New school

Incoming Tulsa Public Schools superintendent Dr. Deborah Gist is a policy innovator with a proven track record. But some Tulsa educators fear her approach is too heavy-handed.

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Cause for concern?

Why some educators are opposed to Gist’s appointment.

The knock: She’s a corporate puppet. Those who see Gist as a “Bill Gates robot” suspect she’s compliant with the corporate reform model of school change. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a major hand in a movement toward more accountability in public schools, more rigorous teacher evaluation and re-designing public schools to accommodate U.S. geopolitical challenges and the work world ahead. Gates critics sometimes overlook the fascinating pilot work the foundation has sponsored, including tiny experimental high schools of 100 kids or fewer. The foundation also backed the teacher evaluation program implemented in Oklahoma over the past few years. It’s research-based and resulted from an inclusive teacher-engagement process. 

The knock: She’s a lefty reformer. Another set sees Gist as an under-the-radar, left-wing schools crusader beholden to U.N. protocols for a “world education agenda” of some kind. They believe her association with Obama’s education administration and the Common Core curriculum (formally rejected by Oklahoma) is evidence enough to make this case.

The knock:  Her approach is misguided. Though they’re willing to give Gist a chance in Tulsa, some in this faction—mostly comprised of dedicated local teachers and public school advocates—are concerned she’s stuck in the millennial notions of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation. To complicate matters, Oklahoma has forfeited some features of No Child Left Behind under penalty from the feds after pulling out of the Common Core State Standards, and the legislation might change radically under the new Republican Senate.

What if?

Mathematica Policy Research recently looked at results from a radical teacher compensation/charter school experiment in New York City.

Imagine a school that pays all teachers $125,000 to start. The Equity Project (TEP) charter school of 480 students opened in 2009 with a focus on the centrality of teacher quality to student performance. Early student achievement results were dramatic. TEP operates with a skeletal teaching staff of about 25. 

Public schools in Tulsa are funded overwhelmingly by taxpayers and property owners. But there is another avenue. In 2001, Oklahoma City secured voter approval for “MAPS for Kids,” a $700 million sales tax package for new schools, computers and buses. Tulsans have funded such improvements via bond issues, including the largest package in state history (more than $350 million) a few years ago, and voting on a $415 million bond issue is slated for March 3. Perhaps we could emulate OKC but use the sales tax dollars to dramatically raise teacher salaries.

What if TPS administrators and union officials mapped a model to increase teacher pay by $25,000 to $35,000? It wouldn’t match TEP’s $125,000, but it would enable our master teachers to rise above the $50k that comes only after a 25-year tenure and a doctorate. 

Want more stories like this? Read Ray's piece on parks and reformation or Molly's story about the potential outlet mall development on Turkey Mountain.