Tulsa is a passionate city that has a made significant progress in the past decade through the booming revitalization of our downtown and by becoming a nationally recognized hub for economic development where entrepreneurs can learn, grow and thrive. We have transformed into a vibrant community in many aspects, but there’s still progress to be made in our education system. Our city is hungry to make a lasting impact, and it starts with education.

Too many of Oklahoma's children are educationally disadvantaged as a result of Oklahoma’s state budget shortfalls and severe teacher shortages. Locally in Tulsa that means many students lack access to high-quality schools and often face a stream of substitute teachers. The need for change in Oklahoma public education has never been greater. Teach For America – Greater Tulsa is committed to cultivating a large, diverse, and thriving community of corps members, alumni, and staff that strive for educational excellence in partnership with other local educators, school communities and community partners. After only seven years in Greater Tulsa, our growing leadership force of 400-plus individuals has consistently made a meaningful impact in our classrooms and regularly accelerates into leadership positions throughout our region in education and a variety of other sectors that impact educational opportunity.

We honor and acknowledge that Northeast Oklahoma, the regional area of our conference, is the ancestral homeland to several tribes. The Quapaws, Wichitas, Caddos and Osages all lived in the area on the eastern side of the state. Tulsa is the nexus of the treaty homelands of several tribes – the Cherokee, Creek and Osage Nations – who were removed from their grander territories in the 19th century to Oklahoma. That land was stolen again in the 1880s and 1890s through the Dawes Act/Homestead Acts. Oklahoma is present day territory to 39 federally recognized tribes. In 2010, Oklahoma had the second-largest American Indian population with the highest concentration found in the Tulsa-Broken Arrow metropolitan area (8.3%).

Teach For America’s summer teacher training institute at The University of Tulsa, among Teach For America’s largest in the nation, continues our teachers’ impact into the summer. During this institute, the success of which is fueled by Tulsa Public Schools and The Community Action Project, corps members from across the country come together to provide 5,000 Tulsa children the opportunity to attend summer school. Our children play a central role in the success of our city, and we will continue to develop path-changing leaders who share a goal of ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education. Teach For America – Greater Tulsa is a proud member of the Oklahoma AmeriCorps service network and proud to host LEAD 2018 this summer!

Background photo credit: Maggie Cooper Instagram: @magma82