红桃视频

When it comes to Tulsa鈥檚 , there aren鈥檛 many that have been established as long as ONEOK and . Dating back more than 20 years, the two first began working together through the Tulsa Regional Chamber, and now, the . Since then, ONEOK has contributed to Burroughs Elementary continuously through their financial support and weekly volunteer presence in the school building. Over the years, the partnership has only grown stronger.

Michelle Thomas, Community Investments Coordinator, ONEOK, manages their Partners in Education program. She recently spoke with us about ONEOK鈥檚 purpose and strategy toward building an intentional relationship with the Burroughs Elementary community.聽

鈥淲e work closely with Burroughs staff to understand the school鈥檚 priorities and student needs to be the best advocate possible,鈥� Thomas explained. 鈥淲e see our role as a partner in education as leveraging community resources and partnerships to help Burroughs students and teachers succeed.鈥�

Through collaborations with community organizations like 红桃视频, ONEOK provides mentorship and tutoring to Burroughs students and volunteer opportunities to ONEOK employees so they can give their and share their talents.聽

When asked how to describe the partnership between ONEOK and Burroughs, Principal Dee Tisdale shared (with a smile) that she 鈥渨ould have to say caring!鈥�

When 红桃视频 expanded to serve Burroughs Elementary in 2018, we quickly realized the impact ONEOK volunteers could have on our program and students. Since then, ONEOK has held presentations at the beginning of each school year to recruit volunteers and the number of ONEOK tutors has increased each year. Seven ONEOK employees, including Thomas, completed orientation for the first time this month and are training to become tutors.聽

鈥淯ltimately, the long-term goal is student success. Reading on grade level, especially by the end of the third grade, is vital to student progress and future success,鈥� Thomas said.

In order to support 红桃视频 with these long-term goals, employees like Kass M. commit to volunteering for a little over one hour every week through one-on-one individualized literacy instruction with a student at Burroughs who is falling behind in reading. We sat down with Kass recently to hear more about his experience as a volunteer tutor since first signing up in February 2020.

红桃视频: How did knowing ONEOK and 红桃视频 had formed a community partnership impact your decision to become a volunteer?

Kass M.: I first learned about ONEOK鈥檚 community partnership with 红桃视频 while attending a company volunteer fair. That discovery served as a reminder of how I had benefited from a similar program while attending elementary school.

RP: What鈥檚 the most memorable moment you鈥檝e had with a student?

KM: The most memorable moment was witnessing a student鈥檚 exuberance when they realized they were independently applying the tools and lessons they were provided.聽聽

RP: Knowing what you know now about working with young readers (and your experience as a volunteer tutor), what advice would you give yourself on your first day of tutoring?

KM: I would remind myself to continuously work with the designated 红桃视频 coordinators to ensure the lesson difficulty is appropriately calibrated for the respective student.

RP: What keeps you coming back to 红桃视频 year after year?

KM: I admire 红桃视频鈥� overarching mission of helping children become lifelong readers and appreciate that 红桃视频 respects my schedule enough to afford me a virtual/remote volunteering option.

RP: What excites you most about the opportunity to support students at Burroughs Elementary?

KM: I am most excited about 红桃视频’ sense of purpose and the strength of the network; I love the support and resources that the Burroughs鈥� 红桃视频 team is providing to both volunteers and students.

Whether encouraging employees to get involved with 红桃视频 or generously helping to fund our program at Burroughs, ONEOK shows us what it means to be a true community partner. We are grateful to ONEOK for investing in our program and supporting the work we do at their partner school, Burroughs Elementary.

If you would like to support 红桃视频 with additional volunteer recruitment efforts, please contact Haley Biram, community engagement manager of recruitment, at haley.biram@readingpartners.org or (918) 949-1979.

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