The Executive Summary

Abstract

C relationships, and effective teachers were among the important themes voiced Tuesday by Tulsa Public Schools superintendent Keith Ballard as the guest speaker at the 14th Massey Family Lectureship. The lecture was held in Montgomery Auditorium on the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Some 400 students, faculty, public school superintendents and community members attended the hour-long session, which ended with questions-and-answers from the audience. Dr. Ballard leads the largest school district in Oklahoma with 41,000 students and 7,000 employees, including 3,000 teachers. Focusing on college preparedness, he is committed to cultivating teacher talent in a performancebased culture and providing quality learning experiences for every student, every day, without exception. “Communications and relationships have been critical during my journey in Tulsa,’’ Ballard said. “But we must be focused on having an effective teacher in every classroom and a great leader in every (school) building. That’s most important.’’ Ballard joined Tulsa Public Schools as superintendent in 2008. The district serves an urban population with a diverse population of students providing a choice of magnet, community, charter and neighborhood schools including a high school that partners with Tulsa Community College providing college-level courses. During his tenure, Ballard worked to pass the largest bond in the history of the State of Oklahoma, totaling $354 million. He led the way for the district to work with the Gates Foundation on teacher and leader effectiveness, one of only 10 school districts selected in the country. He will retire from his position in Tulsa this summer. The lectureship was established in 1994 by a gift from the John Massey family, which was matched by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Endowment Fund Program. Previous speakers at the Massey Lecture include H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt, George Kaiser, Edward Keller, Ambassador James R. Jones, Dr. Tom Cole, Archie Dunham, Keith Bailey, Michael Cawley, Joseph Cappy, Sen. Ted Fisher, J. Clifford Hudson, Mark Stansberry and Ed Martin. by University Communications