With mixture of Bruin and Oklahoma pride, new school year promises to be special

(Published Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 in Examiner-Enterprise)

With the 2007-08 academic year nearly upon us, the future is certainly bright for the Bartlesville Public School District .

The new school year promises to be special in so many ways. It will see us add to the wide array of new facilities which have opened in recent years as Bartlesville High School 's Library/Media Center will be unveiled this fall. The BHS campus will be home to a new connecting link, which will tie all of the school's buildings together under one roof, as well as a state-of-the-art cooling and heating system.

The coming years will see classroom additions made at the Bartlesville Mid-High as well at three elementary schools – Ranch Heights, Wayside and Woodrow Wilson – thanks to a $29.95 million bond issue which was passed in May.

In the classroom, our students continue to excel. Criterion Reference Testing results were recently released by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, and the Bartlesville Public School District fared extremely well. CRT – also known as Oklahoma Core Curriculum Testing – tests students, from third through eighth grade, across the state in their proficiency in particular subject areas. BPSD students improved their scores across the grade spectrum in virtually every subject. Some of our scores simply couldn't have been any better. In fourth-grade reading and math, 100 percent of the Jane Phillips Elementary School students scored proficient.

Scores from the ACT – a college entrance exam – were recently released as well. Students within the district posted an impressive 22.5 average score, their best showing since 2003.

It's a good time to be a Bruin. And, several new faces have joined our team. Among them are three new principals – LaDonna Chancellor ( Central Middle School ), Kenneth Copeland ( Jane Phillips Elementary School ) and Jerri Moore ( Hoover Elementary School ). All three principals enter their new roles within the district with excellence credentials, and I know they will be assets to their students, teachers and other staff members within their building.

While it's a good time to be a Bruin, it's a good time to be an Oklahoman as well. The current year marks the centennial of our great state, and we'll continue to recognize Oklahoma throughout the remainder of 2007. On Tuesday, in the Fine Arts Center auditorium, we'll hold our annual “Back To School Rally” for our approximately 1,000 teachers and staff members throughout the district. The rally is an excellent way to promote Bruin pride as the new school year is set to begin the following day – on Wednesday, Aug. 15. But this year's event will be full of pride in the Sooner State as well. The highly entertaining Discoveryland Singers will join us to deliver their rendition of “ Oklahoma ,” the title song from the famed musical. We'll get to view a video of the special centennial song “Oklahoma Rising,” performed by country music star Vince Gill as well.

Our rally will conclude with a sing-along of “ Oklahoma ,” led by Bartlesville High School vocal music teacher Susan Mueller.

The keynote speaker for this year's rally will be Frosty Troy, one of Oklahoma 's favorite sons and a decorated journalist. A champion of the people in the areas of politics, government and social areas such as public education, Frosty has earned the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award and was a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize.

Frosty is a founding editor of the award-winning “Oklahoma Observer,” an independent and often thought-provoking publication.

The promise of each and every new school year is great. But the 2007-08 campaign can certainly be seen as special. Combine Bruin pride with the centennial spirit of the Sooner State , and seemingly anything is possible.