TPS Gaining Over 350 New Teachers

After a summer of intense recruiting, Tulsa Public Schools has a lot of new teachers in training.

More than 350 new Tulsa teachers spent the day learning how TPS expects them to handle classrooms, some learning new methods of instruction.

Tulsa's math curriculum, called Eureka math, is new, even to most new teachers, like Precious Lango, a new Tulsa recruit.

"That allows us to explain math, the same math we all knew, to our students in a different way,” said Lango. “It gives them a more visual representation and it works so students can conceptually work out the problem, work out the application of the math problems."

This is one of the subject specific classes for teachers this week.

Elsewhere teachers are learning Tulsa's style for lesson plans and classroom management.

TPS has learned when teachers get more support, early on, they're more likely to perform well and stay with the district.

"We know there are specific Tulsa approaches and the Tulsa way we do things that we want everybody to know and start the year grounded in,” said Katy Ackley, Director of New Teacher Support.

Students will be in classrooms in two weeks counting on the new teachers.

Even as Tulsa continues last minute hiring, most of the new teachers are going through this week of training.

A handful are experienced teachers coming from other districts, like Paul Haney who this year will teach elementary students after 15 years in a high school.

"We were getting lots of high school kids who weren't ready to be in high school, so I decided it was my job to maybe go down to the elementary grades and help prepare kids for life down the road,” said Haney.