Today is the Day!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 03/13/2012
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We are making it happen in Tulsa! Our application numbers keep growing, and we are talking to more and more families about their interest in Tulsa Lighthouse Charter School!
We have put together this video to share with you about Lighthouse Academies – why we exist and what we aim to do. Share with your family and friends!
Join us at Lighthouse!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 03/02/2012
A TLCS applicant drew this during the March 1 info session!
As you read in yesterday’s post, student recruitment is in full swing here with LHA Tulsa! As part of our outreach, we are hosting at least 2 information sessions per week in March! The schedule is posted on our Events page.
Who can come to info sessions? Children, parents, and their families are welcome to come – both those who have applied and those who are interested in applying!
What happens at info sessions? Our leadership team is there to meet you and answer your questions! We show two videos about Lighthouse Academies – a video about who we are and another video that shows how arts infusion works in various Lighthouse classrooms. Depending on the group size, we will also teach a short, example lesson that you would typically see in one of our classrooms.
My children may not be able to sit through the full session – should I bring them? Yes! We have staff on hand to do arts-infused activities with students while their parents and guardians are involved in the session. As you can see from the artwork above, children are eager to be involved, too!
Who is the leadership team? The TLCS leadership team includes our principal, Jamila MacArthur, and our Regional Vice President. Wait, who?!
We would also like to introduce you to the newest member of our team: David A. Burks has come to Tulsa as the Regional VP for the Lighthouse Academies Southwest Region. Tulsa is Lighthouse’s first site in this region; Mr. Burks will be an integral member of the TLCS leadership team and will work with students, but he will also oversee the school’s operations and growth in coming years. Welcome, David!
We look forward to meeting with you!
As always, you can read more about us and apply online at the official LHA web site!
The Top Five Reasons you should help recruit students…
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 03/01/2012
Student recruitment season is in full swing, and we are looking to you to direct families with students entering pre-kindergarten through 4th grade to our online application at http://www.lighthouse-academies.org/media/tlcs-student-application-2012-13-rev.2.pdf. Here are the Top Five Reasons you want to be included in recruitment…
5. To get in touch with old friends… There is nothing better than re-connecting to spread awareness about a fabulous school choice in North Tulsa.
4. and to make new friends! If you participate in neighborhood canvassing, you will be going door to door to recruit students. People in Tulsa are friendly, and they love to hear the low down on Lighthouse.
3. To shout it from the mountaintops. It’s official – we are opening in August 2012! Now we need to tell everyone our mission.
2. Because today is the day we make it happen. In order to have a successful school, we need students! Your help will ensure all families in Tulsa are made aware of Lighthouse as a choice for students in pre-k through 4th grade.
1. To win awesome prizes. From QT gift cards to free uniforms for your child, the more students you recruit, the more chances you have to win. Make sure all applicants list your name in the “How did you hear about TLCS?” section!
SHINE on during this wonderful spring recruitment season!
LHA Tulsa in the News!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 02/14/2012
Saturday was our official Application Launch event – where we brought together LHA Tulsa staff with the community to share more about TLCS and celebrate our excitement for the charter. In addition to introducing our principal, Jamila MacArthur, Principal Whitfield from Arkansas joined us. We also heard from Angie Walker, a parent who visited JLCS with us and has applied her son for TLCS. We even had a special appearance from Representative Jabar Shumate, who represents North Tulsa in the Oklahoma Legislature. All were great spokespeople on behalf of education and Lighthouse!
We’re sure the children in attendance especially loved our art room, where they spent the event creating new inventions from Play Dough and making watercolor masterpieces. It was a fun morning!
Below are links to two news stories that ran locally about the event:
From News on 6: http://www.newson6.com/story/16914385/new-tulsa-charter-schools
From KJRH: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/new-charter-school-in-tulsa-accepting-applications
Thank you to World Won Family Life Center, including Pastor and Mrs. Cooper, as well as tech guy, Eddie, for hosting the event and for your help all morning!
Thanks, too, to Metropolitan Baptist Church, who welcomed us to Sunday services – we got to meet some great people!
Here’s to another great week ahead!
An Exciting Week at LHA Tulsa!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 02/09/2012
We are hitting the ground running to make sure that Tulsa Lighthouse Charter School opens this August! We are actively recruiting both teachers and students and every day, talking with great people from across Tulsa about what TLCS will bring to TPS! We want to take a moment to tell you about some exciting things from this week and those upcoming!
TLCS Principal Has Arrived!
Jamila MacArthur, the founding principal of TLCS, has officially started in Tulsa this week! We are very proud to welcome her to the team and know she is dedicated to serving Tulsa’s students. She comes to from KIPP in Los Angeles, where she worked as an assistant principal. Originally, she is from Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma-Norman. We’re glad she’s back home and bringing her experience, skills, and knowledge to best serve our scholars. To read more about her or contact her, visit our official TLCS web site.
Application Launch Event This Weekend
Saturday is the big day! February 11th at 11am, join us at World Won Family Life Center (1125 E. 36th St. North) for our official Application Launch event. We have been accepting applications for three weeks and have seen great interest from the community – this weekend, we want to celebrate that, as well as help others to apply their students for TLCS! Anyone and everyone are welcome to come!
We will be joined by Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School Principal, Norman Whitfield (remember our visit with him in September?). Those in attendance will also be able to meet Ms. MacArthur and members of the LHA Tulsa Transition Team. We will also hear from some community members who are excited about Lighthouse!
The program will begin promptly at 11 a.m., and will be followed by the opportunity for people to visit with LHA staff to learn more and to apply. Food will be provided!
We will also be organizing volunteers for some exciting events Saturday afternoon!
We look forward to seeing you!
Apply, Apply, Apply!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 01/25/2012
Prospective TLCS students and staff, apply today!
For our school to successfully open in August, we need students and a great team of teachers to serve them! Applications for both students and staff are up on www.lighthouse-academies.org.
Student Applications are available at www.lighthouse-acadmies.org/schools/TLCS/ - click on the “Apply” tab! Applications are due April 6, 2012.
Applications, including job descriptions, for teaching positions PK-4th grade and Director of Instruction are available at www.lighthouse-academies.org/apply – look for jobs in the Tulsa region!
If you have any questions about either application, contact info-TLCS@lighthouse-academies.org or call 918.231.4212.
We look forward to seeing your application!
Charter Approval!
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 01/19/2012
Our charter was officially approved, by unanimous vote of the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education, on Tuesday, January 17!
We are excited to continue to work with TPS and the community on ensuring the successful opening of the Tulsa Lighthouse Charter School.
Tonight, we will be joining TPS at an information session for the parents and families of the Greeley Elementary community to discuss the Lighthouse model and prospective location for our school. We are looking forward to meeting many students and their families.
You will also notice two new pages on our blog -
We are hosting multiple events in February, March, and April to reach as many students and families as possible about the Lighthouse mission and the opportunity to apply for the school. Check out our Events page for more information.
We will need many Volunteers for our recruitment events to ensure that all students have access to applying to our school! Check out our Volunteer page for information about what opportunities are available.
Also, don’t forget to check out our new page on the Lighthouse Academies web site; TLCS is officially a member of the LHA network of schools!
What a great week! We will keep you posted on all that is to come!
Fulfilling the dream at Lighthouse
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 01/16/2012
- ““The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
How do we incorporate such character development in our education model? You may have already read about SHINE – our character education program that highlights the positive character traits: Self-Discipline, Humility, Intelligence, Nobility, and Excellence.
We believe that responsible and productive citizens embody several essential qualities and character traits, that we aim to develop in every student.
The Value of a College Education
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 12/06/2011
Work hard. Get smart. Graduate from college.
When visiting the Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools, our team asked students about the LHA Core Values. The first ones any scholar we talked to mentioned – whether they were in Kindergarten or 8th grade – was “Work hard. Get Smart. Graduate from college.” Kindergarteners in Pine Bluff were excited to tell us about what they knew about college, and 8th graders in Jacksonville were already talking about what they wanted to study – not just where, but also why. In each instance, the scholars connected college to success. They shared with us a mindset that college is an important part of their futures.
At LHA, we expect that not only will all of our students graduate from high school, but they will also graduate from college. We want every student to be prepared to go to college. We understand that not all students may choose to go directly from high school to college, but we want them to be able to make that choice with all of the best options available to them.
Why is this important?
Think about this:
The Alliance for Education recently reported that 14,400 students dropped out of Oklahoma’s high school class of 2010. Without high school diplomas, not only are these students missing out on the opportunity to go to college, but they are missing millions of dollars in potential earnings throughout their lifetimes. If just half of the 2010 dropouts had graduated, they would earn nearly $70 million more in income per year compared to their earnings without a diploma. The effect on the state’s economy is even greater; just 7,000 more graduates means that Oklahoma could expect $52 million in increased spending, 500 new jobs, and $81 million in new growth. If that’s just 7,000 more students, imagine if every student graduated from high school. What’s more is that these are just statistics from Oklahoma – multiply the figures to include the more than 1.3 million students nationwide who dropped out of the class of 2010.
At Lighthouse Academies, we find these numbers to be troubling, but we also know that these figures are not fixed. As part of our vision to provide all students with an excellent education, we want our efforts to fundamentally change public education and leave these kinds of statistics in the history books.
That fundamental change begins with valuing college – ensuring our students work hard to graduate from high school with a college acceptance letter in hand. They then would have the power to choose their futures. Their success will have great ripple effects not only on their lives and opportunities, but can powerfully influence our economy and greater society.
It is our belief that all children can learn, and will – that all scholars can work hard, grow smarter, and graduate from college.
We’re excited to hear young Tulsans speak about their college dreams as passionately as scholars across the Lighthouse network. Even more so, we’re excited to see the number of students in Oklahoma missing out on college decrease as we increase the value of education, and ultimately, the worth of our economy and society.
Working hard, getting smart - to graduate from college at Gary Lighthouse Charter School in Gary, IN.
High expectations equal results.
Posted by: Lighthouse Academies of Tulsa on: 11/25/2011
This is one of my favorite Lighthouse Academies core values. What does this mean? “If we expect great things from our students, staff, and community, great things will be achieved. When we make excuses for people’s actions, we lower the bar for everyone.” It demands so much from stakeholders, who contribute to the success of our students.
Last weekend, I (Angie) was in New Orleans, recruiting stellar teachers and leaders at the annual National Alliance for Black School Educators Conference. It was empowering, seeing hundreds of people dedicated to giving students across the country the excellent education they deserve. I had high expectations while speaking to prospects, and asked thought provoking questions -
- How do you feel about urban education?
- What have you learned from your experiences as an educator?
- What needs to change about education in America? Are you ready to make those changes?
- How do you feel about teaching in a community you have never set foot in?
I was picking the brains of prospects, seeing whether they would hold high expectations for students, staff, and the Tulsa community. As we move forward with the charter process, I am excited to see NABSE attendees apply for positions here in Tulsa. Of course, I’m also excited to see you who holds high expectations apply! Leave a comment if you would like more information.
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