Education Watch Oklahoma (Dec 28): Rural Schools

Episode Four of 'Filling In The Gaps,' how state and district spending can address pandemic-related issues and unfinished learning. 

Guests for this episode discussed how the pandemic specifically impacted rural schools. We'll hear from school leaders and advocates about key issues in rural Oklahoma schools and solutions they recommend to support students through the pandemic. 

Superintendent Dr. John Cox currently serves as head of Peggs Public Schools, which has 200 students K-8. He is his 28th year as a school superintendent. Cox serves as President of the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools (95 schools) and Chair of the Oklahoma Schools Assurance Group (500 schools). He discusses some of the challenges the Peggs district faced during the pandemic and what types of solutions the district is working on. 

Erika Wright will talk about her work with the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition, a grassroots group of rural Oklahoma school advocates. She discusses some of the policy priorities the coalition is emphasizing in the upcoming 2022 legislative session. 

Caroline Shaw, Executive Director of The Opportunity Project, a Tulsa-based organization established in 2017 to promote more learning opportunities among kids. She talks about how the organization has worked to support student mental health among students in Tulsa in the past year. She offers recommendations of best practices to support the social and emotional health of students and discusses the U.S. Surgeon General's recent warning about increasing mental health issues among youth. 

https://www.theopp.org/

https://www.theopp.org/elementor-1975/?fbclid=IwAR3I54VattII-3JkM2o8NfXzBtHon6LxQBCZ-PlGjK-okznkOwFBLhHD0z0