FCPE: What level of funding do you believe Oklahoma’s K-12 public schools need, and as State Superintendent, what would you do to advocate for funding?
April Grace: “Well, I think we all know that per-pupil funding is not where we need it to be. Right? We’re dramatically lagging behind the region and obviously, you know, we hear a lot of conversation about top 10.
“If we want to be top 10, that’d be a great area to be top 10 in. Let’s start there so we can get the resources and support for the classroom.
“You know, as State Superintendent, I think, you know, one of your main roles is to be advocating for the 700,000 students across the state and the 80,000 employees that work in those buildings as well in our 500-plus school districts.
“So that main role would be advocating, working with legislators and trying to continue to advocate for those additional dollars. Because we know in order to get teacher raises, we’ve got to continue to work also on operational corps.
“What I hear a lot from teachers is yes, they want additional pay raises; but at the same time, they also want resources and support in the classroom. And the only way we’re going to do that is if we can increase the funding for education.
“We also need to keep pushing for more counselors, blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to get too much in the weeds here and go too far off because I know you’ve got a lot of questions.
“But, you know, we’re about — we’re over a billion dollars short in getting to I think the regional — not maybe the regional average, but getting up in that higher number to where we need to be.
“So when we talk about educational funding, this is a critical piece. But we got to get people to understand this is an investment. So, it’s not just expenditure, it’s not just, you know, this thing around the state’s neck.
“But this is an investment. It’s an investment in Oklahoma’s future, it’s an investment in our kids. Education is a critical component of economic development.
“So those are some of the ways and the conversations I would have around that funding aspect for advocating.”
FCPE: Do you support using public funds for tuition for private schools?
April Grace: “Again, I do not support anything that would divert funds away from our public schools. We already have established we’re way behind on per-pupil funding, so we don’t need to do anymore to water down the system, slice up the pie.
“So, again, if that’s something that folks think they want to do, then I think it’s got to have all the accountability, all the transparency, all the metrics of measurement. To me, that’s the only way you support pushing public dollars anyplace else.
“And I don’t think those folks want that.”
FCPE: As State Superintendent, what would you do to recruit and retain a larger number of high quality teachers and education support professionals in Oklahoma?
April Grace: “So I think there are a number of things we have to do. When I think of teacher shortage or just think of the employee shortage in general for our schools, I think this is a multilayered approach that we have to do.
“I’ve already sort of began some conversations with a group to look at how do we develop our own Teach for Oklahoma program, that’s specific to Oklahoma. That can be compelling. I think we have to keep multiple onramps into the profession.
“But at the same time, I think we’ve got to really get really serious about incentivizing the traditional pathway as well. Because we know that those high-quality teachers that go through the robust training, we know that they’re the ones that are going to be very impactful and they’re going to have the tools necessary.
“However, we can’t really afford at this point to close off all these other onramps. It’s one of the few professions that has had such a narrow onramp.
“So we’ve got to be really intentional about this. I think we’ve got to get our young people engaged in the process, making sure that our high school kiddos are having opportunity through their internship, opportunities to be in classrooms. We’ve got to get really active about encouraging them.
“But I think we’ve got to restore some respect to the profession, number one. One of the things that I have kind of been working on and looking at is how do we do a really broadscale marketing plan that is happening all the time.
“So when we see commercials in between the news or whatever, that we’re highlighting the great things going on in our public schools. Because we know that there are things going on everywhere.
“So I think the State Department’s done a really good job of highlighting a lot of videos, you know, about these great things going on and they have those ‘Shape my Life.’
“What I’d like to see is see those running on the news more frequently or in between as commercials in sort of a broadscale marketing campaign. Really just lifting up public schools and lifting up the profession.
“We see little bits of that, but I think we’re going to have to get a lot more intentional about highlighting the great things on the profession, and that’s going to take a lot of us working together to do that.
“I also think we’ve got to look at, you know, looking at the teacher pay table an we’ve got to work to continue to bring up the minimum salary.
“At the same time, I think we’ve got to be very strategic and intentional about incentivizing a Step 5, a Step 10, a Step 15, a Step 20, a Step 25.
“And I’m kind of making up numbers here. But if I know — you know, most districts’ folks get, like, a $300 raise per step. So it’s not even enough to even, like, know anything about your paycheck change.
“So, who do we, you know, get people to stay -and for that five years, because when I hit Step 5, I’m going to get this additional $3000 stipend, or whatever; and then when I hit Step 20 or Step 10, I’m going to get $5000; Step 15, I’m going to get seven, you know.
“And so, how do we get folks to just sort of narrow in on staying five more years because they know in five more years, they’re going to get another big bump in pay. But I think we’ve got to be really strategic about how we do that.
“I think we’ve got to do things, like, bring back the National Board stipend and bring back -work on bringing back those scholarships to support that.
“We know it’s an incredibly robust professional development experience for folks who go through it and I think that’s another way to incentivize. And I know there’s lot of talk about micro credentials and all these things, and that’s great; but nobody’s putting any money behind that.
“So, we’ve got to work towards, you know, putting money behind these things. So I just think it’s going to be a really multilayered approach.
“But at the same time, we’ve got to respect support folks that come in. You know, are we distinguishing between people who have a bachelor’s degree and experience from outside in the work field, and just work in general?
“The work I’ve done as we’ve recognized everyone’s experience, even if they’ve just work. So it’s two-for-one credit if you’ve just had a job and you’ve had a job and you’ve had some work experience, just so we could get them a little higher on the pay scale as support individuals.
“So, I really think — you know, there are a number of things we’ve got to do and we’ve got to be really creative about it. But I think we’re going to have to, you know, be super-intentional about it too.
“Scholarships and all those things are great, but I think people have got to know they can count on consistent ongoing pay raises in this profession. And that when they hit certain milestones, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years, there’s another additional jump in their pay that’s pretty substantial.
“And so, you know, we’ll have to work at it. It won’t be a light switch. This is something that’s going to take time, but it’s going to take all of us doing that work together.”
FCPE: What is your position on educating the whole child?
April Grace: “So, I think, you know, one of the things we have to do – and we all know this because we all love this every day. Educating the whole child is incredibly important.
“We’ve seen, you know, a rise in mental health. We have, you know, kids, sadly, that contemplate suicide that really think about that.
“So this mental health aspect in looking at all pieces, we really have to continue to do and to be intentional.
“And those of us serving in districts where we have a high poverty rate, we really have a huge responsibility. I’m big — I’m a big believer in wraparound services within our schools.
“And so, for me, we have to take in the whole child.
“Academics are important. We all know it’s important. That’s where we have to be focused a good portion of our effort. But we also all understand that we can’t get the academics done if we don’t take care of some of these other pieces as well. And so they go hand-in-hand.
“And I think we’ve got to, you know, really be intentional with our early childhood kiddos and make sure they’re getting enough exploration and really looking at what’s developmentally appropriate for them.
“So, I really absolutely think the whole child is the only way to really look at education, to be honest.”
