Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Superintendent Ryan Walters is pleased to announce that just after one month of being in the marketplace, Oklahoma’s “Teacher Signing Bonus” program has officially become the largest teacher recruitment program in state history, and one of the best in the country. Since the week of April 26th, the “Teacher Signing Bonus” program has received nearly 500 applicants:

• 95% of applicants have Oklahoma certifications
• 14% of applicants have multi-state certifications, including

Texas, Mississippi, Michigan,

Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri, Maryland, Arkansas

• 5% of applicants have out-of-state certifications only, including

Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Louisiana

• 1 applicant from outside the United States
• 268 applicants are certified for PK-3 general education
• 195 applicants are certified for PK-12 special education

“For decades, Oklahoma has struggled to recruit and maintain quality teachers into the state. At this time last year under the previous administration, Oklahoma was losing teachers faster than could be recovered. This year however, we are one of the nation’s leaders in teacher recruitment and have proved that when we combine private sector solutions with education, the biggest winners are parents and children. Oklahoma wants the best and brightest teachers from throughout the country to teach in Oklahoma, and the Teacher Recruitment Program is providing those results.” – Ryan Walters