Education Week and PBS Explain Why More than Forty Teachers are Running for Office in Oklahoma
Every Oklahoman should watch “an awesome video” produced by Education Week’s Lisa Stark and aired on PBS NewsHour about teachers running for office and parents leading the battle to rebuild our state’s schools. They should also readDaarel Burnette’s coverage of the grassroots uprising in Education Week. Edweek and PBS report:
After ousting the state’s superintendent in a 2014 primary, the loosely organized group of educators from around the state successfully campaigned to scrap the state’s teacher-evaluation system that was tied to students’ test scores. They notched another victory when they lobbied to defeat a bill backed by Republican Gov. Mary Fallin that would’ve expanded the use of vouchers. ... So last spring, when someone suggested to their Facebook group that they start legislating themselves, more than 40 teachers filed to run for the state legislature.
The report features Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Shawn Sheehan who is running for office in Norman because the state has fallen so far that we “don’t have anything to lose.” Another high-profile candidate is Mickey Dollens, who previously had been a college football player, an Olympic bobsledder, and an oilfield roughneck, who was laid off after his first year teaching at Grant High School in Oklahoma City. Edweek and PBS also report on Judy Mullen Hopper, a veteran special education teacher who abruptly retired “out of frustration with new teacher evaluations and testing requirements for students with disabilities.”
The report features Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Shawn Sheehan who is running for office in Norman because the state has fallen so far that we “don’t have anything to lose.” Another high-profile candidate is Mickey Dollens, who previously had been a college football player, an Olympic bobsledder, and an oilfield roughneck, who was laid off after his first year teaching at Grant High School in Oklahoma City. Edweek and PBS also report on Judy Mullen Hopper, a veteran special education teacher who abruptly retired “out of frustration with new teacher evaluations and testing requirements for students with disabilities.”
Mid-Del Superintendent Rick Cobb says, “The frustration from parents, students and teachers just reached a critical mass.” EdWeek reports that the political tipping point was crossed after “an electrifying rally in 2014, when more than 25,000 Education Week and PBS Explain Why More than Forty Teachers are Running for Office in Oklahoma... - Linkis.com:
