TULSA’S STREET SCHOOL TO RECEIVE

INAUGURAL ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION AWARD

 

May 27, 2009

                                                                                     

            OKLAHOMA CITY – The Street School of TULSA has been named the first recipient of the Oklahoma Award for Outstanding Achievement in Alternative Education presented by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

            The $5,000 award will be presented among state alternative school peers at the Superintendent’s Alternative Education Summer Institute on July 30 at the Meridian Convention Center in Oklahoma City.  

            The Street School is a tuition-free, non-profit alternative school of choice and therapeutic counseling program founded in 1972 in downtown Tulsa. Now a part of the Tulsa Public Schools district, the Street School serves approximately 140 students between the ages of 14 and 19 each year who are at risk of dropping out. The program supports students in meeting several goals, including graduating on time; completing an individual treatment plan; and acquiring the life skills and communication skills needed to be a good citizen, employee and parent.

            “We are delighted to recognize the Street School of Tulsa for its innovative programs and its exceptional record of helping at-risk youth complete high school and prepare for success in society,” said Emily Stratton, executive director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, a charitable organization that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools.

            In 2007-08, the percentage of graduates from Street School was 83.3 percent, versus the state average of 76.4 percent. Last year, the school met or exceeded all 17 state-established criteria for Alternative Education Programs, with notable achievements in intake and screening, community collaboration, individualized instruction, counseling and social services, student graduation plans, life skills instruction, self-evaluation, effective instruction and arts education.

            In a letter of recommendation praising the Street School’s programs, curriculum and staff, Marvin Jeter III, Tulsa Public School’s assistant superintendent for School Innovations, wrote, “I have been associated with alternative programs in a variety of capacities and levels for approximately 20 years in three states. I have observed few programs that consistently demonstrate the quality of services to students that I have witnessed at Street School.”

            Innovative programs at the Street School include student internships with local business partners, a Leadership Class, a mentoring program, service-learning opportunities, and a student-led HIV/AIDS and Teen Pregnancy Prevention outreach program. With the theme “The World as Our Classroom,” Street School students also participated in more than 300 field trips last year as a means of learning through real-life, hands-on experiences. Their learning adventures included such destinations as state museums, the Health Department, the Recycling Center, the Community Food Bank and the Cherokee Heritage Center.

            Street School faculty members meet regularly to design curricula in six-week thematic units, providing interdisciplinary instruction with real-world applications. Their instruction incorporates the latest research-based strategies for helping non-traditional students learn. Through a partnership with the Tulsa Global Alliance, the Street School has become an alternative education model for educators from around the world. Some tours have focused on the Street School’s substance abuse program, while others have highlighted the school’s research-based approach to education.

              “Street School is able to take students who have not fit in for years in the public school setting and helped them realize their educational dreams,” wrote the parent of a Street School student. “It’s also able to take students whose home life has been difficult and teach them how to make better lives for themselves. Basically, Street School gives students the confidence to become who they were meant to be.”