Oklahoma Schools to Deploy AI Reading Assistant Statewide
KTUL - September 20, 2024 6:13 am
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — Elementary school students across Oklahoma will soon have access to an AI reading assistant to improve literacy.
While the Oklahoma State Department of Education is giving access to Amira to every kindergarten through 5th grade student in Oklahoma Public School Districts, Tulsa Public Schools was already using this software.
“It’s shown to be effective for Tulsa public schools,” said Allison Geary, the Principal at Key Elementary
“They’ve helped me learn, be able to talk better, use better punctuation and grammar,” said Sebastian Cantero, a 5th Grade Student at Key Elementary
Geary says this software is one of two components in the district’s Walk to Read program.
The other one is the teacher-led component where students receive small group instruction, where they’re grouped with peers at similar reading levels to receive focused attention from teachers.
“This year we have got more than a third of our students both in math and in reading at a level of proficiency,” said Geary.
“They were seeing faster growth through students using the program than in previous years,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. “It’s using Amira, but it’s using Amira with a tutor, with a teacher. So it’s not in isolation.”
Walters says that even though TPS was already using Amira, they’ll still benefit from the state implementing this software.
“TPS was using the screener side of it. And so now they’re going to have access to the curriculum side of it as well,” said Walters.
Walters says that TPS will get access to the Resilience Learning curriculum on their Amira Software which uses stories from the Book of Virtues.
He says another way this implementation will affect Tulsa Public Schools is that TPS will no longer have to use their funds for the program.
Walters says that within the next couple of weeks, they’ll have a call with the districts to walk them through how to utilize this software.
