Tulsa Public Schools Get Grade Card

It's report card time for Oklahoma schools.  The Oklahoma Department of Education grades schools every year to find out who's succeeding and who's not.   The News On 6's education reporter Ashli Sims reports Tulsa Public Schools has something to celebrate.

Tulsa's list of schools in need of improvement is shrinking.  Four years ago, TPS had 38 schools on that federal list of low performing schools.  This year, the district is down to just 11.  In fact, all TPS elementary and middle schools met state standards.

But there is a little bad news, almost all of Tulsa's high schools are on the federal needs improvement list.  And that has some parents once again worried about a flood of transfer students.

Three weeks into the school year, classes are assigned, lab partners set, but Edison could soon see an influx of new students.         

"It's a function of where do you put em.  When you have an extra kid it means extra staff, extra facility requirements," said Edison parent, Hal Lewis.

Edison is facing some extra students, because of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  Under the law, students can transfer out of schools considered low performing and into ones that are succeeding.

In Tulsa, students can transfer out of six of the nine high schools, but only two, Edison and Memorial, have to accept them.  The district says that's because Booker T. Washington's admission requirements make it exempt.

"If you put too much of a burden on one or two schools you end up cannibalizing those schools and then you're going to end up with one choice.  Eventually, it's going to happen at Booker T," said Edison parent, Casie Lewis.

Last year, Edison and Memorial each received about 50 transfer students.  Tulsa School Board member Brian Hunt has asked the board look into the issue.

"And, I think the school board will continue to look at those policies and see what will happen in the future. Today, it appears that Edison and Memorial will have more than enough capacity to handle the issue today," said school board member Brian Hunt.

The Lewis' say this isn't just about today, but all of the tomorrows.  And, they don't want to hurt Booker T, but help all of TPS.

"We don't want to see it brought down, as it were," said Hal Lewis.

"We want to see everyone else lifted up. And, we all have to share in lifting that up," added Casie Lewis.

Now there's some good news on the transfer front, too.  They're down by about half.  TPS says the reason for the drop is their new slate of magnet programs at Webster and Hale.  And, also McLain High School met state standards for the very first time.  If they can do it again this year, they're off the needs improvement list.