Opinion: “There is no reason a child cannot read before they are in third grade,” former State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said in 2019. “But our teachers have to teach based on the science of reading, and that is not happening across this state. It is happening in pockets.”
While I disagreed with Hofmeister on many issues, I give her credit where credit is due: She spoke a hard truth about the severity of Oklahoma’s reading crisis.
The problem persists. And it is unacceptable.
In the stunning flow of President Donald J. Trump’s necessary governmental reforms, it is hard to keep up with what media has called the “fire hose of news.” Your local robust conservative outlet, Tulsa Today, is therefore glad to highlight a Presidential Executive Order we hope becomes a part of future legislation. It is focused on Federal Grantmaking “while ending offensive waste of tax dollars.”
The Executive Order is reproduced below and should be in every grant writers’ top drawer.
Yesterday in a memorandum to the Secretary of Education, President Donald J. Trump has officially directed adherence to the Supreme Court of the United States that “has definitively held that consideration of race in higher education admissions violates students’ civil rights.”
Further, “the persistent lack of available data — paired with the rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies — continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in practice. Greater transparency is essential to exposing unlawful practices and ultimately ridding society of shameful, dangerous racial hierarchies.“
State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Friday in a media release, the transformative shift in Oklahoma’s approach to student assessment, marking the end of traditional statewide summative assessments (testing).
Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year, the Oklahoma State Department of Education will allow districts to use approved benchmark assessments in place of the current high-stakes end-of-year tests for grades 3–8 in Math and English Language Arts.
Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow is celebrating Fall Hunting Classic with an educational meet and greet event today featuring Brian “Pigman” and Junie Quaca along with a free outdoor cookout.
The professional hunters behind “Pigman: The Series” will be available for a meet and greet and educational session to help hunters make the most of their time outside in the fall and winter ahead. Discussions with pro staff will range in topics from selecting gear for the hunt to controlling feral hog populations and beyond – all while highlighting the vital role hunters play in conservation.
