Creative Kids in Oklahoma

I recently learned about a group of amazing kids in Howe, Oklahoma who use technology to harnass their creative talents.  They’re learning by creating content for presentations that they share over the internet.  They’re also taking “virtual fieldtrips,” visiting places around the country and the world that they might never get a chance to see in person.
This [...]

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October Really Hasn’t Been So Quiet

Loyal readers may be wondering “what’s going on?”  Has Tulsa Initiative stopped innovating?  Have they gone on sabbatical?  (We wish!)  Actually, we’ve been really busy getting a few projects up and running.  Things you’ve been reading about like the CareerAdvance (workforce development project) and FabLab have taken huge steps in recent months.  If I were [...]

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Fablab in KW Neighborhood

So, awhile back we posted about our experience at the Boston Fablab and how we might work to bring one to Tulsa. Well, fast forward and Kendall Whittier Inc is seriously pursuing the idea of putting one in the KW neighborhood. There will be a community presentation on Oct 5 at 7pm at Educare at [...]

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CFED Releases 2009-2010 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard

Every year, those of us that track poverty in relation to assets anticipate the release of this scorecard. Our friends at OK Policy Institute and the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition partnered with CFED to provide findings for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma, this year, scored a C in relation to the other states. Major recommendations include: funding IDA’s to improve [...]

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26 miles 385 yards

A Sunday Tulsa World Article reported on a new pilot program in Bartlesville called “Run the Streets.” Any youth ages 14 to 18 in Washington County are eligible for this program, however the focus will be youthful offenders whose dispositions will be set aside if they choose to participate. And what does participation entail? Training for [...]

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The Superintendent’s At My House

Dr. Daniel P. King, superintendent of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district in South Texas, was recently interviewed by Public School Insights about efforts to reduce the dropout rate in his district. Arriving at the district in 2007, the dropout rate was twice the Texas state average. Within two years, that rate has decreased 75% to half the [...]

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Moveable Oases for the Food Desert

Some of the innovation gang headed over to a local taco stand for lunch to enjoy the weather and much talked about experience by the local media of late. When we came back, I had an a-ha moment of why doesn’t Tulsa introduce some sort of traveling fruit and vegetable truck in our food deserts? Since [...]

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Community Foundation Head Seeking Council Seat

The Tulsa World reports that Phil Lakin, executive director of the Tulsa Community Foundation, has announced his campaign for Tulsa City Council, District 8. He will challenge incumbent Bill Christiansen in the Republican primary.
Lakin, also a Republican, said his primary responsibility as a councilor would be to represent the specific needs of the citizens, neighborhoods [...]

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“Looking for Hard to Reach Parents”

Over the course of two years, volunteer parents and community members went door-to-door in Chicago’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods conducting surveys of more than 5,000 parents and caregivers.  The purpose? To better understand the barriers to preschool and Head Start faced by low-income families. Following the surveys, the project convened two community meetings to engage [...]

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Gallup Student Poll

A groundbreaking survey… the beginning of what will quickly become the largest-ever survey of American children… These phrases were used to describe the new Gallup Student Poll, a ten year effort to survey students across the United States. The first Poll surveyed over 70,000 students in 18 states and D.C. from grades 5 through 12.  The [...]

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