OEA

The Oklahoma Education Association is a member-driven organization. There are no million benefactors calling the shots at the top. Instead, it is a collection of educators coming together to do what is best for public education in Oklahoma. When choosing their leaders, each OEA member has the same power as the next. One person, one vote. Alicia Priest has served as the OEA president for the past s...

The Oklahoma Legislature wrapped up their 2021 legislative session this week, so that means our guru on all things happening at the Capitol, Amanda Ewing, returns for a final update and review of the myriad of impacts on education. Fried Okra also speaks with the executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations Oklahoma, Adam Soltani, who discusses the challenges our Muslim students...

Friend of Fried Okra, Amanda Ewing, helps share a final look at the budget, what it means for education, and the profound disappointment in our state expanding voucher schemes that do not benefit the vast majority of Oklahoma families who attend public schools. May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Oklahoma is fortunate to have bipartisan AAPI representation in the legislature....

Governor Stitt and other state leaders announced a proposed budget deal on Thursday that includes over $3 billion in education funding, a state record. However, the resurrection of vouchers defeated earlier this session and shoe-horning that bad policy into a budget deal is an issue. Ellen Pogemiller and friend of the show, Paul Shinn, senior policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, return...

While we do not see the conversations behind closed doors, many state leaders have publicly proclaimed that education should see an increase in the next budget. Amanda Ewing returns to let us know how optimistic we should be and if there's reason to ask the question: "What's the catch?" Fried Okra is ecstatic to welcome Quraysh Ali Lansana, author of Opal's Greenwood Oasis and Oklahoma native, to...

OEA's legislative director, Amanda Ewing, returns to the pod to provide insight on the education bills that have made it to the governor's desk, both signed and vetoed. She also breaks down the budget outlook for education and why the process is so frustrating for Oklahomans looking for transparency. Fried Okra also has a great conversation with Dr. John Cox, President of the Organization of Rural...

SB 634, a bill designed to attack the collective voices of educators, was not heard during deadline week! Ellen Pogemiller returns to thank all those who advocated to their legislators and provide an update on the status of other education bills. Fried Okra then has an important conversation with Zach Grimm, chair of the OEA LGBT Caucus, and Tessa White, vice president of PFLAG OKC, about some of...

OEA legislative expert Ivy Riggs returns to Fried Okra after another active week at the Capitol. She explains why there is some good news for our support professionals with SB 807 before sorting through the bog of bad bills burgeoning through the legislature.  We also celebrate National Librarian's Day by speaking with Ashleigh Dauterman, chair of the Oklahoma School Librarian's Division of the Ok...

With so many education bills gaining traction that received no support from the education community, including a clear attack on the voice of educators with SB 634, Fried Okra asks legislative guru Ivy Riggs to shed a light on why this is happening and the motivations behind placing a singular target on a woman-dominated profession that has a track-record of holding Oklahoma lawmakers accountable...

In such a tumultuous time at the Capitol, Ivy Riggs returns to the podcast to provide all the context and information you need to understand what is going on with education bills, such as the destructive SB 634, and what you can do to help. Jennifer Seal, former AP US history and elementary music teacher, current Putnam City Foundation executive director, and chair of the Forces on Education Commi...

Thursday, the State Board of Education surprisingly settled a four-year-old lawsuit that could give all charter schools, including EPIC, access to millions of dollars in local school property taxes. OEA general counsel Richard Wilkinson makes a special appearance on Fried Okra to provide an extremely informative break down on those actions, what the legal ramifications may be, and what you can do...

It was deadline week at the Capitol, so our legislative guru Amanda Ewing returns to break down where things currently stand this session. Believe it or not, she comes bearing some good news. Oklahoma History Center's Director of Education, Sarah Dumas, also joins the pod to discuss all they have to offer for Women's History Month. We highlight hands on items, curriculum, multimedia, and other dig...

While SB 634 passed through the Senate and on to the House by a vote of 25-21, it was much closer than many thought possible and had strong bipartisan opposition. OEA legislative guru, Amanda Ewing, returns to explain why this is a direct result of your advocacy and how it will affect the bill's perception as it moves through the legislative process. We also break down HB 2701, another terrible vo...

With the events of the last week at the Capitol, it's hard not to feel like public education is currently under attack. OEA legislative guru, Amanda Ewing, returns to break down one of the toughest weeks in recent sessions and educates you on what you can do to help fight some troubling bills. Erika Wright of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition also joins the podcast to discuss how many of these...

OEA's director of legislative and political organizing, Amanda Ewing, returns to provide updates on HB2078 ("ghost students") and HB1982/HB2651 (vouchers) that could negatively affect education moving through the legislature.  Then the pod has a great discussion with Monica Whiteley of the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) about "Public Schools Week" next week and what we can all...

Legislative and political organizer, Ellen Pogemiller, returns to discuss the details from this week's announcement all educators would be eligible to receive the vaccine on February 22. She also breaks down the current state of education bills moving through the legislature, including Rep. Rosecrants play-based learning bill. Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration executive direct...

As the legislative session gets underway, one of OEA's Capitol gurus, Ivy Riggs, joins the pod to break down Governor Stitt's State of the State from earlier this week and look ahead to what we can expect from lawmakers this session. Pastors for Oklahoma Kids executive director and friend of Fried Okra, Pastor Clark Frailey, returns to speak about his recent op-ed in the Daily Oklahoman, how vouch...

Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro joins our own legislative guru, Amanda Ewing, for a fascinating (almost terrifying) conversation about what it looks like when a state starts down the slippery slope of vouchers and the negative consequences it has on our students. Then Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel gives an insightful breakdown on the current condition...

OEA legislative and political organizer Ellen Pogemiller discusses the outlook for the upcoming Oklahoma legislative session and how they dissect the mountain of bills proposed. She also shares the importance of local school board elections and the ways in which we can get involved. We are also joined by Elizabeth Suddath, executive director of prevention services at the State Department of Educat...

Misty Bradley, vice chair of the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) joins the podcast to discuss how parents and educators are allies in the fight for the future of public education and getting all of our students back in the classroom safely. Alicia and Carrie then have an informative and timely conversation with Dr. David Chansolme, medical director of infection prevention at In...

Our first guest in the new year is the executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, Kari Watkins, and we talk about how we can engage with students after watching an attack on our federal government my American citizens -- something our state is unfortunately familiar with. OKCNM has released a "Better Conversations" series to help educators and parents facilitate these di...

Friend of the podcast, Dr. Donna Tyungu, who is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at OU Health Children's Hospital, returns to Fried Okra alongside first-timer, Dr. Chris Aston, who is a Research Associate Professor in Pediatrics at OU Health. They join Alicia and Carrie to share important data they have collected regarding the pandemic in our schools. We are also had the profound pleasure...

Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Jena Nelson joins a special edition of Fried Okra to break down the wild week in education from the state board meeting on A-F grading to Governor Stitt releasing a video mentioning OEA.

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister returns to Fried Okra to give us up-to-the-minute details on where things stand currently across Oklahoma public schools, what qualities make a good school member, and what the outlook is for a new year with a vaccine on the horizon. Stay tuned until the end where we lighten things up with a holiday lightning round!

Known primarily as 'The Voice of the Sooners,' Toby Rowland has recently added children's book author to his resume with his debut book "Unhitch the Wagon: The Story of Boomer and Sooner." Fried Okra had the pleasure of speaking with him about that journey from Oklahoma kid to sports media stardom to becoming a published writer. You can purchase his book online and in stores where books are sold o...