I am a new father and there is nothing more important to me than my son. I want him to have the best education and opportunities here in Tulsa, and I think we can all agree that the state of education in Oklahoma needs attention. This was the main reason I was driven to get involved in the Impact Tulsa education forum on June 10th.
The event was a joint venture with Impact Tulsa and the United Way Women’s Leadership Council called Making a United Impact Education Forum. The interactive forum focused on ways we can improve education in the Tulsa area. Experts from around the country were in attendance to help further the discussion and find ways to help us work together to make Tulsa one of America’s most literate cities.
The topics discussed included:
- Collective impact in education
- Why now is the right time to address education
- The importance of early literacy
- Striving for better educational outcomes
- How education affects the economy of our area in a profound way
But the theme running throughout the discussion was how you, as an individual, can get involved and make a difference. By the end of the forum, everyone in attendance had the opportunity to bring something to the table; through interactive table exercises’, creative ideas for reading campaigns or the opportunity to volunteer their time.
We all need to be thinking about paving the way for our children in order to ensure that Tulsa is the best place for all of them to learn and grow. All members of the community play a critical role in shaping our education system and our involvement is vital. The passion and enthusiasm on that one day event needs to be carried on and as one speaker pointed out “the real work is done between meetings” and not during the meeting. Therefore, we all need to get to work and continue the momentum that was started in that room.
Thank you!
Dave Shirley
2015
Emerging Leaders Society Chair
Senior Sales Executive
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma