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Tag: Teachers

Oklahoma hired 1,741 additional public school teachers

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma has seen significant growth in its teacher workforce with the addition of 1,751 certified classroom teachers since the 2017-18 school year. During the past two legislative sessions, lawmakers passed back-to-back pay increases averaging approximately $7,400 per teacher, boosting Oklahoma’s teacher pay to the top of the region. In the 2017-18 school year, Oklahoma’s classroom…

NEA wants Oklahoma teachers to promote new gun-control laws

Tulsa Beacon

The National Education Association is urging its members, which include a sizable share of Oklahoma teachers, to lobby Congress to pass new gun-control laws. The call to support gun control came in the NEA’s “EdAction in Congress” email newsletter, which the organization touts as providing “action alerts and news about the latest federal legislation affecting…

Deer Creek teacher is the teacher of the year

Tulsa Beacon

A middle school teacher from Deer Creek Schools is Oklahoma’s 2020 Teacher of the Year. Jena Nelson teaches 7th and 8th grade English composition and academic enhancement at Deer Creek Middle School in Edmond. A 14-year educator who has taught two years at Deer Creek Middle School, Nelson openly speaks about past childhood trauma and…

Jenks teacher Kirbey Dietzel is a finalist for teacher of the year

Tulsa Beacon

Kirbey Dietzel, who teaches fifth-grade math and science at Jenks East Intermediate School, has been named one of the 12 finalists for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. Dietzel has been a teacher for eight years and has been at Jenks for six years. All finalists were named teachers of the year for their respective districts…

New fund is named for BA teacher of the year Donna Gradel

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoma Fund for Teachers has started an annual teacher professional development grant in honor of Broken Arrow High School environmental science teacher Donna Gradel, the current reigning Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and a top-four finalist for National Teacher of the Year. Gradel, a two-time Fund for Teachers fellow, was honored at a recent…

Stitt’s budget includes teacher pay hikes and savings

Tulsa Beacon

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s budget sets aside $200 million in savings, pumps an extra $203 million into public education and gives teachers an annual pay hike of $1,220. The House passed the budget on Friday and now it goes to the Senate. The budget has an additional $157.7 million for common education (K-12) and $28 million…

Editorial: GOP saved the retirement funds

Tulsa Beacon

If you are a retired public school teacher, you should thank the Republicans in the Legislature for making sure you retirement check is there every month. In 2009, after 100 years of Democrat leadership, the teacher retirement fund had 49.8 percent of the amount of money needed to pay every teacher who was eligible to…

$1,200 teacher raise advances

Tulsa Beacon

In a bipartisan, unanimous vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week advanced a House teacher pay raise bill . House Bill 1780 by Speaker Charles McCall would implement a $1,200 teacher pay raise bill at a cost of $70 million annually. President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, is the Senate author of the bill….

Tax credits for teachers

Tulsa Beacon

The House of Representatives unanimously passed a measure that would provide Oklahoma school teachers some financial relief when they spend money out of pocket for their classrooms. House Bill 2502, by House Speaker Charles McCall, would provide a $1,000 tax credit that teachers can claim for classroom expenditures and fees associated with the teacher certification…

No to teacher bonus ban

Tulsa Beacon

A measure to prohibit the use of state funds for recruitment bonuses for teachers failed narrowly in the Senate, 22-20.  Retired educator Sen. Ron Sharp said he authored Senate Bill 57 to stop the practice of virtual charter schools rewarding teachers financially with state appropriated dollars for successfully recruiting other teachers and students to their…