John Thompson writes here about the remarkable transformation of education in Oklahoma since Commissioner of Education Ryan Walters resigned. Walters was obsessed with getting the Bible and the Ten Commandments into schools. Now that he’s gone, the professionals are back.

Thompson wrote:

Since former State Superintendent Ryan Walters was removed from office, I keep witnessing reasons for hope, as well as worries about whether Oklahoma politicians will be willing to support and fund the wonderful, grassroots programs necessary for building high-quality 21st century schools.

Whether he knew what he was doing or not, Gov. Kevin Stitt replaced Walters with Superintendent Lindel Fields, a former career tech leader, who is being widely praised by Democrats and Republicans. Megan Oftedal, a professional who led the Office of Education Quality and Accountability (OEQA), has joined Fields’ “turnaround team” for improving our schools. And Dr. Daniel Hamlin, a widely respected education scholar at the University of Oklahoma is the new Secretary of Education.

I commented at an OEQA meeting chaired by Dr. Hamlin, where numerous nonprofits presented solid plans for the team effort required in order to turn our system around. I felt like board members listened, whether they agreed with me or not, to my calls to remove stakes from standardized testing.  When conversing with Dr. Hamlin and others, I felt like it was 35 years-ago, when bipartisan experts came together to implement the HB 1017 tax increase, which saved public education in Oklahoma.

On the other hand, soon afterwards, the 2025 test scores were released. I had been trying to warn journalists and legislators that “astroturf” think tanks had been pushing the lie that Proficient scores, that are correlated with the reliable NAEP scores, were “grade level.” In fact, the cut scores, known as “Basic,” are the best indicators of grade level. The corporate reform ExcelinEd had been lobbying Oklahomans, persuading way too many people that the defense of true definition of grade level was an “honesty gap” pushed by educators.

And as I predicted, the press was filled with the lies that the Koch Brothers had funded. In fact, Oklahoma scores, admittedly, were bad, but they aren’t irreparably bad, as ExcelinEd implies. I would argue that the drop in Oklahoma’s student outcomes since 1998, was driven by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the subsequent push to reward and punish teachers based on standardized test scores.    

Then, I attended the interim committee led by House Representative Ellen Pogemiller on Chronic Absenteeism. Once again, I was thrilled by the quality of the presentations.

I was reminded of 15 years ago when the United Way hosted an in-depth study of how to reduce chronic absenteeism, and make up for “learning loss.” We were guided in many ways by research led by Johns Hopkins’ Robert Balfanz. The non-profit leaders who were attending the conferences were convinced by Balfanz’s work and why it would take a team effort to address chronic absenteeism.  To succeed, high-challenge students had to receive the same respect and opportunities as affluent students. These programs must provide the same type of holistic experiences that affluent families shared during vacations.

So, cognitive and social science said that if our chronic absenteeism program became seen as remediation, it would fail.

That is why I was so elated when one of the first speakers at the interim committee said we must move away from a “deficit-driven mindset.”

Instead, she embraced a “Cradle-to-the-Career” approach.

Service providers from Tulsa explained that almost 1/3rd of TPS students were chronically absent, with something schools having ½ of their students who were chronically absent. They explained that some students had no access to school buses because they lived 1-1/2 to 2 miles from their school.

They then explained the role of evictions, that was especially large because eviction windows were so short, and because of predatory landlords. This especially hurt pre-k and kindergarten students in apartment complexes that have especially high rates of absenteeism. That is why schools need family liaisons, student monitors, and resource coordinators.

The wrap-around services needed to overcome chronic absenteeism are expensive, but some have helped get nearly 100% of their kids back in school.

Yes, it was explained, sometimes suspensions, including longterm suspensions, are necessary. But providers in Moore explained how they minimize the punitive with a different type of alternative school, focused on building a better future for kids. And Norman educators described their different type of alternative suspension program. For instance, they offer a deal with students where their suspensions are reduced if they attend programs to get to root causes of interconnected problems. The suspension rate for kids who follow that path has fallen dramatically.

By the way, their presentations reminded me of the evidence-based recommendations of MAPS for Kids, before NCLB forced schools to abandon so many of their best efforts to serve kids.

Some schools have created an Absenteeism Office, and their findings were illuminative. In one district, 80% of chronical absent teens were couch-surfing.  That makes it difficult to locate and connect with them. But, when attendance officers reach out, they see the impact of chronic absenteeism on mental and physical health.

And there seemed to be widespread agreement regarding the value of “high dose tutoring.”

And even though Oklahoma schools do not have enough service providers and enough ability to physically connect and communicate, tele-health programs facilitate timely “Looped systems” of communicating with students, families, school officials, and health and mental health providers.

Even though these Cradle-to-Career efforts are expensive, if we prioritize them, we all will benefit. The interim study, following the conversations at the OEQA, inspired hope.

But, I later learned of a different type of meeting with legislators that occurred that day, calling for a return to the punitive by holding back 3rd graders who do not pass their reading test. Yes, teaching reading is crucial but it also is complicated. It requires background knowledge, as well as phonics, to teach reading for comprehension. And, real world, the evidence regarding both the benefits and the harm of holding back 3rd graders is mixed.

Even if the over-simplified spin that ExcelinEd spreads about the “Science of Reading” were true, far more funding would be required to produce longterm gains for Oklahoma students.

On one hand, it took decades of funding by the “Billionaires Boys Club” to sell their quick fixes and slanders about public schools. Our kids have suffered for nearly a quarter of a century due to their agenda. It will take years and years to reverse the damage they’ve sowed. But these evidence-based, humane events that I’ve witnessed are an awesome starting point.