Tulsa Public Schools reports big gain in students "on track" for college-and-career diploma; board accepts report

Tulsa Public Schools reported Monday that the percentage of high school students on track to graduate with a college-and-career-ready diploma rose to 54.9%, exceeding the district's 2027 target of 49% and prompting the board to accept the interim progress report.

Superintendent Johnson and Crystal Hutchinson, the district's director of postsecondary readiness, told the board the increase represents a 7.9 percentage-point gain from December 2023 to December 2024. Hutchinson described the tools and practices the district credited for the rise: a graduation tracker, weekly progress reporting through PowerSchool, increased counselor graduation checks and programs such as Graduation Power Hour and expanded college and career advising.

The presentation outlined state graduation requirements and the district's decision to default students to the college-and-career-ready curriculum. Hutchinson reminded the board that students who graduate in Oklahoma must meet 23 academic credits and pass state testing (the ACT for high school students), among other requirements such as CPR training and the FAFSA or an opt-out.

Superintendent Johnson highlighted specific subgroup gains reported by the district: African American students increased from 43% to 51.2% on track; Native American students rose from 46.8% to 55.7%; and economically disadvantaged students rose from 43.8% to 51.3%. The district also reported strong on-track rates for freshmen (75.9%) and notable increases for tenth graders.

Attendance remained a major predictor of whether students stay on track. District figures presented at the meeting showed 71% of non-chronically absent students are on track, compared with 39.8% of chronically absent students.

Officials credited several operational changes for the improvement: increased counselor graduation checks (a 40% rise from earlier measurements), college-and-career advisor positions that supplement counselor workload, a coordinated graduation-tracker tool that cross-checks credits and enrollments districtwide, and stronger family outreach and weekly progress reports sent to parents.

The report also highlighted expanded opportunities for students: increased college visits (University of Tulsa, OU, OSU and others), internships and career-site visits, partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce to support internships and supplies for students, and targeted programs for multilingual learners and students with IEPs. Graduation outcomes director Dr. Nicolette Dennis described Graduation Power Hour as a weekly, school-based block that groups students by grade to complete ICAP tasks, check credits and address attendance and credit deficiencies.

Superintendent Johnson told the board the district's FAFSA completion rate improved dramatically over the school year: the presentation noted completion rose from about 17% after winter break to approximately 95% at the time of the meeting, a figure Johnson called "a lot of work on behalf of our families and our schools." The board praised that increase; Hutchinson said counselors and college-and-career advisors worked directly with families and students to complete applications.

Board members asked about the tools used to track progress and how the district is ensuring consistency across schools. Officials said the graduation tracker and PowerSchool weekly reports reduce manual errors and give counselors uniform, real-time information about credits, attendance and state-testing progress. The district also said it will continue to scale supports where gains were largest and focus on schools or groups that still lag behind.

The board voted to accept receipt of the interim goal monitoring report (Interim Goal 3.1).

Ending: District leaders said they will continue to expand the interventions and tracking tools credited for the gains and will return updated metrics to the board in future monitoring reports.