StateImpact Oklahoma

A growing number of school districts across Oklahoma are already pivoting to distance learning because of the continued spread of the coronavirus. The decisions aren’t made easily, as evidenced by hours long meetings and narrow votes by local school boards. More could - and if cases don’t fall will - move online. So how did that move go last spring and what lessons can schools learn?

Few people have had a bigger impact on Oklahoma than early governor and framer of the state’s constitution Alfalfa Bill Murray. But StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports Murray’s racist beliefs are now sparking conversations to change the way Oklahomans remember him today.

Data analyzed by a Johns Hopkins University researcher suggests people incarcerated in state and federal prisons are at higher risk of catching Covid-19 and of dying from the disease.

Norman is the only one of Oklahoma’s three largest cities where leaders were swayed to redirect funding after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In the wake of Black Lives Matter activism across the country, teachers are re-emphasizing their role in leading discussions about racial justice. StateImpact’s Robby Korth spoke with Tulsa Public Schools Manager of Equity Content Denita White and Hawthorne Elementary School third grade teacher Katherine Maloney about how to talk to children about race.

Covid-19 made it harder for some domestic violence victims to find safety from their abusers. Victim advocates also fear they may experience more severe violence in their isolation.

The NPR student podcast challenge had 2,000 entrants from across the country. But one project from high school seniors in Stilwell, a Northeastern Oklahoma town with 4,000 people, stood out as one of only a dozen finalists. StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports on the podcast that was a finalist for a prize.

Each summer hundreds of the state’s elite arts students travel to Quartz Mountain, on the picturesque outskirts of the Wichita Mountains in southwest Oklahoma for the Oklahoma Arts Institute. But this year the normally two week arts program was moved online and shortened because of the coronavirus. StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports on how the selective arts program made the move.

Residents of Oklahoma City often don't hear the details surrounding complaints against police and the investigations they prompt. Black Lives Matter activists are calling for independent probes of police investigations.

Thousands of Oklahomans demanded change after an unarmed black man was killed by police in Minneapolis. Protesters in Oklahoma City especially criticized its police department's relatively high number of killings of black residents. City leaders are considering some of the protesters' demands.

The call from the health department still sticks in Gabrielle Moon’s mind. There was a positive case of the coronavirus at St. Luke’s Children’s Center. Moon, the center's executive director, and other childcare leaders share what they've learned from handling this case and others.

The coronavirus will change school next semester. StateImpact Managing Editor Logan Layden spoke to education reporter Robby Korth about a school year that will likely look a little more normal, but will still be unfamiliar.

An outbreak of Covid-19 in the Comanche County jail underscores how vulnerable jail populations are to the disease. Officials in the state's two largest counties are considering increasing testing in their jails to make sure they don't have their own outbreak.

The novel coronavirus has changed a lot of graduation plans throughout Oklahoma. Normally, a community’s staple spring event, the global pandemic has altered plans. Districts across Oklahoma are taking a wide range of approaches to honor graduates.

Thousands of prisoners across the country are infected with Covid-19. The more states test, the more cases they find. Some question whether Oklahoma's Covid-19 testing policies have revealed the true number of state prisoners carrying the disease.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections decides which prisoners to test for Covid-19 on a cases by case basis. So far, two prisoners have tested positive for Covid-19.

A brief summary of this episode

Monday was a new kind of first day of school in Oklahoma: the first one back since schools shuttered after spring break to combat the spread of COVID-19. Many school districts are turning to the internet to conduct instruction. But for 167,000 Oklahoma students that isn't an option. So, school districts are getting creative to deliver the instruction to kids.

Oklahoma drug courts are adapting to reduce physical contact during the coronavirus pandemic, but they say they're paying a price. Social distancing is disrupting and routines human connections that give stability to people fighting addiction.

A brief summary of this episode

Oklahoma schools and county jails are looking for ways to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay.

Because nobody with the state is keeping track, it’s difficult to know how many school districts across Oklahoma have armed teachers. Despite that, state lawmakers want to loosen regulations on training requirements for teachers armed in schools. They hope, ushered in by a piece of legislation currently under consideration, fewer regulations will lead to more guns in schools.

State officials want to help hundreds of corrections employees who didn't get a raise last year. It's unclear if a bill that could fix the problem will be approved.

With 80 percent of college students reporting anxiety or depression, schools have to find a way to help students. StateImpact's Robby Korth spends time in Stillwater and Norman to see how Oklahoma's two biggest universities are approaching mental wellness for their students.

Oklahoma has reduced it’s imprisonment rate but the criminal justice experts say they expect the prison population to continue growing in the next six years.