State Superintendent Ryan Walters highlighted the tremendous success of the teacher singing bonus initiative in a message to media today.  The pioneering program awarded signing bonuses to 523 certified teachers hired to teach in critical shortage areas of PreK – 3 and Special Education, including 67 who moved across the country to teach Oklahoma students and take part in the program.  Out of the 523 awarded teachers, 76 percent were employed in high-poverty or rural districts.

“Innovative solutions like the teacher bonus program are the key to getting Oklahoma schools back on the right track,” said Walters. “Any fake controversy Democrats and Republicans controlled by the teachers unions try to drum up will not dim the overwhelming success of this program. Previous small-scale programs have not worked, so we had to disrupt the market clearly and decisively to invest in our high-need areas. We will continue to disrupt the status quo, introduce free market principles in our education system, and unleash to power of innovation to reward our best teachers and help our students achieve great things.”

Applicants committed to teaching for five years to be eligible for the program. As protection for taxpayers’ investment, districts are directed to claw back a prorated amount from teachers who fail to fulfill that commitment. The initiative was cited by the US Department of Education as a solution for other states to follow to address teacher shortages in high-need areas.

Comments from bonus recipients give a full picture of the impact of the program on teachers and the students they serve:

• “It was a deciding factor. I had planned to finish out my career in North Carolina, but the bonus and recent Oklahoma pay raise influenced me and changed my mind.”
• “I was able to make the choice to stay in the classroom and teach, opposed to looking for a position in administration.”
• “I was originally planning to stay in Texas for another 3 years while we worked on our property here and the bonus helped me make the move to Oklahoma.”
• “It made my decision easier to come home where I wanted to be and still teach.”
• “It just gave me confirmation from God that moving to Oklahoma was right where I was supposed to be.”

Sadly, opposition to innovation in education is also fueled by mockingbird media too lazy to find creative educational perspectives, but quick to interview union hacks, superintendent minions, and mindless bureaucrats protecting bloated administrative budgets and authority.

The good news is that people of honor are gaining traction both elected and running for public office. Oklahomans are remembering our populous attitudes and moral foundations. Independent writers are investigating and confronting the morally bankrupt Leftists – many in positions of authority over children.

Editor’s Note: To learn how Oklahoma School Districts have hired and protected Drag Queens as elementary school principals who then hire their pedophile friends, V1SUT Vantage on Substack is the current media leader on this sick, sordid, and (hopefully) temporary tale. Organizations like Oklahoma Predator Prevention have also formed to expose criminality and Oklahoma law enforcement is no longer oblivious. It is a question: If we cannot protect the innocence of children…. how moral a society are we? If we allow even one child to be at risk, are we then upright enough to protect our own offspring?