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Coaching Changes Approved For Waurika Softball, Girls Basketball

By
Trey Smart
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A couple of changes in coaching responsibilities were recently approved by the Waurika Board of Education.

Kassie Bohot, who has been a teacher at Waurika Elementary and the head coach of the powerlifting program will add fast-pitch softball to her responsibilities at the school.

Garret Bachand, the boys’ basketball coach for the past three seasons, will take on the girls’ basketball program as well for the coming year.

Bohot replaces long-time athletic director and fast-pitch softball coach Everett Hodges.

Hodges compiled a 27-52 record over the past three seasons of fast-pitch softball for the Lady Eagles. This came after a two-year period where the team only won a total of four games.

Bohot is excited about the added coaching responsibility and is looking forward to her first season after serving as the top assistant the past few seasons.

“This group of seniors if the first group I coached at Waurika,” said Bohot. “I know the girls and their abilities.”

Bohot noted the improvement of the girls she has helped with over the past few seasons.

“I am excited to see this come full circle,” Bohot added. “I can’t wait to have a good year.”

Bachand is also excited about the opportunity to take on the reins of the girls basketball program at Waurika.

He has been the Eagle roundball coach for the past three seasons and has a 33-36 record.

Bachand’s first two seasons produced a winning record, but this past season the squad struggled because of injuries.

However, the 2022 version of the Eagles made the first regional tournament appearance under Bachand, who is a graduate of Waurika High School.

Bachand will also be no stranger to the girls as he was the top assistant under Kalee Baxter during the 2022 campaign when the Lady Eagles fashioned a 20-7 record.

“I’m really excited to become the next head coach for these girls,” Bachand said. “I have talked to them and they are stoked and ready to work.”

The Lady Eagles have had strong seasons the past few years, but faltered in the post-season.

 “Obviously these girls have done some really good things in the regular season,” Bachand noted.

“Most of those girls that are returning have some unfinished business from the last two years in the postseason,” Bachard added.

It will be a big goal for the veteran boys’ coach to push the girls to new heights particularly in the postseason.

“I can’t wait to get to work and see what we can do this next season,” Bachard said.

 In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Bachand serves as an assistant to Joe Allen in both football and baseball.

Woods and Waters July 5 2018

By
Mike Gaines
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Hope you had a great “4th of July” holiday and had a chance to celebrate the founding of our great nation! In doing so I also hope you had a chance to get on the water and enjoy a little fishing.

   While out casting on your favorite body of water catching bass, crappie, catfish or whatever your quarry is, hopefully you didn’t encounter any snakeheads! What is a snakehead you ask? Well, I’m going to tell you more than you probably wanted to know about them.

   Snakeheads (Family Channidae) are native to Africa and southern Asia. About 28 species have been identified. Equipped with a lung-like organ, these fish can gulp air and survive in waters with low dissolved oxygen levels. They can also live out of water for several days if they are kept moist. All snakeheads are aggressive predators and may eliminate other fish in waters they invade. They have even been known to bite humans who got too close to a guarded nest. The northern snakehead (Channa argus) is fairly cold tolerant, and could probably survive winters in many parts of the United States. This species also has the ability to cross land by wriggling or “walking” on its pectoral fins. Snakeheads have been imported to North America for the aquarium trade, and at one time were sold live in Asian-style fish markets. It’s thought that in some instances some of these live fish were released in waterways to reproduce as they are a sought after food source in Asia.

Native Bowfin

   That was prior to the Snakehead being added to the list of injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in October 2002, which banned import and interstate transport without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Snakeheads were sold in pet stores and in live food fish markets and some restaurants in several major U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, and St. Louis. Live specimens have been confiscated by authorities in Alabama, California, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and Washington where possession of live snakeheads is illegal. Some snakeheads living in natural waters of the U.S. may have been released by aquarium hobbyists or those hoping to establish a local food resource. Also, some cultures practice “prayer animal release”, a faith-based activity in which individuals purchase, then release, an animal (fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird) to earn merits with a deity.

You Don’t Want To Lip A Snakehead!

   Snakeheads are a freshwater fish with little, if any, tolerance for saltwater. Within their native and introduced ranges, they live in small and large streams, canals, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, and lakes. Many species can tolerate a wide range of pH, and one species living in Malaysia and parts of Indonesia prefers highly acid waters (pH 2.8-3.8). The northern snakehead and several other species prefer to live in somewhat dense aquatic vegetation where they feed and reproduce. Northern snakehead may tolerate a wide range of water temperatures and environmental conditions which contributes to their success as an invasive species.

   During all stages of their life, snakeheads compete with native species for food and habitat. A major concern is that snakeheads may out-compete and eventually displace important native or other established predatory fish that share the same habitat.  As adults, snakeheads can be voracious predators. Should snakeheads become established in North American ecosystems, their predatory behavior could also drastically disrupt food chain and ecological conditions, thus forever changing native aquatic systems by modifying the array of native species. This could be disastrous!

Northern Snakehead!

   In the summer of 2002 and again in late spring 2004, Channa argus, the northern snakehead, generated national media attention when anglers caught these fish in a pond in Maryland and, more recently, in the Potomac River in Maryland and Virginia. Fisheries scientists consider snakeheads to be invasive species because they have the potential to threaten native fish, the recreational fishing industry, and aquatic ecosystems.

   A mature northern snakehead female can carry as many as 50,000 eggs, although some will not develop and others will be eaten by insects and small fish following fertilization. Depending on water temperature, eggs can hatch in about 24-48 hours. The fish also can spawn several times a year.

   Snakeheads are easy to identify with their large mouth-full of sharp teeth, a mottled appearance much like a snake and a dorsal fin that runs back to their tail. They have a slight resemblance to the native bowfin common in our southern states but they are not related. 

   Hopefully you never run into these creatures but you can search YouTube and pull up videos of people fishing for snakehead fish in the northeast.

    But for now you don’t have to worry about swimming in Lake Waurika. Get out and enjoy our Oklahoma.

Cole Statement on Retirement of NIH Director Francis Collins

By
Tom Cole
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Moore, OK – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) issued the following statement after it was announced that Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will retire at the end of 2021 after a 12-year tenure under three consecutive presidential administrations. Cole is the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that provides funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the NIH. 

“It is with very mixed emotions that I learned of the retirement at the end of this year of Dr. Francis Collins, long-time director of the National Institutes of Health,” said Cole. “Naturally, I am pleased that someone who has worked so long and hard for the American people and for all of humanity is going to have an opportunity to take some time and smell the roses along the way. However, as a strong supporter and advocate of the NIH, I know how much he will be missed at the Institute, by the biomedical community, in the halls of Congress and amongst his scientific peers around the world.

“Dr. Collins has served with exceptional distinction. The only person appointed by three different presidents to directorship of the NIH, I have often called him the ‘best politician in Washington, D.C.’ Who else could be appointed by President Barack Obama, President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden? The fact that Dr. Francis Collins holds this unique distinction is a testament to the high regard in which he is held across the political spectrum.

“A brilliant scientist in his own right, no one matches the ability of Dr. Collins to marshal and focus the scientific community. His concentrated attention to the well-being and health of people all over the world are literally unmatched. During his tenure, Dr. Collins advocated for greater federal investment in the NIH’s budget, and he worked to advance many biomedical research initiatives focused on such ailments as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Indeed, his crowning achievement was probably the critical role he played in coordinating private and public efforts to produce the coronavirus vaccines that were the product of Operation Warp Speed. That effort alone has already saved millions of lives in America and around the world. 

“I do not believe we have heard the last of Dr. Francis Collins. I have no doubt that future administrations of both parties will call upon him for his wise counsel, brilliant insights and exceptional public credibility. While I wish my good friend well in his retirement, I would suggest he not go far because I suspect his country will call upon his services again.”

Long-Time Ryan Coach Steps Aside From Grid Responsibilities

By
Trey Smart
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Veteran Ryan football coach Stan Mueggenborg has stepped away from the program after 12 seasons as the head of the Cowboy program.

 Mueggenborg will remain on the faculty at Ryan and will coach fast-pitch softball this fall and slow-pitch softball next spring.

 Tony Tomberlin, who served as an assistant under Mueggenborg for all 12 seasons, will take over the head coaching reins and it is hoped the transition will be seamless.

 Tomberlin will be the 33rd different head coach in school history.  

 In 2006, Mueggenborg took over the coaching duties of the football program at Ryan after coaching stops at Wichita Falls Notre Dame and Grandfield. He was a football assistant at Grandfield for 19 years.

 There are a number of accomplishments for Mueggenborg in his 12 years at the helm of the Cowboys.

 Mueggenborg is the longest tenured coach in program history and no one else comes close.

 Ryan’s first football coach, G.J. Williams coached nine seasons at Ryan, but that was over three different time periods.

The only other football coach to come remotely close to Mueggenborg’s tenure would be Raymon West, who coached football on three different occasions totaling seven years.

 Mueggenborg will end his career at Ryan with an 81-52 mark. That is the most wins by any Ryan coach in school history.

 The winning percentage of .609 is the third best among coaches who have served at Ryan for at least three years or more.

 In his first season as head coach of the Cowboys, Mueggenborg directed the squad to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the state semifinals where the Cowboys were upset by Temple, 26-7.

 In 2009, Mueggenborg coached the Cowboys to a 10-0 record in the regular season and then helped.

 In 2009, Mueggenborg coached the Cowboys to a 10-0 record in the regular season and then helped Ryan make another semifinal appearance where the Cowboys fell to eventual state champion Canton, 42-8.

 The 2009 campaign is one of only four seasons in school history that Ryan posted an undefeated record in the regular season and each season had a different head coach.

 Those two semifinal appearances are part of nine semifinal contests for Ryan and only Phil Elerick has coached more state semifinal games at Ryan than Mueggenborg.

 In his last season, Mueggenborg helped the Cowboys to a 6-5 mark and a playoff appearance that ended a two-year drought of post-season play for Ryan.

 Mueggenborg led the Cowboys to nine playoff appearances in his 12 seasons and has two district titles to his credit.

 The Ryan teams that Mueggenborg coached were always highly competitive, hard-nosed and hard-hitting.

 The Cowboy squads coached by the veteran coach did not quit – even in the midst of tremendous adversity such as was experienced in the 2015 and 2016 seasons when the Cowboys won only three total games.

 Mueggenborg was also the baseball coach for 11 years and his teams won two conference tournament titles and one district championship. Mueggenborg gave up the baseball coaching duties last season to coach slow-pitch softball

 Another noted achievement for Mueggenborg during his coaching reign was the construction of a new stadium for Ryan in 2008. The metal bleachers and press box replaced the stadium seating that had been in existence since 1947.

 Tomberlin, who has primarily been in charge of the defense during his 11 years as an assistant, will face a tough challenge in returning the Cowboys to the playoffs.

 Ryan is assigned to District B-4 for the next two seasons and will face stiff competition in the upcoming season from Central High, Wilson, Waurika and Empire.

 However, Tomberlin will be one of five new coaches among the district schools. Only Central High will have the same coach from the 2017 season.

 The Cowboys have been engaged in summer conditioning and Tomberlin noted that those who have been participating have been working hard.

 Ryan has been the only coaching responsibility for Tomberlin and he has served in nearly every sport.

 He has been the head coach for boys’ and girls’ track for nine seasons where he coached one individual state champion and six individual regional champions.

 In 2009, he was the head coach of the Cowgirl basketball squad for the second half of the season. He also was the boys’ coach for the 2010-2012 seasons and he led the Cowboys to a pair of district titles.

 For the past 12 seasons he has also served as the assistant for baseball and was named the high school principal in 2014.

 The Cowboy football season gets underway on August 24 when Ryan will welcome Snyder to Bob Givens Sports Complex.

The Most Important Educator

By
Tom Deighan
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This is second in a series of ten summertime articles mapping the common ground upon which parents, educators, and communities can unite regarding one of the most divisive topics in America: public education. 

The leader of a major school software company once claimed he can predict the success of any student in his system. He did not need any of the demographics, grades, or other records stored in his vast computers. He just needed to know if anyone logged in to check on a child’s progress – not daily, weekly, or even monthly. Just once, he claimed, to check on that child. To think, all my nagging as a parent, wasted!  

Although an infinite number of factors impact a child’s education, we know children excel most when a supportive adult is actively involved, and they don’t always need helicopters circling overhead. They just need to know that their education matters to someone – anyone. I cannot responsibly reduce educational success to a click of the mouse, but I can confidently summarize troves of educational research as well as my entire experience as an educator into one simple principle: The parent is the most important educator in a child’s life. 

The parent is the educational foundation and backbone of not only a child’s education but the entire educational system. This is true for public school, private school, and home school, from preschool to university. Schools can assist in a child’s education, and we can advise and support parents, but we can do very little without parents’ support. Such a statement would not have been controversial just a few years ago, so before you cancel me, let me explain. 

When I use the term parent, I obviously mean parent in the traditional sense, but parent also includes the countless grandparents, relatives, and others providing the invaluable service of nagging their beloved children to get their homework done, to get to school on time, and to behave. We don’t think of it as nagging, but that’s how our kids see it, and children generally know who loves them most by who nags them to be their best, even if it is a simple click of the mouse. (Despite some students’ claims, it is not cyberbullying to check their grades.) Sometimes, however, parents need some help, because without someone gently nagging these kids, none of this works.

I am the youngest of seven, and my dad died before I could know him. My single mom cared deeply about my education, but she did not nag me much because she was either at work (often nights) or too tired, despite how much she deeply loved me. From the earliest age, I took full advantage of the situation to become a very accomplished delinquent, so to most teachers I resembled a feral cat more than an actual child. Nevertheless, in each of the fifteen schools I attended before graduation, at least one adult lovingly nagged me. Sometimes it was my teacher, but sometimes it was the custodian, the cook, or the bus driver. Even when my mom needed a nap, I knew someone was watching over me. 

When I assert that the parent is the most important educator in a child’s life, I understand that the definition of parent varies greatly. I also understand that the smallest contribution of a caring adult can exponentially multiply a parent’s efforts. We educators can assist parents but only with their support, and if we ever forget this, we have lost our way. Thankfully, 80% of parents and 80% of educators agree on 80% of the issues, making this partnership possible. Exceptions exist to any rule, but parents and educators working together can rule any exception, especially when we focus on a child’s needs before politics. Most importantly, however, we must never forget who is the most important educator in a child’s life. 

Tom Deighan is a public educator and currently serves as Superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com

4H News Roundup February 22 2018

By
Caity Ramsey
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L-R: Isaac Gholson, Jaci Gholson, Cody Ramsey, Kynlee Waters, Caity Ramsey, Kaylee Morris, and Kim Morris.

L-R: Isaac Gholson, Jaci Gholson, Cody Ramsey, Kynlee Waters, Caity Ramsey, Kaylee Morris, and Kim Morris.

The Waurika 4-H Club had a meeting last week to elect officers. Members also made Valentine’s Day Cards for the nursing home.

Junior 4-H Officers are the following: President Cody Ramsey, Vice-President Jaci Gholson, Secretary Caity Ramsey, and Treasurer Kynlee Waters. Senior 4-H Officers are President Kaylee Morris and Vice President Isaac Gholson. The 4-H leader is Kim Morris.

Upcoming events include a Culinary Club meeting on Feb. 21st and the Local Livestock Show at 1 pm on Feb. 22nd. The Jefferson County Livestock Show is March 1st-3rd. Please come out and support your local 4-H and FFA Show Team!

ATTACHED IS A PHOTO OF THE NEW OFFICERS AND LEADER. Under the photo should read, “L-R: Isaac Gholson, Jaci Gholson, Cody Ramsey, Kynlee Waters, Caity Ramsey, Kaylee Morris, and Kim Morris.”

High Noon Strangers and Local Battles

By
Tom Deighan
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The shadowy silhouette of a vulture drifts across Main Street under the hot sun. Saloon doors from opposite sides of the town square swing shut behind two strangers as the church bell tolls high noon. Children crook their necks, hoping to see some action, as their parents pull them away. Then, the slow walk begins. Tiny billows of fine dust swirl around the strangers’ boots with every deliberate step. As if on cue, both stop and slowly lift the hammer loops from their pistols. Now it’s just a matter of who blinks first . . .

But it’s Oklahoma, and the swirling wind at the center of town kicks up so much darn dust that they can hardly see. Soon, both are blinking uncontrollably and begin firing their irons indiscriminately through watery eyes. Townspeople dive behind water troughs, but soon emerge to realize that the strangers are shooting government-issue blanks.  “Who are they, Mommy?” asks one child, but no one knows. They truly are strangers, sent from Capitol City to save the locals from themselves. 

If you are true Okie, then you know if someone is “from around here” very quickly by a few signs. First off, they know how to pronounce the name of towns like Lookeba, Durant, and Miami. Secondly, they know not to stir up dust on a hot August day. And finally, they know that Okies don’t like to be told what to do, even if we agree. When strangers from capitol city ride into save the day in towns they cannot pronounce or have never visited before, we tend to give ‘em the old stink eye. 

For better or worse, the concepts of rugged individualism and local control are ingrained in Oklahoma. We bristle at top-down solutions from Capitol City (or even Washington D.C.). For the last two years, however, our state has reverted to central planning on issues both critical and trivial. I am certain that everyone involved has the best of intentions, but I wonder if they can pronounce the name of the communities such edicts impact. 

If we thought last year was difficult for schools, this year is the Wild West!  Schools are currently being expected to act well beyond our scope of authority regarding public health, HIPAA, and other privacy issues while simultaneously having fewer options as gunfights erupt all around. Educators do not have the authority or expertise to diagnose or prescribe courses of action related to public or personal health issues, but we are being asked to carry the burden, nonetheless. Our local health departments are in just as tough a spot, however. Parents and staff are frustrated or downright angry. School principals and superintendents are ready to stroke out. (Honestly, I am not giving you the stink eye; it’s just a twitch.)

Perhaps the gun fights on mispronounced Main Streets in our state will continue to utilize government-issued blanks. And perhaps, like last year, townsfolk may once again get comfortable with the dust and din of dueling state agendas, but we are still too early in the school year to know for sure. Ultimately, parents and educators will continue to do what we have always done – we will figure it out and make it work, locally. We will navigate impossible and conflicting mandates to safely serve our children. We will cuss and discuss, and we may even have a few bruises, but they will be our bruises.   

High-noon strangers are welcomed to help when they show up, but it’s only help if it helps, and they’d better be wary of getting between two fighting locals. I do not intend to make light of the situation, but right now, it’s either laugh or cry. Our ears are hurting, and people are a little panicked, but if last year is our guide, we will get used to the dust in our eyes and the sounds of blanks. We will figure out how to serve our children and staff safely, once again, Oklahoma, with or without the help of strangers that mispronounce places like Lake Fuqua. Be watchful, however, for a dark stranger stepping off the train from Washington . . . 

Tom Deighan is currently the superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com  You may read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Sparkman Legacy Began in Jefferson County

By
Trey Smart
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When you write about past things, you never know what memories it might invoke in the minds of people.

 In a recent article about Waurika track, one of the outstanding athletes mentioned was Hurschel Sparkman, an outstanding hurdler for the Eagles in the 1930’s.

 A cousin of Sparkman made a point to reach out and share a few more stories about this family that had deep roots in Jefferson County.

 Hurschel was one of two boys born to Frederick and Willie Pearl Glazner Sparkman. The other brother was named Carl, who was born in 1918. The family also had a sister, Theda. They made their home in Ryan, but moved to Waurika at some point before Theda was born in 1922.

 All three siblings eventually ended up in Great Bend, Kansas, with the two boys heading there about the same time – probably in the early 1940’s.

 The family was known for strict discipline and one summer evening Carl tested that discipline of his father and it resulted in Carl taking off that night and running eight miles in the dark to his grandparents that lived near Ryan.

 Carl ended up graduating from Ryan High School. He followed his brother to Great Bend and became a businessman, insurance salesman and entrepreneur having founded Sparkman Aerial Photography.

 In 2010, Carl passed away in Hutchinson, Kansas, which had been his home for a number of years. He was less than a month short of his 92nd birthday at the time of his death.

 Carl had two sons, Dean and Gene, who is a well-known artist. Gene held art shows up and down the east coast and makes his home in Maryland.

 

Dean, who currently is a resident of Hudson, Wisconsin was a successful businessman as well, but also served as a lobbyist and worked for Elizabeth Dole lobbying for some of her causes at one time.

 Carl, or Sparky as he was known in his younger days, also ran track at Ryan, but results from that time for the Cowboys are scarce.

 Hurschel, who carried the nickname “Speedy”, was one of the stars of the Waurika track dynasty in the 1930’s and much of his success is well-documented.

 The older Sparkman won both hurdles races at the OU Invitational in 1935 and that was considered the state championship at the time. His time in the 120 high hurdles at the OU meet set a meet record and was the fastest time in the United States that season among high school thinclads.

 He also won the 200 yard low hurdles at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) a week later.

 In 1936, Hurschel continued to dominate the hurdles’ events. He repeated as champion in the 200 low hurdles and 120 high hurdles at OU and helped Waurika earn the team title that season.

 At the 1936 Oklahoma A&M meet, he won the 220 low hurdles and helped the 880 and mile relay teams claim first place.

 Later that fall in 1936, Hurschel scored three touchdowns in Waurika’s 71-0 rout of rival Ringling.

 Hurschel went on to run track at Oklahoma A&M.

 Hurschel was not the only Waurika native that made a mark on track success of Oklahoma A&M. R.V. Wright, also an accomplished hurdler at Waurika, was a star for the Aggies and eventually was named the Aggies’ freshman track coach in 1940 after completing his collegiate career.

 One of Hurschel’s dreams was to compete in the Olympics. In 1936, he competed while still a high school student at Waurika in the regional Olympic tryouts and he finished second in the 120 high hurdles. The winner of the race advanced to a semifinal competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 However, in that day, competitors trying to fulfill that dream had to pay their own way and Hurschel’s dreams were quickly dashed as he could not afford the expense it would take to earn a spot and then actually travel and compete in the Olympics.

 When Hurschel made his way to Great Bend, he actually hopped on a freight train that was departing Waurika.

 The area was good to Hurschel as he eventually married and had four children – Randy, Tommy, Mike and Carla. He retired as an engineer of the Missouri Pacific Railroad after 33 years of service.

 Hurschel was a veteran who served in the U.S. army during World War II. He died in 1983 in Great Bend.

 While the Sparkman family made more of a mark in central Kansas, it all started in Jefferson County.

 NOTE: Thanks to Waurika News-Journal/The Ryan Leader reader Ramona Bryant who provided some of the information for this article. She is a cousin to the Sparkman boys and resided near Ryan for many years. She is currently a resident of Duncan.

Westbrook Nursing Home News

By
Patty Bryant
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 We had a wonderful Mother’s Day. On Friday we enjoyed our annual Mother’s Day party. Each lady received a beautiful flower and we presented certificates to our oldest Ethel Anthony (Pictured above), Youngest Minia H., and Mother with the most children Lupe R., A very special thanks to our CDM Cora Bailey, The Local Flower Shop/Tina Morrison and everyone who helped make this day so special for our ladies.

Lupe R

Last week was nursing home week. Each day we dressed up and had special foods. We had pajama day and enjoyed donuts. We had cowboy day with a cookout, grilled hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans and cobbler. It was delicious. We had a cow chip throw and Ronnie won that. We enjoyed Hawaiian day with delicious fresh fruit and dip served in pineapples. On Friday we enjoyed Rootbeer floats and had karaoke. Then we had a drawing for wonderful door prizes. A special thanks to these wonderful merchants for donating door prizes for our residents and staff. Thanks to action fitness, addington station and antiques, Beaver Creek Lumber, Bills Fish House, Dees restaurant, Eagle Nutrition, Eck Drug, Markette, QuikMart, Sheltons, and Sonic, we really appreciate you all. A special thanks to our CDM Cora Bailey and maintenance Eric Bailey for all the cooking. Also thanks to our residents and staff for a fun week. Have a blessed week.

The TLE Dinosaur with a Tiny Brain

By
Tom Deighan
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0

Generations have been taught that the spike-tailed Stegosaurs had a brain the size of a walnut, but I recently discovered that its brain was closer to the size of a tennis ball.  I also learned on the interweb that those iconic battle scenes between Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus from Land of the Lost never happened because they reportedly lived millions of years apart.  This fake news makes me question everything I learned from Saturday morning television.  Were the Sleestak lizard people really evil, or were they simply misunderstood by the unenlightened Pakuni?  Most importantly, does the fossil-record tell us if these ancient peoples went extinct because the maskless Marshall family infected them with the COVID?  Where are the fact-checkers when we need them! 

Nevertheless, Tyrannosaurus Rex was the Cretaceous classmate of a 15,000 pound sauropod with a brain the size of two walnuts. The 50-foot long Ampelosaurus lived about the same time as T-Rex, which we compared last week to the impractical federal testing system with high-stakes teeth that relies on the itty bitty arms of keyboarding 8-year-olds for survival. If T-Rex is “The Testing Dinosaur with Little Arms” (last week’s article), then the Ampelosaurus is the TLE Dinosaur with the Little Brain.

TLE is the Teacher-Leader Effectiveness model adopted by Oklahoma eons ago in 2010 as part of Oklahoma’s failed bid to receive Race to the Top funds that inadvertently hatched two voracious monsters: Common Core State Standards and Oklahoma’s TLE.  TLE was part of an ambitious federal plan to tie teacher performance to test scores and usher in a golden age of incentive pay, but just as the testing dinosaur struggles with little arms, the TLE Dinosaur wrestles with a brain too small.  Consequently, for over a decade, teachers and principals have wasted precious instructional time corralling the Ampelosaurus while simultaneously chasing pterodactyls away from children on the playground. (Disclaimer: state-mandated drills have virtually eliminated staff and student carry-offs by Pterosaurs.)    

While TLE may have begun with great intentions, it is now an outdated model tied to the federal testing dinosaur that compares groups of children to other groups of children. Although politically useful, this testing system is educationally worthless as a real-time guide for instruction.  In 2021, teachers now rely on short, age-appropriate diagnostic tools to monitor individual students’ growth during the school year. Unlike federally mandated tests, these tools impact a child’s day-to-day education.

Unfortunately, in over a decade we have not implemented the quantitative (measurable) portion of TLE with any fidelity.  To-date, we only use the qualitative (subjective) portion.  Since the TLE dinosaur has never tied the federal tests to teacher performance, we now have a giant, time-wasting, paperwork dinosaur that exhausts teachers and principals as it gobbles up learning time from students.  Like the Sleestak and Pakuni from Land of the Lost, however, educators have learned to survive these dinosaurs by employing technology and better practices from this century.  Unfortunately, this creates two testing systems in school – one that is helpful and one that is mandated.  

If we really want to tie teacher performance to tests, we should tie them to the classroom diagnostic tools that impact instruction, and these tests should be aligned to college-and-career readiness standards.  Restoring local and state control of teacher evaluations based on meaningful data would reduce time-wasting, create more robust evaluations, and make it possible to implement incentive pay based on measurable outcomes.  TLE needs to follow the federal testing dinosaur with little arms into extinction. If not extinction, we should send them to an island off Costa Rica where they can frolic with other dinosaurs like Stegosaurs, Common Core, PASS, and NCLB.  

If Land of the Lost perpetuated such fake news, then I am no longer convinced that the Pakuni or Sleestak lizard people are extinct, either.  Maybe Ancient Aliens is on to something, but that is a subject for a different time.  Meanwhile, please do not forget to pray for the safety of our schools this Second Sunday of the month.  Trust me, it works.  Not a pterodactyl in sight. 

Tom Deighan is currently the superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. Email him at deighantom@gmail.com  Read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

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The Waurika News Journal
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