MAPS for Kids Community Meeting Seeks Input at Thelma R. Parks Elementary School

Oklahoma City – As planning begins for the MAPS for Kids renovations at Thelma R. Parks School for Computers and Foreign Language, parents, teachers, staff and the public are encouraged to take part in the process by attending and providing feedback at a community meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, at 6 p.m. in the school’s multi-purpose room, 1501 NE 30th.

Meeting planners will review the educational specifications process as well as provide patrons with a preliminary concept of facility plans for the specialty school.

Home of the Timberwolves, Thelma R. Parks School for Computers and Foreign Language was built in 1997 as a specialty school that teaches computer skills and Spanish in addition to the regular elementary curriculum. The school was named after Thelma R. Parks, parent, past classroom teacher, past school counselor, friend, philanthropist, organizer and school board member. The MAPS for Kids renovation will convert the school from a kindergarten through fifth grade to a pre-kindergarten through sixth grade school. Planned renovations include a classroom addition. The construction budget for the addition is $1.5 million.

With the passage of the MAPS for Kids initiative in November 2001 came approximately $700 million in funding from sales taxes and bond funds necessary for capital improvements in Oklahoma City’s 24 public school districts. Approximately $530 million of those monies are designated for Oklahoma City Public Schools. Under the MAPS for Kids plan, four community meetings will be held for each school that will be rebuilt and fully renovated.

If you need a sign language interpreter, a language interpreter or have a disability requiring assistance at the meeting, please call 879-2007, by May 6.

This information is distributed by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and OCMAPS Trust. For more information regarding MAPS for Kids community meetings, please call the OCMAPS Project Office at (405) 297-3461. For more information on MAPS for Kids, visit www.okc.gov.