okc schools aren't perfect—here's where the real magic (and chaos) happens

look, i moved to oklahoma city last feb after my van broke down outside stillwater and i swore i’d never drive through another hailstorm. but here i am. six months later, drunk on chili cheese fries and needling through the public school system like a dude trying to find a wildcard in a blackjack deck.

the truth? okc ain’t dallas or austin. it’s got that weird midwestern glow where everyone smiles but you can tell they’re holding their breath. rent’s a third of seattle’s, but i’ve seen teachers pay $1,200/month for a studio with a fridge that hums like it’s reciting the rosary.

i talked to five parents between coffee runs at raven’s roost (yes, i’m a coffee snob now, and yes, i know that sounds tragic). here’s what stuck:

-private schools? northwest classical academy laughs at standardized tests and teaches latin. kids write essays on socrates before they can tie their shoes. tuition: $13k/year. one dad told me, "we’re broke, but our kid knows what an allegory is. worth it."

-public schools? don’t get me started on john f. kennedy middle. the basketball team is legendary, the art room has three working sketchpads. the wifi crashes during compass testing. concurrently, weston hills elementary got a bronze rating from state metrics… but the parent reddit thread says they have a "secret garden" behind the gym where the kids grow tomatoes and whisper math problems to the robins. link

here’s the raw shit:

yo, that’s not a typo. oklahoma spends less per kid than a stay-at-home mom spends on mismatched socks.

but here’s the glitch: some public schools outperform private ones. ridgemont elementary? top 5% in math in the state. how? one teacher admitted over a stale scone at starbucks: "we got a grant from a guy who sold his truck and just… showed up. now the kids have lab coats."

i had a weird convo with mrs. cobb at the laundromat (yes, i do laundry around 11pm here-it’s quiet, and i need to live). she said philip j. swift elementary was "a dumpster fire five years ago," but now?? "they got a-maker and a-learner and a thing called "taco tuesday for literacy"-where kids read in pairs while eating carne asada tacos. it’s dumb. it works."

link

and the weather? today it’s 78° while the sky looks like someone spilled a burnt orange latte sideways. thunder’s coming tonight. chicago’s five hours drive. dallas? two. you blink and you’re in another state with better tacos.

private schools have free parking and iPads. public schools have teachers who bring snacks because the cafeteria hasn’t had fresh apples since 2017.

the guy at the taco stand told me, "at kingfisher middle, the principal has a silent disco during tests. kids wear headphones, play lo-fi beats. no cheating. just vibes." link

i don’t know if my sketchbook is gonna make me rich. but i’m drawing scenes of okc classrooms now. kid in a hoodie holding a cello he got from the school’s "swap bin." kids rapping socratic dialogues over a boombox. a zoom call because the power went out during statewide exams.

the data’s grim. the humanity? it’s louder than the AC in the north dome gym.

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