This school year will mark my first not spent in an Oklahoma classroom in some capacity in decades. Oklahoma public schools molded me into the person I am today and provided me a safe place to grow as both a student and a teacher.
This summer, I left Oklahoma because Ryan Walters’ agenda to turn the state’s schools into a political playground no longer serves the values I hold dear as an educator. I needed to leave so I could speak out against this danger without fear of losing my job daily for teaching a true, unabridged history of this nation and supporting students regardless of their background.
I hope that my words can spur Oklahomans to reject the threatening scheme that the state schools superintendent brings to public education. Walters is dangerous to public education in Oklahoma, and everywhere. He doesn’t uphold the Oklahoma Standard of acting with kindness and honor. Additionally, his policies are dividing Oklahomans and distracting from the vision of the Oklahoma State Department of Education to provide “all Oklahoma students … a high-quality education.”