OKLAHOMA CITY — Imagine a wooden table with cracks on four of its legs. As the need for reinforcement increases, pressure comes from above.
Nellie Tayloe Sanders, Gov. Kevin Stitt's new Secretary of Education, describes the current state of Oklahoma's public school system.
Mr. Sanders, who is dyslexic, thinks visually. This image shows that the system can buckle without proper support.
“I want to hear and understand why this happened,” Sanders said. “Where's the crack? Where's the rot in that leg?”
In a sit-down interview with The Oklahoma Voice, Sanders explained that each of the table's four legs is like a cornerstone supporting a student's future success. He has two abilities: reading comprehension and math. Teacher workforce and classroom soft skills are others.
The majority of Oklahoma students performed below grade level in reading and math, according to state test results. Sanders said he is particularly concerned about low reading scores among fourth graders, which portend future academic hardship, as well as public school teacher turnover.
As the governor's chief adviser on school policy, Mr. Sanders echoed Mr. Stitt's priorities of innovation in education and parental choice. She said Oklahoma should listen to families, embrace technology, personalize learning to each student's needs and keep school choice options open.
“I don't know if there's one answer,” Sanders said. “I think it's an opportunity. One of his challenges that Governor Stitt has really given me is to figure out how to provide individualized support to every child in the state. So a lot of people We’ll need to get together.”
Sanders is already making an impact on Oklahoma's education community. As a member of the Statewide Virtual Charter School Committee, she cast her one of three votes in the majority in favor of creating the nation's first religious charter school.
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School is scheduled to open later this year.
The polarizing vote garnered national attention, with many predicting the issue would someday reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We're not in any way going to limit the range of amounts that families can receive for their children,” Sanders said. “All I can say is I think the people of the state know what they need in the communities they live in.”
Stitt, a vocal supporter of Catholic charter schools, said he would like to see other religious schools open in the state. Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit seeking to block the concept of religious public schools, arguing that it violates the Constitution.
The governor appointed Sanders as education secretary in January, seven months after the landmark vote. Her role will earn her $25,000 a year.
The move raised some eyebrows because, unlike Stitt's two previous education secretaries, Sanders does not come from the classroom.
But Sanders said her life experiences have given her a unique perspective and “a really needed voice at the table.”
The Washington, D.C., native served as vice president of philanthropy for Occupational and Residential Care Center in Okalsh until August, when she became a full-time mother. She previously worked in the advertising industry.
Her husband, Mike Sanders, is executive director of the Oklahoma Broadband Authority and a former state legislator.
They live in Kingfisher with their two sons.
She is an advocate for people with learning differences. Like Sanders, both of her children have dyslexia.
Sanders can imagine how frustrated Oklahoma students are when they come to school unable to read. She experienced similar heartache when she was lowered a grade because of her reading, writing, and spelling difficulties.
Her parents then sent her to an all-girls boarding school to better meet her learning needs, but her undervalued “grit and tenacity” never left her, she said. she said.
“It's really harmful to kids to not know what they're capable of and then feel like they're being inconvenienced,” Sanders said.
Chris Farris, principal at Kingfisher Middle School, said dyslexia “can make you feel like you're on an island all by yourself.”
Farris, who has dyslexia, said she was relieved to see an advocate for students with learning differences added to the governor's cabinet.
“It makes me feel less alone advocating for dyslexia when there are other people on the same level who have gone through the same things that I have,” Faris said.
The principal said he has gotten to know Sanders in recent weeks and is excited about her technology-focused vision.He said this could benefit future generations of students of all learning types.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a statement after the governor's appointment that the governor's selection of Sanders is evidence of his “deep commitment to student literacy and student achievement.”
The education secretary position has been vacant for six months due to disagreements between Mr. Walters and his predecessor, Mr. Sanders.
Katherine Currie said she resigned from her position in July after Walters failed to provide her with documentation of how his administration budgeted and spent money at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Ta.
Walters, who served as education secretary before Curry, congratulated Sanders on her appointment, calling her a “respected advocate for students and parents.”
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with her to empower parents and get students back to basics,” he said at the time.
Sanders declined to comment on Walters' previous work at the state Department of Education, but said she has “very good working relationships with all the education departments that I cover.” Stated.
“Kids see how leaders work together,” she says.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct Sanders' work history. She left her residential care center where she was vice president of philanthropy in August, and she became a full-time mother.