Tulsa Tales: Districts at Work MiniPods

Many school system initiatives struggle to get results. Why? All of us who care about education — district staff, community leaders, principals, teachers (and the people who love them) — know that school districts face huge challenges: from persistent achievement gaps, to teacher shortages. And we know how frustrating it feels when strategic plans and best efforts don’t produce significantly better results for teachers and students. It was hard for teachers in Tulsa Public Schools to meet their students’ diverse needs and deliver instruction that met new, more rigorous standards. This challenge was exacerbated by high levels of teacher turnover (especially among new teachers) and low levels of education funding. By (1) clearly defining what schools needed to be successful, and (2) shifting resources and designing processes to give schools the support they need, the district IS getting traction and seeing results. In this mini-podcast, real school and district leaders share details about what they did and how they did it.