Rep. Donnie Condit jumped on a McAlester school bus at 6:40 a.m.

Rep. Weldon Watson spent all day at Tulsa Memorial High School and stayed for a student council meeting after school.

Sen. Gary Stanislawski worked with scissors and glue and pre-kindergarteners at Eliot Elementary in Tulsa.

The state legislators where three of 48 enthusiastic participants in G.L.E.E. Week, the Oklahoma Education Association’s Giving Legislators an Educational Experience. Most of the back-to-school visits took place during American Education Week. The event was designed to give legislators a first-hand look at a public school classroom and to help teachers establish relationships with elected officials from their districts.

“G.L.E.E. Week was tremendous success. I think those legislators who participated really saw the great things going on in our schools,” said Linda Hampton, OEA president. “I hope they gained some real insight into just how tough a job we have, but also how much teachers and support professionals love the children.”

Several legislators spend a full day in a school. While Condit is a former administrator in McAlester Public Schools, he still committed to a wide variety of tasks. He served a bus monitor, helped serve lunch, answered phones in the office, and spent time in classrooms.

“I was very impressed with the dedication, professionalism and compassion that the teachers, administrators and other employees showed during my visit,” said Rep. Gus Blackwell, who visited Buffalo Public Schools. “The one problem I saw was that state and federal mandates are making it very difficult for schools like Buffalo to meet the needs of their students."
 
Following is a list of legislators and the schools they visited during G.L.E.E. Week.

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