field to keep students socially distanced, and the custodial staff is working in overdrive. Masks on school property are optional.

Watch Ashlyn's story tonight on News On 6 at 5:30 and 10 p.m.