Last spring I was surprised by an offer from Governor Stitt to serve as Oklahoma’s State Secretary of Education. Because this offer seemed like an opportunity to respond to the challenges facing education in our State, I accepted.
The State Secretary of Education is a cabinet-level position appointed by the Governor. The Secretary advises the Governor on both PK-12 and higher education and oversees the Departments of Education, Career and Technology Education, Libraries, and the State Regents for Higher Education. In total, the Secretary of Education serves on the boards of 41 different agencies and acts as liaison between these agencies and elected officials.
In many ways, the State Secretary of Education is a bridge between legislators and local communities, helping to translate different, and sometimes competing, priorities into state-level policy. It is not an easy task. Identifying common interests requires a great deal of listening and dialogue with local leaders, state agencies, and policy makers. I found it exhilarating to be involved in substantive policy conversations with both Republican and Democratic members. I was often impressed by their thoughtfulness. Their questions to me were always balanced, fair, and well informed.
However, the political influence of powerful individuals, interest groups, and coalitions can also make it difficult to find common ground. As an example, public and private school advocates sometimes have divergent perspectives that complicate policymaking. During my 30-year career, I have been a teacher and a school leader in both public and private schools. My view is that students benefit from strong schools, whether they are in the public or private sector. I feel that public and private schools can work together and learn from each other, but finding common ground is politically challenging when strong interests in both the public and private school sectors adopt starkly different positions on funding, regulation, and policy.
Goals as Secretary of Education
One of my goals as Secretary of Education was to create opportunities for educational leaders to come together regularly to share initiatives and programs happening in their respective agencies. In my experience as a school leader, I have witnessed firsthand that when we remove “silos” and share information, entire systems can improve. Connecting leaders from higher education, career and technology education, K-12 education, and early childhood education can have substantial benefits. For example, collaboratively assessing student preparedness for advancement across educational levels can create more effective transitions for our students.
Collaboration is essential among K-12 institutions as well. Now, as an OSU professor of educational leadership, I participate in online meetings among district, building, and state-level educational leaders. In these meetings, we explore problems of practice and offer solutions that are common across institutions. For instance, many K-12 districts are faced with chronic absenteeism, low academic performance, teacher shortages, and mental health needs of students following the pandemic. The collective wealth of knowledge and experience during these virtual sessions provides the brainpower and stimulation to generate shared solutions. At OSU, we are providing this opportunity in an online format through our ECHO® platforms where leaders meet bi-monthly as communities of practice. These are the types of cooperative activities I worked to promote while Secretary.
Another passionate goal of mine as Secretary was to utilize the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (OEQA) as a data hub for the entire state. I worked to centralize data hosting and ease access to educational data for districts and government agencies. I also hired a new Director of the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, Megan Oftedal. A data wizard, Oftedal is now working to make the central data hub in Oklahoma a reality.
AI in Education
While Secretary, I encouraged the exploration of AI and its potential to transform teaching and learning. Although AI has its skeptics, as well as those who fear it is a threat to the teaching profession, I believe educators must get in front of it because it is not going away. Teachers are already using AI to develop lessons and personalize learning in ways that drive student growth. AI tools can serve as tutors, meeting students where they are. Its potential to help students who are not fluent in English should not be overlooked either, especially given the growing numbers of English language learners entering our schools.
Examples of schools already utilizing enhanced technologies include Keys Public Schools, Enid Public Schools, Union Public Schools, and Oklahoma City Public Schools. These districts are currently implementing the AI platform Khanmigo (through Khan Academy) for mathematics. Khan Academy has aligned its platform with Oklahoma’s Academic Standards. I am now working with the Brock Community Foundation to include at least 20 districts by next year. Even though a formal evaluation of outcomes has yet to be done, anecdotal evidence suggests that this platform is working well for students and teachers.
Reconceptualizing Role of Teachers and the Structure of Education
My visit to Finland in 2022 inspired a rethinking of our approach to the teaching profession. Finnish teachers are highly respected, trusted, and autonomous. The teaching profession is esteemed there; the public recognizes teachers as experts, equivalent in professional status to medical doctors or attorneys. Training requirements are much more rigorous though, with an expectation of at least completing a master’s degree. The Finish system appears to produce strong job satisfaction among teachers and a sense of professionalization that is uncommon in the U.S. In the early 1990s, the Finnish government moved from strict, central direction and control of schools to a new culture of education characterized by trust, local control, professionalism, and autonomy. Finnish teachers are responsible for planning curriculum and assessments in their own classrooms, and there is very little oversight or teacher evaluation.
In Oklahoma, we have a responsibility to reimagine the teaching profession. When teachers are satisfied in their daily work, and when they feel appreciated and trusted with responsibility to align teaching and learning, they tend to stay in the profession. Students benefit when great teachers stay. Finnish education also has some structural features that we might adapt for Oklahoma. Their education system is highly flexible. It is student-centered; students move seamlessly between vocational and academic coursework. Credit is awarded for learning that takes place outside of the classroom, which reduces redundancy and increases student interest.
Another case of potential structural change struck me while visiting the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. The German school apprenticeship programs can serve as models for education in Oklahoma. German vocational training begins in high school so that students leave high school ready for jobs or advanced training in nursing, mechanics, engineering, finance, accounting, civil engineering, and architecture. We have the career and technical education infrastructure to do this in Oklahoma.
Considerations for Secretary Sanders
We can, and must, improve student outcomes in Oklahoma. We have the resources, administrative expertise, and dedicated educators to achieve higher levels of success. I am continually impressed by the devotion of Oklahoma’s educators. Oklahoma’s educators have shown unwavering commitment in a rapidly evolving environment. Governor Stitt has set his sights on making Oklahoma a top-ten education state. If we are going to accomplish this goal though, we need to continue to innovate in the classroom, support collaboration, find new ways to motivate and engage students, and advance the professionalization of teaching.
Some of this responsibility falls to our recently appointed Secretary of Education, Nellie Sanders. I know her to be a caring and competent person. I encourage her to extend her compassion to all stakeholders by listening and learning from them. We need to work together rather than in silos, and we need to articulate our challenges and address them collaboratively. I encourage Secretary Sanders to create a culture of trust and respect by bringing educators together at all levels. We need to provide competent teachers with the autonomy necessary to meet student learning needs. If Secretary Sanders can make progress in these areas, she will have built the foundations for reaching the Governor’s goal.
Author Bio
Katherine Curry served as State Secretary of Education under Governor Kevin Stitt in 2023. She is currently Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at Oklahoma State University.
