See Section B.
OKC FRIDAY Vol. 53 No. 12 • Two Sections • 18 Pages July 26, 2019
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday OKC’s only locally-owned newspaper with all local news Serving Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills, The Village, Quail Creek, The Greens and Gaillardia for 45 years
PC, OKC schools allow transfers while Deer Creek, Edmond do not By Sara Schlecht Student Intern
Getting ready Heritage Hall Lower School kindergarten teacher Meghan Thomason readies her classroom for the new school year. The first day of school for Heritage Hall students is Aug. 21. - Photo by Ron Vavak
Eight Fridaylanders earn National Merits By Rose Lane Editor Eight Fridayland students have been named winners of National Merit college-sponsored scholarships. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of
undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. The total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2019 competition to about 4,100. Our winners are: • Mitchell L. Grantham, Crossings Christian School,
National Merit University of Oklahoma Scholarship. Possible career field: Engineering. • Sabrina Maria Lopez, Bishop McGuinness, National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
As the beginning of the school year approaches, public schools in Fridayland, as well as surrounding districts, will be opening their doors to students. Some of these students are residents of the respective districts, while others transfer from another district. The Putnam City School Board approved the transfer of 107 students into the district for the 2019-2020 school year. An additional 117 students requested such a transfer but had their requests denied or withdrawn. The approved students come from surrounding school districts, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Piedmont and Yukon, according to Joe Ellis, director of student services. The Oklahoma State Department of Education allows transfers upon school board approval in the receiving district. No tuition is required. “We have an incredible school district, and some people are willing to drive to our district for their child to be able to take advantage of some of our offerings,” Ellis said. Oklahoma City Public Schools allow transfers between schools in the district and to outof-district students, according to documents See SCHOOLS, Page 3
See MERITS, Page 5
Deer Creek educator is finalist for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Deer Creek’s Jena Nelson is among the 12 finalists for Oklahoma’s next Teacher of the Year. Nelson teaches English at Deer Creek Middle School. She has been an educator for 14 years and has held her current position for two years. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister made the announcement.
“These 12 individuals represent the highest standard of education in our state and are exceptional examples of the tremendous impact one person can make in the lives of kids,” said Hofmeister. “Their use of innovative instructional strategies and their demonstrated ability to forge meaningful relationships with students and families demonstrate their
commitment to the success of every child in their classroom. We are proud of their success, and they are deserving of this important honor.” The announcement came at Southmoore High School, the last of five regional sites for EngageOK on the Road, a free summer conference series by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE).
QC doc also a sleuth, writer By Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Court Justice Yvonne Kauger writes in the foreword. A Quail Creek “We are given a close-up look at early physician/novelist is also a persistent amaaviation, the oil business, the suffragette teur sleuth who has written a non-fiction movement, religious book about the lynchintolerance, conspiraHOLLINGSWORTH cy, politics, education, mob murder of his grandfather in souththe Underground western Oklahoma 95 years Railroad, racism, the Civil War ago. and civil rights, the formal “Killing Albert Berch” by recognition of osteopathy, burlesque, the Ku Klux Klan, the Alan Berch Hollingsworth (Pelican Publishing Co., 302 pp) impeachment of a governor, a is “a potpourri of history and mystery,” Oklahoma Supreme See AUTHOR, Page 3
All finalists were named teachers of the year for their respective districts and selected after their application packets were reviewed by a panel of educators, legislators and members of business and nonprofit organizations. The 2020 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year will be named Sept. 17 in a ceremony at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.
Beginning July 1, 2020, the honoree is to assume full-time Teacher of the Year duties, which include speaking engagements and serving as Oklahoma’s teacher ambassador, encouraging others to enter or remain in the profession. The 2019 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Becky Oglesby of Yukon, continues to tour the state until July 2020.
JENA NELSON
FRIDAY’s
Rescue Dog of the Week Tilly is approximately 8-months-old and a beautiful Malanois mix. She weighs about 35 pounds and is a sweet dog. She has been at The Village shelter for about 8 weeks and is spending too much of her puppyhood incarcerated. Her history is unknown as she was brought in by citizens who found her on Penn and Britton. They brought her home and said she was a nice dog. For more information on how to see her, go to The Village Animal Control Facebook page or call Bryan Balenseifen, ACO at The Village at 751-9518. The shelter is closed weekends.
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