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Articles by Corey Holland
Private schools contend OSSAA treats them unfairly, but private and public students aren't the same
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) and its board recently were required to develop a response to an injunction set in place by a judge. This response was made necessary due to a lawsuit filed by Bishop McGuinness, Mount Saint Mary, Heritage Hall, Crossings Christian and Oklahoma Christian Schools. The purpose of the lawsuit was the five private schools' contention they are being treated unfairly.
UNcommon Sense: Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round
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UNcommon Sense: Spring Weather
March nineteenth marked the official first day of spring this year. Of course, this is Oklahoma so winter may not be on the calendar, but we know the potential for ice and snow remains on the table. With that said, what proved to be a very mild winter now turns our focus to the potential of spring storms. Monday night was the first day we had for potential tornadic weather.
UNcommon Sense: Community
This past weekend, our district hosted the Class 3A West Wrestling Regional Tournament. Over 30 schools participated in the event which brought hundreds of athletes to compete and a couple thousand fans to watch. Proudly, our Outlaw wrestlers backed up their recent Dual State Team Championship by winning this weekend's Regional Championship. Not to be outdone, our community won as well. We are very lucky to live in a community where those who live here are always so quick to step up and help.
UNcommon Sense: Safety First
Ask any parent or guardian and one of the top priorities they have for their student is safety. Of course, this is a major focus for district staff as well. For this reason, we are constantly evaluating and reevaluating our processes and procedures to ensure we are taking every reasonable step to ensure our 1,400+ students are safe.
UNcommon Sense: New Year
A fresh start. This is the promise many people cling to as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st each year. Many Americans gather together in a group to celebrate while others sit in front of their TVs. The celebration culminates as they watch a giant lighted ball descend while everyone counts down from 10. Everyone yells, "Happy New Year" and then some try to pretend they actually know all the words to the song Auld Lang Syne.
UNcommon Sense: Public Schools
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UNcommon Sense: Adversity
One of the things I do in my position as Superintendent is observing how the staff and students handle adversity. It is not that I enjoy seeing others face difficulty. The reality is, as long as any of us are still breathing, we will forever face challenges. How we choose to respond in those situations says more about who we really are.
UNcommon Sense: Bond Update
It has been a few months since I have written about the 2022 Bond Project so I wanted to give an update. The bond project is set in three phases. Phase 1 includes the Middle School/High School Saferooms and the Wrestling Facility. Phase 2 includes the High School classrooms and the Performing Arts Center. Phase 3 includes the Fieldhouse and football stadium concession and restrooms. The 2022 bond and FEMA revenue gave us a budget of $25.3 million to complete all the projects.
UNcommon Sense: Outlaw Standard
The 2023-24 School Year theme is "The Outlaw Standard: Hard Work, Integrity, and Perseverance." It is important in any organization to set a standard of expectation. In the case of the school, this is the standard for students and employees alike. These foundational principles are key to creating an environment where all members have the best opportunity to achieve their potential. Hard work. By today's standard, "hard work" is bad for two reasons.
MPS Superintendent addresses recent Oklahoma shootings
Uncommon Sense: See Something, Say Something Corey Holland/Marlow Public Schools Superintendent This past weekend, (August 25, 2023) there were three gun incidents at Friday night football games across our state. The most serious incident occurred at Choctaw High School where three individuals were shot. One 16-year-old student ultimately died from his injuries. The live feed video of the students and fans fleeing from the stadium was horrifying.
UNcommon Sense: Street Light Curfew
As I have gotten older, I can't help but take note of how everyday life has changed since I was a student at Marlow Public Schools back in the 1970s & 80s. As a young boy, my mom and dad weren't able to track my movements or call me if they needed something. The parenting plan was basic back in those days. As long as I didn't crash my bike or break something, it was pretty easy to avoid getting into any real trouble.
UNcommon Sense: We're Back
"Fortunately, the vast majority of our transfers are great students who positively contribute to the Outlaw Culture of Hard Work, Integrity, and Perseverance. These foundational principals will be the focus for all staff and students in the upcoming year." -- Corey Holland, Marlow Public Schools Superintendent And just like that, summer has come to an end. The 2023-24 school year will officially begin Thursday, August 10th.
Uncommon Sense: School Meal Program
Marlow Public Schools Superintendent If your child lives in the Marlow School District or has an approved transfer to attend, he/she will be allowed to attend school- regardless if they owe for school meals or not. Recently, our efforts to encourage parents/guardians to contact the school about their student’s lunch bill created some social media discussion. This letter is my effort to try to clarify the situation.
UNcommon Sense: Parenting
As a child growing up in Marlow, I didn’t always fully understand my parent’s expectations. It wasn’t because I hadn’t heard them enough. Even now at fifty-three years old, I can still hear many of them in my head. “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right,” my dad would say. I sort of understand what he meant, but I also noticed it was him telling me the things to do. It wasn’t like I woke up and chose to mow the lawn or rake leaves.
UNcommon Sense: Summer School
The fiscal year for public schools runs from July 1 to June 30, each year. This being the case, June and July are actually very busy months at the district office. The focus for June is mainly reconciling and balancing all of the current fiscal year’s accounts. Ultimately, all district accounts and expenditures will be reviewed by a private auditor, as well as the State Department of Education, to ensure the district is compliant with all state and federal laws.
UNcommon Sense: That’s All Folks
Early Saturday morning cartoons were a staple of my existence as a young boy. Laying on the floor eating a bowl of cereal and watching Justice League, Scooby Doo, and Looney Tunes was about as good as it could get. I eventually got older and moved on to other things. Apparently, Porky Pig’s words “That’s all folks” was truer than I ever was aware of at the time. All things eventually do come to an end. This is why celebrating life’s milestones is so important.
UNcommon Sense: In The Now
Last month my family celebrated my grandson Anthem’s first birthday. This past weekend we celebrated my son Chisholm’s thirtieth birthday. I couldn’t help but reflect on how my perspective had changed from the birth of my son in 1993 to my grandson’s birth in 2022. As a new dad, a big part of my focus was on my son getting on to the next phase. When he rolled over, I eagerly hoped for him to crawl. Not to be satisfied, once he had crawled I was pushing him to learn to walk.
UNcommon Sense: Being Is Greater Than Doing
Tuesday evening, I had the privilege of getting to speak at the Marlow High School Academic Banquet held at the Simmons Center in Duncan. The banquet honors those ninth through twelfth-grade students who have achieved academic excellence over the course of their high school career. Honoring academic success is an important part of celebrating our students. These celebrations occur at all grade levels and in a variety of ways throughout the year.
UNcommon Sense: Bond Project Update
I would like to use this week’s article to give an update on our bond project. While the rain has been a blessing to all of us, especially our farmers, it has caused us to lose over sixty work days. Even so, work is progressing. To date, the safe room at the high school and middle school have been built. The next step is to pour the concrete roof on top of both buildings. Once this is done, finish work on the outside and inside of the structures will begin.
Private school vouchers not in best interest of Oklahoma students
UNcommon Sense Corey Holland It is a long-standing practice in the United States, in Oklahoma, and in the city of Marlow for our government to collect taxes from citizens. The main purpose for doing so is to use those tax dollars to pay for government activities (roads, bridges, law enforcement, fire departments, military, parks, health departments, schools, infrastructure, etc.) which benefit the common good of citizens. How much an individual citizen benefits varies.
Helping Students Reach Their Potential
UNcommon Sense: Christmas 2022 Merry Christmas! For those of us in the school business, Christmas break marks the half-way point of every school year. The close of the semester had the typical school activities of exams, term papers, and of course class parties. I am also proud to say, at Marlow, it closed with many students, classes, organizations, and sites focused on ways they could help others. Many gathered up and gave away food to help feed those in need.
Be an avenue of hope and kindness this holiday season
UNcommon Sense Corey Holland, Superintendent of Marlow Public School District December often brings snow, comfort food, and some time to reflect on the previous year. For me, some of the best things about December are the Christmas songs and movies. Surely I won’t be the only one singing The Christmas Song in my car over the next few weeks. I can hear Nat King Cole singing it as I type. As for movies, it’s close, but Elf is my all-time favorite.
Winter weather protocol a challenge for school districts
UNcommon Sense Corey Holland, Superintendent of Marlow Public School District Students are not in school this week as the district is closed for Thanksgiving Break. While this break has been on the district calendar for some time now, November often is the beginning of poor weather conditions in Oklahoma. Typically, in the decision to close the school for weather we are not afforded a great deal of advanced notice.
UNcommon Sense: Interest rates cost MPS construction funding
This week’s article will be a brief update on our 2022 bond project. As far as the prep work to begin actual construction, we are currently on schedule. If you have driven past the high school and middle school campus, you have seen the dirt work is close to being completed. You may have also noticed the grass area east of the administration building has recently been covered with gravel.
UNcommon Sense: Focus on the Journey
A young philosopher once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Those words were spoken by a character named Ferris Bueller played by actor Mathew Broderick. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a 1986 movie about a high school student who pretends to be sick so that he and a couple of his friends can enjoy a beautiful day having fun rather than going to school. The day ends up not going quite as he had planned.
UNcommon Sense: 'I'm a Fan'
I have always been very competitive by nature. It didn’t matter if it was something I was gifted at, like running or something I had very little skill at doing at all, like golf, I wanted to win. If I am honest, I think it was mainly driven by the hate of losing more so than the love of winning. I will admit, this isn’t the healthiest way to exist. It has often caused me to not appreciate experiences of success. Instead, I tended to hyper-focus on the losing.
Column: UNcommon Sense Bond Phase I
This past week, Phase 1 of our bond project was set fully in motion. Phase 1 is building the safe rooms at the Middle School and High School as well construction of the new wrestling practice facility. The ground preparation at the Middle School and the demolition of our beloved auditorium at the High School are the first of many things that will be occurring over the next few months. One of the most popular questions I have been getting of late is, “Can I get a brick”? The answer is yes.
UNcommon Sense - Support Staff
All public schools in Oklahoma are made up of two categories of employees: certified and support. Certified employees are mainly teachers and administration. Support employees are mainly all the other positions in a school. No school can be successful without great employees in both categories. We have typically done a great job showing appreciation of our certified employees but often overlook our support employee's contributions.
UNcommon Sense - Enrollment
A new transfer law went into effect July 1, 2022. It now requires public schools to set capacity limits for each grade and mandates the process of accepting transfers when the limit is not met. As many of you are aware, my first day as superintendent was also July 1[st]. My first encounter with some families proved very challenging as they were wanting to transfer into the district but those requests were denied due to grade level capacity having been met.
MyPlate Staff Gets Real With Healthy Eating Solutions for the New Year
The New Year is in full swing! As the dust settles from the holiday season, many of us Americans are back into our regular routines at work, school, and home. Unfortunately, our regular routines can present some of the biggest challenges in maintaining the New Year’s resolutions that we promised ourselves we would finally keep this year. That’s why in 2017, MyPlate, MyWins messages are centered on finding your Real Solutions to healthy eating.
Kick off a Healthy New Year with SuperTracker!
Posted by Corey Holland, RD, and Erica Gavey, RD; both Nutritionist Consultants at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion , on January 4, 2017 at 11:00 AM Do your New Year’s resolutions include a healthier eating style and more physical activity?
Now What? 5 Ways to Use Leftover Turkey
Posted by Corey Holland, RD, Nutritionist Consultant, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion , on November 21, 2016 at 10:03 AM This week, many Americans will gather together with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving. When the fun is done, you may be left with more turkey than you anticipated. MyPlate is here to help with these unique ways to use up those leftovers! MyPlate encourages you to choose lean sources of protein.
Fall is Here! Celebrate with Pumpkin, 5 Different Ways
Posted by Corey Holland, RD, Nutritionist Consultant, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion , on October 20, 2016 at 10:00 AM Pumpkins aren’t just for Halloween! These versatile vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin A and dietary fiber. To demonstrate different ways you can incorporate this seasonal superstar, MyPlate is showcasing five easy recipes with pumpkin as the main ingredient. MyPlate encourages you to make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
Think Nutrition as High School Students Return to School
Posted by Corey Holland, RD, Nutritionist Consultant, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; and Maya E. Maroto, EdD, MPH, RD, Nutritionist, Child Nutrition Programs, Food and Nutrition Service , on September 15, 2016 at 1:00 PM The start of the school year is a great time to get high school students thinking about the nutrition and physical activity choices they make.
MyPlate Turns Five! Celebrating New Resources in 2016
Since MyPlate’s debut in 2011, the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) has expanded and improved upon outreach efforts, continuously offering new resources and tools. This year is no exception, with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPlate, MyWins campaign released simultaneously in January 2016.
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