April 30, 2018

Supporting Tulsa students during teacher walkouts

 This spring, teacher walkouts spread rapidly across the country from West Virginia to Oklahoma and most recently Colorado, as teachers demand increased funding from state legislators.

During the local 11 day school closure, the Reading Partners Tulsa region deployed their 45 AmeriCorps members to serve at other local agencies, like the Eastwood Baptist Church, to ensure students had access to free meals, education and safe supervision during the day.

“Reading is an important element in [students] learning, and we want to make sure they keep on track during the school closure,” said Rosemary Gee, a Reading Partners AmeriCorps member who volunteered at Eastwood Baptist Church during the teacher walkout.

Across eight local agencies throughout the Tulsa community, our AmeriCorps members and volunteers were able to serve approximately 1,150 students per day over the course of two weeks by providing literacy based learning and tutoring, leading physical activities like Yoga, and incorporating gardening and nutrition lessons for students of all ages participating in day programs.  

Reading Partners volunteer Sue Weideman, who regularly tutors three reading partners students each week, was also inspired to continue donating her time at Kingdom Culture Church, where one of her students was regularly attending a day program.

The dedication of AmeriCorps members and tutors to students during the walkout was a demonstration of service above self, and highlighted Reading Partners as an organization that supports all students throughout the Tulsa community.