Vinita Daily Journal

Principal:
‘A great
Jan
17 year’ at
2020 VHS
Angela Thomason
Journal Reporter
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Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Vinita Daily Journal
Page 12 Vinita (Okla.) DAILY JOURNAL, Friday, January 17, 2020
VHS
Continued from Page 1
“I’m very pleased with it,
Jan
and I think it’s helping with
17
our tardy students because
now they have to come to
2020
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Page said Gibson. “We don’t al-
A012 low students to let anyone in
Clip from the inside, as an added
resized precaution. Also, with our re-
61%
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From high school, his presence at
A001
the school site is a good pre-
vention measure.”
Gibson also noted that even
though the door buzzers don’t
have video recordings, the
school’s video surveillance
in those areas does. The door
buzzers have a camera that
DOORZVWKHRIÀFHSHUVRQQHOWR
see who is at the door.
On the topic of academic
performance, Gibson said that
she wasn’t thrilled with the
state report card grade for the
high school at C, but put it into
perspective in comparisons
with 13 surrounding schools
and the state averages.
She said that the numbers
were based on academic test
scores from last year’s juniors,
and that her research shows
that Vinita’s scores were third
out of 13 for academics and
above the state average.
The lower score comes from
post-secondary opportunities
for students.
Gibson added that for a
school district Vinita’s size,
students are offered several
options including concurrent
college classes, AP classes
and vocational education op-
portunities.
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
She said they continue to
look at ways to improve what
they can offer and to get more
students involved in activities
at the high school.
“Nobody hustles more than
we do, and even though there
are some areas where we
could score a higher grade
with the state, such as not al-
lowing students to come back
to our district who still want
WR ÀQLVK WKHLU KLJK VFKRRO
education, we’ll let them try
because we have to remem-
ber why we’re here in the
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we might take a hit on scores,
but that student’s education is
more important.”
She said that Vinita High
School has a strong sense of
citizenship and volunteerism,
with both students and facul-
ty.
“We have a nice group of
kids. They are kind to each
other and the majority show
kindness to others who have
special needs or are differ-
ent,” said Gibson. “We aren’t
perfect, but overall these kids
are great kids. There is a con-
VWDQW ÁRZ RI DFWLYLWLHV ZLWK
organizations, and one of the
things I’m proud of is that
most all events held have a
service component that bene-
ÀWVRWKHUVDQGWKHFRPPXQLW\
in some way.”
Gibson listed some of those
examples such as Jeans for
January collecting jeans,
sweats and pants for Neigh-
bors Helping Neighbors
during spirit weeks. She also
noted the 12 Days of Christ-
mas charitable giving proj-
ects, and a Make-a-Wish
IXQGUDLVHU WKDW EHQHÀWHG D
Vinita graduate.
Gibson added that the ele- O
mentary school sites and mid-
dle school often join them in
these good causes.
She noted that student vol- S
unteers with Student Council ad
and Leadership classes help th
prepare meals for the Back- lo
pack Child Nutrition program th
on a weekly basis. h
“Our kids represent us well,”
she added. ch
When it comes to helping re
students with life skills, Gib-
son said that students have d
opportunities to take classes S
to learn some of the basics, an
such as cooking, laundry or p
gardening.
The state’s requirements for w
preparing students for life af- d
ter graduation also have an b
online component where stu- sa
dents can set educational and
life goals. m
One life skill that Gibson b
says they are focusing on with tr
students is the basic skill of
learning to show up and be on sa
time. th
The crackdown on chronic v
absenteeism is also working,
and she reported that they had
97% attendance this past se-
mester.
2IIHULQJ H[HPSWLRQV RQ À-
nals for those students who
have at least a C average in
a class and less than four ab-
sences has given students an-
other incentive for being pres-
ent at school and keeping their
grades up.
Overall, Gibson said that
students and teachers work
together to get all students in-
volved in school and to help
make Vinita High School a
place where they want to be.
 Holdenville News
Penn West addition and businesses on East Highway.
Holdenville School
Jan
19 Administration reports
2020 The Holdenville Board of Education
held their regularly scheduled monthly
Page meeting on Monday, January 13. Reed
0001 Elementary Principal Danielle Patterson
Clip began the Administrative Reports, inform-
resized
54%
ing the Board that they began the new year
with an in-service on January 7 with a
behavior specialist to offer advice on how
to deal with students and their behaviors.
Reed Elementary has had a lot of drills,
including a fire drill, tornado drill, trigger
drill, and evacuation drill.
Patterson stated that report cards went
out that day, and they have been working
on their middle-of-the-year Dibble bench-
marks, STAR testing as they gear up for
State testing. They also have a staff meet-
ing on Friday morning where the third
grade teachers get together and make sug-
gestions for how the lower grade teachers
could help boost test scored in the upper
grades.
Reed Elementary is looking forward
to a visit from their Great Expectations
mentor to make observations in the class-
rooms to confirm they are being compliant
with their Model School status. There will
be a second visit in February.
On the last week of the month Reed will
have a “Color Week,” in which students
will be encouraged to wear a different
color each day to help the students that are
still having trouble with their colors. The
classroom Valentine Parties are scheduled
for February 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Holdenville High School Principle
Shawn Richmond stated that they, too,
began the new year with professional
development. During a High School site
meeting the staff discussed the recent
School report cards and the academic
achievement area where they needed the
most improvement. They also developed a
committee to help develop a game plan to
make improvements. She added an atten-
dance committed was formed a few years
ago and had successful results.
Principal Richmond next shared that the
student attending the Honor Band at East
Central University in Ada on Friday,
Wh at’s
at’ s Hap
Happpen
eniing
ng
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
Th
the
req
Hi
cil
Jac
January 10 had an additionally exciting
experience when they had to seek shelter
due to a tornado warning. Fortunately, the
storms were not as threatening in
Holdenville.
The FFA Pie Auction on Thursday,
January 9 was a huge success, and the huge
support from the community helped raise
funds needed to support the program.
There was a local show on Sunday, January
12 to kick off the show season, with a num-
ber of area events coming up.
Richmond noted that it was
Homecoming Week, and there were a lot of
events planned around the theme of “Dog
Days of Winter,” noting that they
Wolverines will be taking on the Meeker
Bulldogs on Saturday. Richmond com-
mented that she hopes having the game on
Saturday instead of Friday will be a posi-
tive that they can look into in the future.
On Tuesday, January 21 Peoples Jan
Electric will visit with HHS Junior stu-
rig
dents about an opportunity to visit
So
Washington D.C. as representatives of
rural cooperatives across the nation. Re
Richmond stated in the previous two years
Holdenville students have made it to the
finals, and she is optimistic a Holdenville
C
students will sooner or later earn an oppor-
tunity. Co
The girls’ basketball won 3rd in the me
Konawa Tournament, which they are very Th
proud of. Two team members, Emmalyn de
Marriott and Carley Tatum, were named to Ok
the All-Tournament Team. of
Principal Richmond shared a copy of ye
the track team and weight lifting schedule ev
and noted that the season will kick off in
Norman on January 24. co
On Monday the HHS freshmen took the trib
ACT Aspire test. Richmond explained that tie
the academic performance at the high er
school is based on the results of the Junior Co
student’s ACT test scores, so this test helps Co
the students better prepare for that. pro
Holdenville High School will be host-
ing a blood drive in the auditorium on
January 28. Last month the Oklahoma P
See School Board, page 2
M
 Holdenville News

•School Board •
Continued from Page 1
H
Blood Institute informed HHS that they are the fifth out of
thirty-three schools in the amount of blood they have col- o
lected with their blood drives. G
Jan
Last year HHS had their first reading poetry out loud a
19 event, and Richmond states she was surprised at the b
amount of participation. They will be hosting the second b
2020 annual poetry reading on January 29. e
Looking into early February, Richmond informed the a
Page Board that the Cheer team will be traveling to Dallas on w
February 1 and 2. h
0002 Thomas Middle School Principal Deborah Watters stat- a
Clip ed that the students at Thomas have also been busy with n
resized drills. She thanked Superintendent Randy Patterson and h
46% the teachers that traveled to OU on January 6 to bring back
From chairs for the Thomas building. S
0001 On Thursday Thomas School hosted a family involve- w
ment “Reading Roundup” featuring local authors Judy la
Goodspeed and Rebekah Hartfield and a fun flashlight a
reading in the classrooms. Another family involvement re
event is planned for February 10, when the science and
social studies teachers will present science and STEM It
activities. m
The Jr. High basketball team will be traveling to Stroud re
for a tournament on the week of 28. s
Superintendent Randy Davenport, who is the District 9 T
State Coordinator for the Administrators program, stated G
that, before Christmas break, he had attended a meeting at S
Gordon Cooper Technology Center that included seven
legislators. Hot topics included the compact with the U
tribes, Epic Charter private schools, which are currently p
suing Sate Senator Ron Sharp, and the chronic absen- w
teeism at schools across the state. The legislators are con- m
cerned about school being held accountable for absent stu- F
dents when they really have no control over attendance. ta
Another topic the legislators brought up was the new th
accreditation program the state is beginning. This will be a
four year instead of a one year accreditation program. A
team will visit each school across the state, rotating •
through q quarter of the schools each year. Although they D
are still fine-tuning the program, it is expected to be much fr
more involved. s
The current desk audit of federals still ongoing, and an B
audit sent in December has had parts sent back seeking a
more information on 6 things out of 120.
Davenport stated that there are two trailer loads of fo
chairs that came from OU, and the Booster Club will be b
selling them to raise funds for a trip to D.C. Davenport B
explained the chairs were in the dorm rooms and have C
been replaced with different chairs that don’t require the
n
cleaning these cloth chairs require every year.
Superintendent Davenport stated that architects from
E
Design Architects Plus will be in Holdenville in February
T
to work on the new all purpose building at Reed
Elementary. In March they will begin the process of sell-
ing the bonds that voters recently approved. At this time 3
they expect to award bids some time in July. th
In other business, the Board accepted the resignations a
of Elizabeth Been and Loryn Hamilton. They also B
approved the hiring of: Jessica Hinton, Para; Maddison im
Keeney, Teacher Assistant; Jeanna Woolard, Teacher B
Assistant; and Brownie Harjo, part time maintenance. 7

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 Muskogee Phoenix

Jan
19

2020

Page
Legislators file bills that would
A002
Clip
resized
curtail virtual charter practices
52% By David Fritze House Bill 3066, also by all public schools from require students seeking
Oklahoma Watch Kiger, a former educator, spending state funding a full-time virtual edu-
would prohibit charter on marketing or advertis- cation to enroll in a pro-
State lawmakers are schools, including virtual ing except under certain gram through their local
looking to rein in virtual charters, from using any circumstances, such as school district, if offered
charter schools. state funding to purchase for employment oppor- and if “equal in scope and
A number of bills advertising. It also would tunities or school bond content” to a statewide
proposed for the 2020 prohibit virtual school elections. virtual charter school.
legislative session, which students from receiving House Bill 3492, Virtual charter school stu-
begins Feb. 3, would limit compensation or financial by Rep. Chris Sneed, dents enrolled by 2022-23
the flexibility or funding incentives for recruiting R-Muskogee, would pro- would be exempt.
for virtual charter schools other students. Epic spent hibit any public school, Senate Bill 1100 by
in the state. Several more than $2 million on including charter and vir- Sharp would add respon-
proposals seem to target television and newspaper tual schools, from using sibilities to the Statewide
Epic Charter Schools, advertise- state funds Virtual Charter School
the state’s largest virtual ments last on private Board, the state agency
school, which has drawn year; the extracur- tasked with sponsoring
scrutiny for its spending school also ricular ac- all statewide virtual
and enrollment practices rewards tivities for schools. The proposal
and is under investigation students students, would require the board
for alleged fraud. Epic has for re- including to complete an annual re-
denied wrongdoing. ferrals gymnas- view of each school’s state
Thursday was the through its tics, music aid allocations and stu-
deadline to introduce leg- “student lessons dent count, in compliance
islation. learning and ath- with the terms of their
House Bill 3065, by fund,” an letic per- contract and attendance
Rep. Lundy Kiger, R-Po- allocation formance policy, student perfor-
teau, would limit fund- of credit lessons. It mance and other items.
ing per virtual charter than can would also Senate Bill 1541, by
student to $3,500 “from be used on prohibit Sen. Gary Stanislawski,
all public and private technology, virtual R-Tulsa, would rename
sources.” Currently, vir- curriculum and extra-cur- charter schools from giv- the Statewide Virtual
tual schools receive the ricular activities. Epic is ing bonuses to teachers Charter School Board
same weighted amount the only school with such or other school staff for and increase the number
per student as traditional a fund. recruiting teachers or of voting members from
schools, but because they Similarly, Senate Bill students from another five to nine. The proposed
do not receive local reve- 1153 by Ron Sharp, school. name is the Oklahoma
nue, nearly all of it comes R-Shawnee, a former Senate Bill 1097, by J.J. Commission for Digital
from the state. teacher, would prohibit Dossett, D-Sperry, would Learning.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Clip
Jan 2020 Page resized
19 0001 40%
Seminole Producer
Digging Deeper into Public School Enrollment
Enrollment in Oklahoma
public schools is growing,
but it’s not happening in
every district.
The latest data from the
state Education Department
show public schools’ great-
est growth in 2019 occurred
in charter schools, while
enrollment in the state’s
largest districts, Okla-
homa City and Tulsa public
schools, declined.
The steady overall
growth, and trends within it,
reflect how student enroll-
ment underpins many
issues in education: class
sizes, teacher shortages
and state funding.
State school funding is
doled out per student, so an
uptick in enrollment gives
schools funds to improve
services and programs and
hire teachers. A dip in enroll-
ment could mean cuts and
Trial Begins Against Company
in Oklahoma Oil Rig Explosion
McALESTER, Okla.
(AP) — The wrongful
death trial against a oil-
field equipment contractor
in connection with a Jan-
uary 2018 explosion and
school closures — painful
decisions made by Okla-
homa City school leaders
and under consideration by
Tulsa.
Epic Charter Schools
reported staggering student
growth, leading all other
districts in the number of
new students. Epic’s virtual
one-on-one school reported
17,106 students in 2019
and its blended learning
school reported 10,962.
The blended school’s count
includes all Epic students
who live in Oklahoma and
Tulsa counties, whether
they attend the blended
learning center or not.
Combined, Epic reported
over 28,000 students, a
32% increase compared to
2018. The school is under
investigation for its enroll-
ment practices and has
been accused of enroll-
statements Tuesday that
National Oilwell Varco in
primarily to blame for the
men’s deaths when the rig
exploded in Quinton.
Attorneys for the fami-
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
ing “ghost students,” or
students who enrolled in
Epic but received little to
no instruction. The school
also spent nearly $2.5
million on promoting and
advertising its school this
year, according to the Tulsa
World.
For the first time, Okla-
homa public schools
enrolled more than 700,000
students in 2019, continuing
a steady growth trend for
more than a decade. The
number of students enrolled
this year was 703,650 — a
0.7% percent increase over
2018, when there were
698,586 students. The total
number of students is up
49,000 from a decade ago.
These are students coming
into the public school
system through population
growth, family relocation, or
a switch from homeschool-
on site had no responsibil-
ities at the time of the fire
and explosion.
The families have
reached settlements with
Red Mountain Operating;
suspect
ing or private school.
Oklahoma is one of 21
states and the District of
Columbia that is projected
to grow its public school
enrollment by 5% or more
between 2014 and 2026,
according to the U.S.
Department of Educa-
tion, National Center for
Education Statistics.
Two new charter schools
opened for 2019: Sover-
eign Community School in
Oklahoma City reported
39 students and eSchool
Virtual Charter Academy
enrolled 44. Those new
schools offset the two
schools that closed in
2019: Langston Hughes
Academy charter school
in Tulsa and Swink, a
traditional public school
that was annexed by Fort
Towson.
Nearly all charters expe-
rienced student growth.
The highest
emy of Seminole, which
percent
increase was at The Acad-
grew eight-fold from 29 stu-
dents in 2018, its first year,
to 283 in 2019. Le Monde
International School, a
Norman school also in its
second year, added 70 stu-
dents.
Dove Schools of Tulsa
K M
reported an increase of
more than 200 students.
The number of students
at charters sponsored
by Oklahoma City Public
Schools held steady, while
the number at charters
sponsored by Tulsa Public
Schools increased by
almost 300 students.
Combined, there are
46,000 students in charter
schools—7,700 more than
last year (though most of
that growth was in Epic.)
Charter students still com-
prise a small percentage –
about 6.5% – of all public
school students in Okla-
homa.
Oklahoma City schools
this year closed 15
schools and reconfigured
others in a major district
restructuring, in part to
compensate for declining
enrollment. School leaders
found they were paying to
maintain many half-empty
buildings.
promised
The
to
district
reinvest
the savings in smaller
class sizes, music, art
and physical education
teachers at elementary
schools and science labs
at middle schools.
The district’s enrollment
has been declining since
St k B V hi l
racial integration—from a
high of 75,000 students in
the 1960s.
Schools using a four-day
week calendar are facing
an uphill battle to keep that
model following a new law
requiring an exemption for
a school to be in session-
fewer than 165 days.
The proposed exemp-
tion requirements – which
include average or above
student growth in English
and math for elemen-
tary schools and student
achievement, graduation
and postsecondary oppor-
tunities for middle and
high schools – are too
strict, according to a newly
formed advocacy group.
The districts using a four-
day week are nearly all
small and rural. Combined,
those districts lost more
than 800 students in 2019.
They were nearly split, with
just over half experiencing
an enrollment decline and
just under half adding stu-
dents. However, the two
largest districts using a
shortened week gained stu-
dents. Noble Public Schools
grew by 25 students, or less
than 1%, and Newcastle
grew by 105 students, or
nearly 5%.