Report Shows Oklahoma City Falls Short of Some MAPS for KIDS Goals

By Kirsten McIntyre, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Public School District is getting a mixed report card. A volunteer task force, organized by the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, released its assessment of MAPS for KIDS.

The task force reported the district's improvement in facilities is a major accomplishment. However, the task force said that academic progress has fallen short of goals set forth in the original 2001 plan.

Read the task force's MAPS FOR KIDS assessment of 2009

Chairman of the task force and of the foundation's board of trustees Dave Lopez, said MAPS for KIDS is no longer about paying the one penny sales tax, but its now about the community getting personally involved.

"Now, it's really about finding a role for each one of us," Lopez said. "Whether we're part of an organization, whether we're a neighbor of the school, whether we're a grandparent seeing how our kids are doing, a business that is going to have to depend on the product of these schools for our future workforce or just an average citizen that knows education is the key to our democracy."

Lopez cited a number of dramatic changes facing the district. He said since 2001, there's been a shift in demographics and socioeconomic status. A third of the district's students consider English their second language.

"Ultimately, it will mean we'll have a lot of bilingual students going into the workforce, but in the short run it means we have to adjust the way we deliver education to that population," Lopez said.

Also, 90 percent of the district's children are on reduced or free lunches. To qualify, the income for a family of four is $21,200 or less.

Karl Springer is in his second year as superintendent for the Oklahoma City Public School District. He helped with the report and said community and parental involvement are the keys to changing the future.

"Parents please understand, the most important thing that happens in a child's life is your expectations, your dreams for that child. We don't need to limit any dreams," Springer said.

Another key point noted in the assessment was that only half of six graders get their high school diplomas from Oklahoma City Public Schools. The report cited the students are either dropping out of school or their parents are moving them to other districts.