ROCKY PATHWAY
OKC district reports progress, unease after consolidations
Tremors f r om a massive shake-up in Oklahoma City Public Schools are still rumbling one full semester since district consolidations.
Over the summer, the school district closed 15 schools and reconfigured 17 more to save funds and battle decreasing enrollment. Superintendent Sean McDaniel praised the district community for embracing large-scale changes, but he said many still feel unsettled.
“This is radical change that upset the apple cart for thousands of people,” McDaniel said. “And so, we know that there was and still is heartburn and anxiety, and people are upset. But, we believe the end result — in fact, we're starting to see some results now — is
worth it.”
McDaniel listed positive outcomes from the consolidation plan, known as Pathway to Greatness, while speaking with media on Tuesday. All 33 of the district' s elementary schools are staffed with a full-time school counselor, something only 24% of them had last year.
Oklahoma City schools have preserved programs for arts, music and physical education while other districts have eliminated electives due to lack of funding, McDaniel said.
The district estimated it would cost $11 million to implement the consolidation plan, but its efficiency would save $4,049,000 annually.
The $4 million in savings would go toward reducing class sizes, adding school nurses and counselors, hiring more assistant principals and putting more dollars toward classroom needs.
Despite certain successes, McDaniel was clear this was no victory lap. The district had numerous problems over the past semester.
Increases in school services and electives, which McDaniel has called “trade-ups,” haven't been found at every Oklahoma City school.
The local branch of the American Federation of Teachers surveyed its 1,200 members after Pathway to Greatness. The survey found 18% of the union's members didn't see any trade-ups at their school. Twenty-five
percent said their school had received all the promised improvements, and 37% said they had seen some trade-ups.
“While life is good in Oklahoma City Public Schools, we have an enormous amount of work to do,” McDaniel said. “We understand the ch allenges that are before us. We understand where we have fallen short, and we are very solution-oriented with this team.”
Troubled transportation
Transportation issues have been exacerbated, as the district completely remapped and added bus routes — all with a shortage of drivers. Students have seen lengthy wait times for pickup sand drop-offs.
The district has
increased pay to boost recruitment of new drivers, said Scott Randall, chief operations officer.
“That's overall how we really improve the accuracy in terms of estimating pickup times, delivery times, drop- off times,” Randall said.
“We have continued to work in that regard to increase our driver pay ... and we continue to actively recruit and find ways to even train up our own drivers.”
Class sizes are still a challenge. The superintendent said class sizes increased in some schools after consolidations, even though Pathway to Greatness promised to reduce class sizes for elementary and middle schools.
An unexpected surge in enrollment caused Ta ft Middle School to
relocate its fifth graders to Linwood Elementary, which closed last year. Students in sixth through eighth grade remain in the original Taft building.
Lin wood will stay as Taft's fifth-grade center for the 2020-21 school year after projections indicated similar enrollment numbers next year, McDaniel said.
F. D. Moon Middle School will make a similar move next year by hosting its fifth graders in the vacant Edwards Elementary. This will allow more space to complete MAPS renovations at the middle school.
Outside of closing and consolidating schools, the district re defined fifth grade as a middle school level. This caused fear among parents, who were reluctant to put their fifth-grade children in the
same halls as teenagers.
Deputy Superintendent Jason Brown said middle schools can still be successful serving fifth through eighth grade. However, fifth grade rs should be insulated from the older student body, he said.
A school can separate grade levels within the same campus by grouping their classroom sin different areas and ensuring different grades don't travel in between classes at the same time.
“It' s the first time in a really long time that there's a middle school philosophy of what does middle school education look like ,” Brown said. “We do think that middle school philosophy works nationwide and the middle school philosophy will work herein Oklahoma City.”