Tahlequah Public Schools is extremely fortunate to have great partnerships and grant awards that help create an environment where all students and staff can succeed. The Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation is one of those amazing partners. They had their annual Uncorked event on February 13th at the Chapman Center. They awarded over $16,000 to nine teachers in our district. Jessica Morrison, Deena Jones, Jessica Robinson, Kristy Ward, Tiffany Cacy, Melissa Harris, Jamil Jaser, Kevin Benson, and Shelli Lamons were all recipients of a Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation Grant. Thank you to all the sponsors that helped make the event a success.
In January, Tahlequah Public Schools received the Project Prevent Grant. This is a five-year Department of Education Grant. The purpose of the grant is to: (1) decrease violent, aggressive, and disruptive behavior in schools; (2) Annual increase in the number of students receiving school-based and community based mental health services to address needs resulting from exposure to violence; (3) Annual increase in the school engagement of students; (4) Annual increase in the quality of family engagement with community based organizations; (5) Annual measurable increase in the number of school staff and other specialized instructional support personnel trained in violence-related interventions.
Tahlequah Public Schools also received a STOP school violence grant. This is a three-year grant. The goal is to prevent and reduce violence in the Tahlequah Public School District. The program objective is to ensure a safe, positive atmosphere for kids to thrive by conducting threat assessments and providing evidence-based and trauma-informed violence prevention trainings. We look forward to working with area law enforcement to continue having a safe environment for our students.
TPS has recently partnered with the National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center to bring a Homeland Security Representative to talk to parents and community members about how to protect children online. He talked about Cyber Safety and keeping our students safe. He had a wonderful presentation and so many great points. We look forward to bringing him back so that we can continue spreading this helpful information. We are also working with Mr. McMahan with the state department to update our training in the areas of Behavioral Threat Assessments, reunification training, and active shooter training.
We know one of the most important aspects of teaching is learning. After all, a teacher who cannot learn is also a teacher who may not be effective in the classroom. A good teacher must teach in the world where students live. Because of our MHAT grant, School Climate Transformation Grant, Project Prevent, STOP violence, and our Innovative Literacy Grant, we are able to offer teachers professional development opportunities this summer. We are offering several classes for our teachers and support staff July 29 and 30. We have about fifteen different sessions that we are offering our staff members- from Dyslexia training to Conscious Discipline to classroom management and relationship building. We are excited to bring in experts in different areas to help our teachers and support staff grow. We know it will help our teachers and support staff improve their classroom performance and their ability to connect with students. On July 11th we are collaborating with CREOKS to offer a Mental Health First Aid training. We will invite teachers, paras, and community members to this training. We are excited to be able to host such a wonderful training.
TPS is truly thankful for the many grant opportunities that we have as well as the amazing partnerships within the community. We cannot educate children alone. We know it takes a village.
Submitted by Lacie Wilson, Federal & State Programs and Grants Director