Oklahoma Department Of Education Explains School Standard Changes

The state's new standards are actually the old ones, and Monday, Oklahoma's Department of Education explained some of the changes, while parents and teachers got to share their visions for the future.

Monday, October 20th 2014, 10:55 pm

By: Tess Maune

Oklahoma Department Of Education Explains School Standard Changes

What's old is new again, at least for Oklahoma public school students. Parents and teachers met with representatives of the Oklahoma Department of Education Monday to hear about new school standards.

Oklahoma public schools have had many changes in 2014.

“It is kind of a tense time for education, but also a hopeful time that we're going to start moving in a positive direction,” said Tricia Pemberton with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Pemberton said the Oklahoma State Department of Education is looking to parents and teachers, hoping their past experiences in the classroom help build a better future.

“We want to carry those things on into future generations, even while some things need to change, some things can remain the same and we can build on past successes,” she said.

The department is holding a series of Town Hall Meetings across the state. One of the key points is to clear up misconceptions about the state's new academic standards.

“Every set of standards goes through a normal cycle where they're updated every seven years, six or seven years,” Pemberton said.

She said standards for social studies, arts and sciences were recently updated - a group effort by Oklahoma teachers and the department - but math and English fell under the federally set standards known as Common Core.

Since lawmakers repealed those standards over the summer, schools are now using PASS - Priority Academic Student Skills.

6/5/2014 Related Story: Governor Fallin Signs Bill To Repeal, Replace Common Core Standards

PASS is what districts followed for years before Common Core was approved in 2010.

Owasso parent and teacher, Shannon Chatwin said, “I believe that Common Core and PASS can meld together.”

Chatwin hopes the department will put more trust in the teachers and give them freedom to do what they believe is best.

“I feel it's very important to get our kids outside. If we're stuck inside learning everything from a book, that's nothing like hands-on experience,” she said.

The department said some of the ideas and suggestions could actually be implemented in two years, when yet another set of standards rolls out.

Before we get there, there are a number of other town hall meetings.

All meetings will be at 6 p.m., except for the meeting in Guymon, which will take place at 4 p.m.

Each meeting should last about an hour. The dates are as follows: