| FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December
30, 2009
Contacts:
Louisa
McCune-Elmore, Editor in Chief, Oklahoma
Today magazine,
(405)
306-5939, mccune@oklahomatoday.com
Shelly
Hickman, Public Affairs Director, Oklahoma Department of Education,
(405)
397-4030, shelly_hickman@sde.state.ok.us
Early
Childhood Innovator, State Educator Dr. Ramona Paul
Named 2009
Oklahoman of the Year
OKLAHOMA CITY
– Oklahoma Today, the
magazine of
Oklahoma
since 1956, has named Oklahoma Assistant State Superintendent of
Education Dr. Ramona Ware (Emmons) Paul as the Oklahoman of the Year for
2009. Randy Krehbiel’s feature story on Dr. Paul is in the
January/February 2010 issue.
Paul
received the honor for developing the nation’s leading early childhood
education program, according to the magazine.
“Ramona
Paul is the first educator and the first
Oklahoma
state employee to be named Oklahoman of the Year,” said Oklahoma Today editor in chief Louisa McCune-Elmore. “Her vision
and achievement have put
Oklahoma
in the limelight of early childhood education progress. To say that she
has created a better future for
Oklahoma
is an understatement, and we believe telling her story is a step toward
creating the best schools in our nation. There can be no doubt that our
state’s four and five year olds are lucky children indeed.”
Dr. Paul
began working on developing
Oklahoma
’s public early childhood system nearly 30 years ago, and she
continues that work today.
Oklahoma
ranks No. 1 in the nation for early childhood education, both in number
of children served and the quality of its programs, which require a
certified teacher and adherence to the state’s core curriculum.
Rutgers
University
’s National Institute for Early Education Research has rated
Oklahoma
’s early childhood education programs number one in the nation for six
consecutive years. Moreover, an ongoing
Georgetown
University
study shows the programs help to close achievement gaps and increase all
students’ readiness for reading.
To date,
nearly 73 percent of all
Oklahoma
four year olds are voluntarily enrolled in the state’s publicly funded
pre-Kindergarten programs, and about half of those enrolled are being
served in full-day programs.
“We are
excited Dr. Paul has been selected for Oklahoman of the Year,” said
Oklahoma State Superintendent Sandy Garrett. “For nearly 20 years,
I’ve seen firsthand the passion and professionalism of this extremely
knowledgeable educator and innovative change agent.”
Garrett
added, “Ramona has worked steadfastly behind the scenes and is
deserving of this honor. She has been the engine that has kept our state
on track and on task for adding an entire grade to its publicly funded
school system. Ramona and I are frequently requested to present to
policy makers in other states and countries about
Oklahoma
’s early learning success.”
Paul said
she was humbled the honor of being
Oklahoma
Today’s 2009 Oklahoman of
the Year. Working to develop a quality early childhood education system
in Oklahoma has been a calling, but she said it has been a calling she
has shared with many, including State Superintendent Sandy Garrett,
Governor Brad Henry and first lady Kim Henry, businessman and
philanthropist George Kaiser, former governors and many others.
“I’m
thrilled by this honor, but
Oklahoma
’s success with early childhood education has been a team effort
including many people over three decades,” Dr. Paul said. “To see
the vision all of us have been working toward and dreaming about become
reality is rewarding. Helping children to develop a love of learning and
experience the wonder of academic curiosity from an early age will reap
huge dividends not only for them, but also for our state.”
The
January/February 2010 issue has widespread newsstand distribution on
Monday. Subscribers received the issue last week. Oklahoma
Today is a division of the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation
Department.
#
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Excerpted from Oklahoma Today's
January/February issue: |
|
OKLAHOMAN
OF THE YEAR
Oklahoma
is ranked number one in the nation for early childhood education.
We have Dr. Ramona Paul, assistant state superintendant of
schools, to thank for that.
By
Randy Krehbiel
Photography
by John Jernigan
Oklahoma’s
early childhood education program began on a Thursday.
“It’s
so clear in my mind,” says Assistant State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Ramona Paul almost thirty years later. “The
state superintendent, Leslie Fisher, walked into my office and
said, ‘Ramona, what would you like to have for children under
age five?’”
Fisher
was no novice, as an educator or a politician. A Little Dixie
Democrat who had been a teacher and administrator at places like
Springer and Lone Grove before becoming superintendent at Moore,
Fisher ascended to the state superintedency in 1970. Largely
invisible to the general public, Fisher was regarded by many
insiders as one of the savviest and most powerful figures in state
government.
But
he could not have known the ramifications of the question he asked
that Thursday afternoon in 1980. No one could have. Not Leslie
Fisher. Not the legislature. Not even Ramona Paul, the single
person most responsible for making Oklahoma’s early childhood
education program the envy of the nation.
.
. .
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