That same beautiful diversity is part of Oklahoma City Public Schools. Fifty –seven percent of our student population is Hispanic and located in schools throughout the district, not just in South OKC as some may perceive. Many different languages are spoken by our students and families, with the top two being English at 59% and Spanish at 39%. Additionally, more than 15,000 of our students are bilingual and more than 12,000 are English Language Learners.

Because of the growing number of English Language Learners, the OKCPS Foundation began having meaningful conversations with OKCPS back in 2015 about ways to provide support for our students and educators. OKCPS Foundation Board member and OG&E Executive Cristina McQuistion and I met with OKCPS Interim Director of Language and Cultural Services (and later Director) Christopher Berry to brainstorm ideas and the conversation quickly turned to the teacher shortage and the critical need for bilingual teachers in OKCPS.

Berry introduced the concept of growing our own teachers from our bilingual paraprofessionals already employed in OKCPS classrooms by giving them the opportunity to earn their teaching degree and certification. The late Dr. Jim Machell, former Dean of the College of Education at UCO and UCO’s Dr. Regina Lopez soon came to the table, and the concept for the Bilingual Teacher Pipeline Program was developed. Partnerships were formalized with UCO, OCCC, OSU/OKC and Rose State. Funding was raised by the OKCPS Foundation, applications were received and the program launched with five bilingual participants in January 2016.

Since that launch, the OKCPS Foundation’s Teacher Pipeline Programs have expanded to include paraprofessionals of color in 2019 and all paraprofessionals last year. We currently have 90 active participants and 25 graduates. The program also includes a component for new graduates of OKCPS High Schools wishing to become teachers. The majority of our participants are diverse, which is something we remain focused on as part of our mission to advocate for equity. There is a tremendous amount of data proving that student outcomes improve when they have teachers who look like them. When we add language support to the mix, the improvements grow exponentially.

An added benefit of these programs is teacher retention, an issue that all school districts face. A new report from Wallet Hub shows Oklahoma ranking as the 9th worst for teachers, which is another bad list to unpack. Our Teacher Pipeline Program graduates have a retention rate so far of 93%.

Data tells the story, but people paint the picture. Our applications are filled with the reasons why our paraprofessionals want to become teachers. Every single one of our bilingual paraprofessionals tell us that they want to be for our students what they needed when they were young. Someone to see them, hear them, understand them.

Public schools have long been known as a place where all students are welcome. Our city and our country is better when we appreciate and welcome the diversity of others. This is a part of the Oklahoma Standard we should embrace during Hispanic Heritage Month and throughout the year.