Academic Excellence

Powerful learning experiences require exceptional teachers, a strong curriculum, and high-quality texts and classroom resources. To increase academic rigor and advance student achievement, our teachers worked with new curricula for English language arts - Core Knowledge Language Arts and AmplifyELA. In mathematics, teachers focused on building students' conceptual understanding – supporting them to be able to solve the problems of the future. These are some of the ways that we are improving teaching and learning in Tulsa Public Schools:

• Increasing access to and use of complex texts, a key indicator for college readiness (up 28%);
• Increasing use of hands-on materials in mathematics, allowing students to solve problems in multiple ways; and
• Expanding opportunities for teachers to engage in professional learning and collaboration.

Early impact:

• 31 percentage point increase in English classes using high-quality texts
• 4 percentage point increase in students reaching reading proficiency by third grade
• 4 percentage point increase in reading growth
• 3 percentage point increase in math growth
• 3 percentage point increase in proficiency