New Tulsa Public School Superintendent Addresses Accreditation Goals

Thursday's state school board meeting provided the newly appointed TPS superintendent with an opportunity to present what the district is doing to meet goals set by the state.

Dr. Ebony Johnson said the district has three major goals it’s aiming to hit to meet the state’s requirements and help its kids.

The first goal is focused on reading. The state's requirement is getting 50 percent of students to basic reading level or above or to increase by 5 percent each year.

Dr. Johnson said only 41 percent of students are reading at a basic level.

She says the district plans to get that number up 5 percent each year to meet that goal.

The second goal is to get every elementary and secondary teacher to complete science of reading training, which the district is on track to do by May.

Finally, the district is trying to help its most struggling schools with additional resources and help.

Dr. Johnson says 6200 elementary and middle school students are below basic standards, and it will take the entire community stepping in to ensure these goals are met.

"We’re aligning district goals, so our district strategic plan we’re proposing to our board will be aligned directly to the expectations outlined by the state,” said Johnson.

“This work is important to us, it's important to you, we know it’s most important to our Tulsa community," she added.

The district will continue meeting with the state school board with its progress reports and will also have financial check ins every month with the state.

TPS said its goal is to have 53 percent of its students reading at a basic or above level by 2027.