Public Input – OK’s Race to the Top

Gov. Henry’s new Chief of Education Strategy and Innovation, former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, will be hosting a public meeting in Tulsa Tuesday December 15th at 5:30 at Fulton Technology and Learning Academy. Taylor will be presenting ideas to be included in the state’s “Race to the Top” grant application and seeking input from the public. The [...]

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Savings and Upward Mobility

Among low-income children, those born to high-saving parents are more likely to move up from the bottom income quartile than children of low-saving parents. This is just one of the findings in the recent report “A Penny Saved Is Mobility Earned: Advancing Economic Mobility through Savings” by the Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. Using data from [...]

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Kendall Whittier Lights On

Looking for a festive neighborhood event tomorrow night? Kendall-Whittier Neighborhood will be having their annual Lights On! celebration tomorrow from 5:30-7pm at Kendall-Whittier Square at 1st and Admiral. A lot of revitalization efforts have been going on in this area, if you haven’t been in awhile. This area is also the home to some great non-profit [...]

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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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