Under the umbrella of Partners in Education for Oklahoma City Public Schools or PIE, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Oklahoma City Public Schools District and Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation have re-formalized their shared educational vision and have implemented the following to guarantee success in the tutoring program:

• enhancement of new tutor orientation and materials
• development of model tutor assistance and materials
• development of school preparation and readiness for tutoring partnerships
• development of marketing and preparations for business partnerships
• monitoring of tutored students’ achievement scores and educational success
• tracking of tutor/mentor volunteers in the School District to aid in communication,
• training, recruitment and recognition.

The History
The Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation created Partners in Education to capitalize on their link with the business community to develop mutually beneficial partnerships between schools and various businesses, corporations and organizations. Since its inception in 1994, Partners in Education has been one of the primary programs of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation, establishing programs including Power Hour, one-on-one tutoring; Follow the Leader, one-on-one mentoring; It Makes Cents, financial support; Let’s Celebrate, special events; and Hands-On, business internships for students.

With the goal of providing consistent, measurable tutoring that targets academic success, builds self-esteem and promotes communication between all tutoring groups, the Oklahoma City Public School District shaped an assortment of tutoring programs. Among the organizations to participate in the educational strategy were Chambers of Commerce, INTEGRIS Health programs, Kerr-McGee Corporation, Tinker Air Force Base, and numerous colleges, universities, churches, PTA groups, neighborhood businesses and associations as well as individuals.

Focusing on elementary school students, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber launched their tutoring program in 1997. Since that time, the Chamber has provided a tutoring recruitment program that offers one-on-one assistance to underachieving students.

The Outcome
Because the success of the tutoring and mentoring programs is based upon collaboration between the School District, Chamber and Foundation, it was only fitting to consolidate efforts, coordinating and organizing tutors, partnerships and programs.

For more information on PIE and how to become a tutor, contact Robyn Hilger with the Foundation at (405) 879-2007.