Muskogee Public Schools details $1 million literacy grant, expands intervention time and outlines new state assessment plan

Muskogee Public Schools officials told the Board of Education on Sept. 9 that the district has secured a five‑year Oklahoma Comprehensive Literacy Grant totaling $1,000,000 and is adjusting staffing and assessment plans to expand literacy interventions.

At a regularly scheduled meeting, district staff said $600,000 of the grant was received last year and the remaining funds will arrive over the next four years. Ginger Baker, speaking for district instructional staff, said the grant funds support a program the district described as HERO — “helping eval elevate reading outcomes for every student” — and will place literacy coaches or specialists in elementary schools for professional development and targeted interventions. “So over a 5 year period, we will have received $1,000,000 from that grant,” Baker said.

The district also said it has created 10 positions for small‑group instruction and has required principals to set aside at least 45 minutes in elementary schedules for intervention and literacy work. Staff said the district’s sixth‑ and seventh‑grade academy moved to a six‑period day to reduce transitions, increase instructional time (from about 47 to 55 minutes per class) and include a 30‑minute intervention advisory during the day.

District staff described forthcoming changes to statewide testing and local benchmark use after an August memo from the state superintendent. For kindergarten through seventh grade, staff said the district will use the Amira/Emera benchmark tool as the state mirror test for spring administration (the transcript alternately referenced “Amira” and “Emera”). For grades that require a separate MAP metric, the district will continue to use Renaissance STAR (STAR MAP) for grades 1–7 where applicable, and will use Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) for grades 8–12. Staff also said grade 11 students will continue to take the ACT and content CCRAs in science and history.

Baker told the board that because districts across the state may use different benchmark products, cross‑district comparisons will be limited: “So comparatively district wide of between districts, there's not gonna be any comparison of unless they use the same benchmark test,” Baker said. She added that the district had not yet received complete guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Education and that staff are proceeding with the tools listed while awaiting further state direction: “As we get more information, we'll be sure to share.”

The presentation included other instructional highlights: the district’s first early college high school cohort graduated 13 students; a new cohort of 28 students begins spring college coursework; and the district hired 74 new employees in early August across certified and support roles. The board was shown a new instructional handbook that staff said details roles and responsibilities for instructional personnel and is posted online.

District staff noted uncertainty in some details from state guidance and told the board they are “building the plane as we fly it,” a phrase Baker used to describe implementing the assessment transition while awaiting clarifications from the state education office.

The board did not take formal action on the instructional presentation; staff said they would provide additional information as the state releases guidance.