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Alpha Plus Blog: Alpha Plus News, Materials, Partners, and Education Materials
In Oklahoma history, teacher and scholar Angie Debo used her study of Native American history to innovate new research methods that are widely used today.
Angie Debo: Pioneer in Native American History
In January 1890, Angie Elbertha Debo was born in Kansas. At the age of nine, she and her family moved to Indian Territory. They settled in the small town of Marshall, about fifty miles north of what would become Oklahoma City.
In Oklahoma history, Bessie Coleman was just a freshman attending the Colored Agricultural and Normal University at Langston in the early 1900s. She went on to become the first black woman and the first Native American woman to receive an international pilot’s license. Read more in this sneak peek of our 6th grade ELA book!
Her Dreams Were in the Sky
In 1919, 27-year-old Bessie Coleman was doing nails in a Chicago barbershop. Born in Texas, she had saved up her money and moved to Oklahoma to attend what is now Langston University. She could only afford one semester so she went to live with family in Chicago and attended beauty school.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 16, 2021
Contact: Jan Barrick or Rachel Watson, (405) 842-8408
COVID-19 learning gaps less than expected in Oklahoma schools
using OAS-aligned benchmarks
Analysis of midyear benchmark data from summative assessments aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) found students in Grades 3-8 statewide performing on par with students in the same or similar public schools last year.
“All schools have had limited class time and most are struggling with various forms of distance learning but, in aggregate, student learning loss caused by the pandemic not been as great as expected in schools using OAS-aligned tools,” Alpha Plus CEO Jan Barrick explained. “Teachers trained to address summer learning loss and close academic gaps every year prioritize essential skills required in state standards. They use data by OAS objective to differentiate instruction.”
Alpha Plus assessments have been aligned to OAS and administered online for five years making the data reliable for comparison over time. Summative benchmarks offer precise identification of gaps between what a student knows and what the state of Oklahoma expects them to have learned in any school year.
“While students in Grades 3-8 started out with slightly lower baseline scores in the fall, they grew a little more than students had by mid-January last year,” Barrick said.
In Oklahoma history, a musician born in Oklahoma City in 1914 grew up to write one of the most influential novels in American history. During Black History Month, we remember the life of Ralph Ellison and the first great novel by an African-American writer, Invisible Man, published in 1952.
Ralph Ellison: An Oklahoma Treasure
Oklahoma has a rich history of people who have made a lasting mark on their profession and the world. Ralph Ellison is one such figure. Born in 1914, in Oklahoma City, Ralph Ellison walked the halls of Frederick Douglass School and learned from early hardship that life was difficult but beautiful. Pulling from his roots and life experiences, Ellison wrote Invisible Man, one of the most influential novels in American history.
Ralph Ellison was named after his father’s literary hero, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison’s father had wanted his son to be a poet, just like his namesake. Unfortunately, when Ellison was three, his father was killed in a terrible accident. After the tragedy, Ellison’s mother was forced to work multiple jobs to support her family. But even in this, Ellison could see good, as his mother brought him books to read given to her by residents in the houses she cleaned. Ralph Ellison grew up poor but was able to attend school in Oklahoma City, learned to play the trumpet, and found good mentors.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 21, 2020
CONTACT: Jan Barrick or Rachel Watson, (405) 842-8408, or Wendy Pratt, (405) 437-8204
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - When the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved suspending school report card grades this school year because of the disruption of COVID-19, the context and consequences were clear to a local expert in assessment and school improvement.
“Since state test scores comprise about three-fourths of any school’s report card grade, it makes sense the state would not make A-F calculations,” explained Jan Barrick, CEO of Alpha Plus Educational Systems.
We Use Data to Help Schools on the Way to an A!
Teachers and administrators can quickly and easily identify students who need more help learning the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
Alpha Plus pinpoints the SPECIFIC OAS objectives or "gaps" students have from previous years, then helps school teams address each objective throughout the year.
That is why Alpha Plus schools have OUTPERFORMED the state average every year of the A-F Report Cards.
Alpha Plus Educational Systems
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 53219, Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Location: 27 E. Sheridan Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Phone: 405-842-8408 | Contact Us Inquiry Form
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