News On 6 Kicks Off Educate Oklahoma

As school is just getting started, a News On 6 poll out Sunday night shows more than a quarter of Oklahomans rank our schools as failing or below average.

News On 6 is kicking off its statewide initiative, focusing on Oklahoma's education system called Educate Oklahoma.

Starting Sunday night and over the next week, News On 6 will bring you special reports and reveal details of our exclusive News On 6 education poll.

We asked people what grade they give Oklahoma's K-12 public schools. 

More handed out "Fs" than "As," but overall, Oklahomans give our schools a C+, even in a time when funding cuts are making it tougher for public education.

In our new poll, News On 6 asked who's most responsible for Oklahoma ranking 48th out of the 50 states when it comes to K-12 public education.

According to the poll, 35 percent say the state legislature is to blame and 24 percent blame parents. The federal government is third with 12 percent and 10 percent blame local school administrators.

Parental involvement is one of the areas we explore in the first part of our Educate Oklahoma special airing at 7 p.m. Monday.

Allison Taylor is the parent of three and a recruiter for the state PTA. She said parents can't be over-involved.    

"There's a misconception that some parents feel if they're too nosy or too involved with their children's school work, they feel like a helicopter parent," Taylor said.

We'll look at other hurdles facing Oklahoma education, showing you what's working and what we can learn. News On 6 will take you more than 500 miles away to Iowa and across the Atlantic Ocean in Finland.

Our two one-hour specials will air at 7 p.m. both Monday and Tuesday.