Oklahoma education starting over
State superintendent re-building foundation for public schools
No matter the political leanings, Oklahomans seem to agree their public schools are not doing well. The differences are in the details of possible remedies.
The legislative session starts on Feb. 2, and every civic group is hosting events with lawmakers discussing their legislative agendas. Public education is consistently discussed. Finally, even among the anti-public school crowd, leaders admit the state’s academic outcomes and headlines brought by the former state superintendent are hurting Oklahoma’s economy.
It’s hard to lure a company to the state ranking last or near last in every education category. It’s hard to grow a company under those same conditions.
That was made worse by the national attention on Oklahoma education focused on the fiery rhetoric and combative actions from former State Superintendent Ryan Walters that is only meant to divide Americans and pad the pockets of incendiary cultural warriors.
After Walters stepped down in September to take a job fighting teacher unions, Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lindel Fields to finish out the term. Voters will choose the successor in November. Considering Stitt elevated the former superintendent into power, it’s natural to have reservations about the new guy.
After catching two speaking engagements featuring Fields and reading his 15-month action plan (more like 11 months now), my doubts were put aside. He understands public policy, research behind teaching instruction and role of the State Education Department. He started his career teaching in prisons and then moved into the Career Tech system, working 12 years as the superintendent at Tri County Career Tech in Bartlesville. He grew up in public schools and raised his children in public schools, one currently attends Tulsa Public Schools. That first-hand experience makes a world of difference when serving as state superintendent.
Importantly, he is listening and taking actions based on what he’s hearing.
Making the rounds
Before the holiday break, Fields went on a speaking tour to introduce himself and his goals. I watched him in front of a largely progressive audience at a midtown Tulsa town hall hosted by Rep. Suzanne Schreiber on Nov. 5 and at a meeting of mostly conservative leaders (Tulsa Leadership Vision group) on Dec. 5 hosted by former Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. and Terry Simonson.
Reassuringly, Fields had the same message for both. Even in this age of recordings, it’s common for public officials to tailor their words - and sometimes their views - to what they think an audience wants to hear. Fields was consistent and authentic.
When making the case for more resources and attention on public schools, he recounted a conversation with an executive from a tech company located in Oklahoma. Fields asked whether the company planned investments beyond data centers.
“He said Oklahoma is too unhealthy and too uneducated to invest in that way,” Fields said.
Fields’ first 40 days were spent bolstering communication, stabilizing the State Education Department and establishing (or re-building) relationships across the state with educators, lawmakers and other stakeholders.
That is no small task. Walters left a string of problems after ignoring the day-to-day operations of the agency. Fields said he wasn’t just “righting the ship,” but hauling out buckets of water from a sinking vessel.
Many of the experienced educators and administrators at the State Education Department fled under Walters. For those who remained, they speak of a type of post-traumatic stress that was part of a toxic work environment. As of December, there were about 370 full-time employees at the agency, out of the 411 positions - a sign things are improving.
Fields has three focus points: early literacy, career pathways for graduates and teacher recruitment and retention. He is setting up performance measures, rolling out a new transparency dashboard and implementing quarterly reviews.
Before he leaves office by the year’s end, he will prepare a fiscal year 2027 budget and have a slate of recommendations for the next state superintendent. He has repeatedly said he will not run for that office. That means his actions will be for the good of public school students and not for a campaign.
“My goal is to build a foundation, to gather ingredients and hand those over to the next state superintendent. My fear is that my work will be undone,” Fields said. “Whoever the next state superintendent is will have my support to hand off things effectively.”
Realistically, the state’s education problems will not be fixed under his term. What he can do is set a new tone and direction for the agency. His honesty about the state of the State Education Department and public schools are a good start.
Differing focus
Interestingly, the two audiences I observed had common ground in the area of improving early literacy and having better high school academic outcomes. They both acknowledged schools are dealing with challenges coming from the homes of students.
The progressive group had more questions about teacher retention and recruitment, acknowledging a win for the year might be in not losing more experienced teachers. They spoke of restoring respect and appreciation to the profession.
The state steadily lost teachers as emergency certifications set records yearly for more than a decade, sitting at 3,683 so far this year. This equates to about 10% of the teacher workforce holding emergency certifications, meaning they are temporarily approved to teach because they are not trained in the profession.
To deal with empty classrooms, lawmakers approved expansion of “adjunct teachers,” who have “distinguished qualifications in their field” but don’t need any college credits. Districts determine whether a person qualifies. The number of adjunct teachers in the state went from 370 to about 1,300 in one year.
This group brought up needs in mental health to put more counselors in schools and in discipline options to give educators more power to find the right fit for students.
The more conservative group asked about challenges around the growing needs in special education and English Language Learners. In TPS, about 34% of students are multilingual speakers among at least 72 languages, though most speak Spanish. Across all Oklahoma districts, about 13% speak other languages.
Chronic absenteeism was a concern. Students cannot learn if they are not in school. It’s a factor schools largely cannot control, other than providing transportation if funds are available. That discussion evolved into the effects of poverty and parental disengagement that schools face.
At one point, Fields acknowledged these issues affect public schools, which cannot meet the challenges in isolation.
In thinking of these two audiences, it’s clear everyone wants the same goal - better public schools. Some nuances exist in details, but there is fertile ground for finding commonalities and making big differences.
A strong, unifying leader can make that happen. Fields appears on the right path, but remember that elections have consequences. Voting matters.
Several points. 1. Don’t underestimate the ability of Fields to be co-opted by conservative politicians whose aim is to transfer money from people of color public schools to blonde blue eyed Christian nationalist evangelical based private schools via vouchers. It’s a huge money loss undermining public education.
2. Don’t underestimate the ability of the Oklahoma voters to elect a Ryan Walters-like candidate who will create revisionist curriculums and continue to remove critical theory publications from libraries. Walters won by 14 points. A Walters-like candidate will be attractive to the base Oklahoma voter. If you doubt this just read the McCall candidates literature.
3. Don’t underestimate the rural urban divide in this state. Look who runs the state. Rural voters will inform any progressive on how the cow ate the cabbage.
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