Oklahoma’s teacher shortage led to a record-breaking 3,780 emergency teaching certifications issued in 2022. From 2001-2018, Oklahoma’s enrollment in university education programs dropped by 80%.

As the state's schools struggle to fill classrooms with teachers holding standard teaching certificates, provisionally certified teachers have had to step in to fill the gap. But do students lose out when hiring traditionally certified teachers becomes a luxury this teacher-strapped state can’t afford?

State data released this year showed half of the teens who participated in an annual survey checked yes on the traditional depression symptom of feeling so sad or hopeless for two weeks in a row that they lost interest in usual activities. It found that in 2021, nearly one in four respondents had contemplated suicide in the past year. Among girls, that rate was closer to one in three.

Billion-dollar lawsuits and prestige television shows have made the opioid epidemic impossible to overlook. But it is far from the only drug epidemic the country — and Oklahoma — are facing. Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription drugs as well as illicit forms of fentanyl, have increased over the past few years, likely because of struggles amid the pandemic. But one drug in particular is killing Oklahomans at an even higher rate: methamphetamine.

Heavy rains in May 2019 revealed major disparities in flood protections across Oklahoma. While residents in Tulsa benefitted from decades of flood preparations, smaller communities lack the infrastructure and resources to keep the waters at bay. In the second of a two-part series with OPMX’s Graycen Wheeler, StateImpact’s Beth Wallis reports on how one riverside community came together to take care of each other.

As climate change continues to raise the stakes of severe flooding events, some Oklahoma communities are prepared to weather the storm, and some aren’t. During the extreme flooding of May 2019, communities were put to the test. In the first of a two-part series in partnership with StateImpact’s Beth Wallis, OPMX’s Graycen Wheeler reports on how two neighboring cities responded to disaster.

Nathalie Valero and Elodie Musungayi are Tulsa teenagers who spoke about how social media is amplifying youth voices and how it impacts mental health for them and their peers. KOSU reporter Kateleigh Mills went to Tulsa to speak with them.

Leading up to the midterms, throngs of teachers and education advocates rallied around democratic candidates for governor and superintendent. But after the ticket went to Gov. Kevin Stitt and Education Secretary Ryan Walters, some of those teachers are thinking about leaving the state altogether. 

Jami Jackson-Cole is a fifth grade teacher at Duncan Public Schools and manages the Oklahoma Edvocates Facebook page, which is a community of thousands of teachers and parents around the state. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis spoke to her about how Oklahoma teachers are looking at the road ahead.

Unlike some other states, Oklahoma’s midterm election results are in the books. The results have big implications for education, health, and the environment in our state. Managing editor Logan Layden discussed what the outcome means with the StateImpact Oklahoma reporters. 

Workforce problems, federal regulations and an increase in demand are creating a shortage of ADD and ADHD medications. Local medical providers started seeing an issue this summer. There are ways around the shortage, but they involve jumping through hoops.

Four day school weeks have become more common across  Oklahoma over the last decade. Lawmakers have tried to limit the practice. But as StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports, the rural districts that use them are fighting to keep them.