Weekly Resource Email: April 24, 2020

April 24, 2020

ImpactTulsa Partners and Community Members,

Tulsa County has changed as we are changed by COVID-19 in ways seen and unseen–what hasn’t changed is our ability to adapt. For over a month, we’ve seen parents finding innovative ways to celebrate seniors and birthdays. We’ve seen learning happening both digitally and hands-on with this like the STEM-in-a-Bag kits our partners at the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance have shared. Our local galleries museums offer virtual tours and activities. All over we’re changing and adapting, and that ability to adapt is what will get us through this. We’re Tulsa strong.

We are continually working with partners to compile and align resources, and we sincerely thank all who contributed information and updates. If you have a resource to share or are releasing news updates, please email us at info@impacttulsa.com so we can add your information to next week’s resource round-up.

ImpactTulsa Staff Offer Presentation and Collaboration
Since the shift to remote work and learning, the ImpactTulsa team has been working closely with partners and other local and national organizations to provide training, professional development and thought partnership. This week, Executive Director Carlisha Williams Bradley spoke to a group from Leadership Tulsa, Jessica Smith did a workshop with Broken Arrow Public Schools on best practices for Zoom, and the team hosted a Continuous Learning and Improvement 101 for partners, among many other opportunities.

Tulsa County School Districts + Non-Profit Leaders Collaborative Sessions
To remain in contact and support each other with resources, ImpactTulsa has created Google Groups mailing lists for the four resource areas identified in our partner call last week. You can join a Google Group by clicking the links below. Click here for a step by step tutorial on how to join Google Groups without a Gmail address. Feel free to share this email and the links below to invite others to join the group(s) as well.

Education and Distance Learning
- Virtual collaboration offered Thursdays at 8:30am

Food and Meal Options
- Virtual collaboration offered Tuesdays at 10:00am

Family Resources
- Virtual collaboration offered Tuesdays at 8:30am

Communications
- Virtual collaboration offered Thursdays at 10:00am

Making our world a better place: StriveTogether deepens commitment to racial and ethnic equity
With StriveTogther’s our racial equity statement, ImpactTulsa’s partner network has set the vision for what we as a network want the results of our work to look like. This resolve comes from the belief that every child has value and promise. Yet equity does not mean supporting everyone equally – it means prioritizing attention on the people who need it most.

Oklahoma State Department of Education
For the latest Oklahoma State Department of Education updates, please visit their website. For their latest answers to frequently asked questions, please refer here. For information on how to engage families during this time, check out their resources here.

Health clinic opens at Ellen Ochoa Elementary
Community Health Connection began serving patients from its new facility on the campus of the Union Public Schools elementary Monday. The Eastside Clinic at 12020 E. 31st St. is twice as big as the health center’s former location in east Tulsa and offers an array of expanded services for dentistry, behavioral health, pharmaceuticals and more.

Collective impact partnerships in the time of COVID-19
From StriveTogether: Collective impact partnerships are well-positioned to lead the desperately needed response, recovery, and resilience efforts in communities across the country. In fact, they’re already doing it.

Radically Adapting to the New World
Faced with unprecedented conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, organizations are rapidly adapting to serve the greatest number of people in need, now. The speed of change has been remarkable.

Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Hofmeister, OEA ‘do not support’ federal aid to private schools
A suggestion from Gov. Kevin Stitt to use federal education aid for private-school scholarships sparked opposition from public-school advocates, including Oklahoma’s top education official. “We do not support that idea,” state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said in a statement Monday.

Opportunities for Action: WIC’s Role in Supporting Health, Food Security
Advocacy organizations, other partners, and WIC should widely disseminate information about WIC services and special policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the latest document with opportunities for action.

Coronavirus for kids without internet: Quarantined worksheets, learning in parking lots
For those who already have service, there’s help: Across the nation, many internet providers have agreed to waive late fees and end disconnects for families in financial hardship. But millions without high-speed internet at home have been left to fend for themselves as governments shut down their school buildings and mandate distance learning.
Tulsa World
The numbers of COVID-19 cases and recoveries are constantly changing–follow the latest updates from the Tulsa World here.

Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)
CRPE is tracking what school districts are doing nationwide in response to COVID-19. Click to view their database, which currently presents information for numerous districts, aiming for a range in size and geography, and serving millions of students.

Oklahoma Schools search for ‘lost students’ during distance learning
While schools have made contact with most students during a shift to distance learning, thousands have been unreachable and are at risk of not having contact with a school for at least the next five months until buildings reopen.

Click below to be directed to the following resource pages on our website:

If you have a resource to share or are releasing news updates, please email us at info@impacttulsa.com so we can add your information to next week’s resource round-up.