OEA

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 voucher bill, and where it stands currently in the state's lower house. Please visit okea.org/2021session to find out what actions you can take to help.

Fried Okra then kicks off Women's History Month with Shaylyn Sawyer and Lisa Cotham of the 99s Museum of Women Pilots. They shine a spotlight on one of Oklahoma City's hidden gems and how educators can take advantage of their museum through field trips, virtual tours, and even a traveling trunk full of exhibits and curriculum for all ages.

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 bills, especially vouchers and tax credits, do nothing to help 52 of the 77 counties in Oklahoma whose only option is a public school in their community.

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 do to show our support for public education.

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 director, Dr. Pam Deering, provides diagnosis on how the funding formula for education actually works and why it's crucial in ensuring our schools aren't even more underfunded and understaffed than they already are.

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 vouchers hurt our rural communities, and why it is imperative to maintain a separation of church and state.

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 of education funding, the forecast for the future, and what our state lawmakers need to do to support the over 90% of Oklahoma children who attend our public schools.

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 Education, who will hold their fifth annual trauma summit, "Awareness to Action: Creating Trauma-Informed Schools Through Multi-Tiered Systems of Support." The event will be held virtually on February 15.

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 Integris, who breaks down the challenges of misinformation in pandemic.

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 discussions in healthy ways.

Fried Okra is also joined by Oklahoma State Treasurer Randy McDaniel, who discusses the budgetary process and the outlook for our state's funding after an extraordinarily trying year.

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 to be joined by Darcy Stowe and Dr. Jace Wolfe from Hearts for Hearing. Stowe is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and Dr. Wolfe is the Chief of Audiology and Research at the Hearts for Hearing Foundation in Oklahoma City. They put a spotlight on groundbreaking technologies. “Every child born with hearing loss in Oklahoma has the opportunity to listen and talk if they have access to the types of services we offer at Hearts for Hearing.”