TPS Teachers Learning New Lessons Over Summer Break

Summer school isn't just for students in Tulsa; this week hundreds TPS teachers are learning new and better ways to make connections in the classroom.

The teachers have more than 130 sessions to choose from that cover everything from math, science and social studies to robots, and they can’t wait to bring the new lessons back to their classrooms this fall.

Kimberlee Hairston has been a Tulsa Public Schools teacher for more than 25 years.

"I do love children - and the elementary school age especially - and I just wanted to make a difference in their lives," she said.

Monday was the first day of #SummerEdTPS, and Hairston is getting ready for the upcoming school year alongside hundreds of teachers from across the district

"These are strategies to engage the students because you can have all the learning you want but if the students aren't engaged in it, I can be teaching my heart out and they could be not receiving a thing," she said.

The sessions can range from 90 minutes to the full five days and are taught by TPS teachers, district staff and national trainers.

"The better prepared we are then the better we are at getting outcomes that benefit our students," said Executive Director of Professional Learning, Brandie Berry.

For the first time, teachers won't have to worry about any other workshops the rest of the summer.

Berry said the new system just makes sense.

"We really think it honors teachers to be able to plan the rest of their summer, and it also gives them an opportunity to learn, and I think that both are important during the summer time," she said.

Berry said the plan is to make the five-day training an annual event for TPS teachers.