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PrintGetting educated about downtown area schools
A fresh look at developments, news and issues facing Tulsa.
Over the past few years, there has been no shortage of lively discussion about downtown Tulsa. The real estate market, retail, restaurants and nearly everything else under the sun. But one thing that seems to be missing is any substantive talk about the schools.
If you type the words “Tulsa Downtown” or “Downtown Tulsa” into Google, the top search result is the website for the now-defunct Downtown Tulsa Unlimited. Nevermind the fact that the organization hasn’t even been in existence for more than a year, but we live in a world where Google is king, so attention must be paid. But if you were to happen upon this site, which is very likely in this case, you wouldn’t find a single piece of useful information about schools around downtown.
Imagine that you are one half of a young, professional couple with two children. One is 7 and entering second grade; the other is 4 and starting prekindergarten. After living in the Kansas City area for the past few years, you are relocating to Tulsa. You’ve heard good things. Cost of living is low and several respected publications have ranked Tulsa high on their lists of the “best places to live.”
While settling affairs and preparing to move, you begin a steady regimen of Internet research. You quickly see that downtown is a happening place and becoming more so by the day. After some lengthy Craigslist sessions searing for available real estate, you tell your partner that you want to live downtown. To make your case, you share a well-vetted collection of classified ads, photos and third-party comments. He/she loves the look of the area, the art deco buildings and the general feeling that there’s a lot of fun to be had. Everything seems to be going well. And then, as you’d expected, the question comes: “What about the schools?” This is where things get a little tricky.
Forgive the lengthy hypothetical, but there are real consequences to this lack of timely and relevant information. In the April 2009 issue of this magazine, we profiled a young family living in the historic Brady Heights neighborhood. Jenna and Jeremy Brennan, along with their three daughters, live in a beautifully restored home built in 1919. Their neighborhood, Brady Heights, located just outside downtown, is a hip, artsy area by all accounts. Young people and families (of all orientations) are not only welcomed but courted.
But on the Brady Heights website, there is again a glaring omission — nothing about the neighborhood schools. If the Brennans had been out-of-towners wondering which elementary school their daughters might attend, they would find nothing about Emerson Elementary (the neighborhood school) on this site. On the “Links” page, there isn’t even a link to the general Tulsa Public Schools website. This is just unacceptable.
It’s not just the lack of information that bothers me; it’s the perception that comes with it.
And perception, especially when trying to appeal to a wider demographic, is everything.
From Kendall-Whittier Elementary’s unique and effective “community school” model to Central High School’s arts magnet program (32 fine arts courses!), the schools are doing some great work. There are certainly struggles and issues that will be challenges for years to come, but it’s time for a little pride. If we showed these schools even one-third of the enthusiasm we give to the BOK Center, who knows what we might accomplish?
