Muskogee Public Schools will offer a free outreach program on understanding poverty at the Muskogee Public Library at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7. The workshop will be conducted by Heather Jones, MPS instructional coach and certified trainer for the program.
The workshop is based on the research into poverty done by Dr. Ruby Payne, who has synthesized the hidden rules of class with the reasons why some people can make it out of poverty.
Understanding poverty is important in Oklahoma because, even though the cost of living is cheap here, we still have a 15.9% poverty rate state-wide, 2.6 percent higher than the national average (OEA Focus). In Muskogee, the poverty rate rises to 20% according to statistics from the State of Oklahoma School Oversight Board. When we compare this with Edmond's poverty rate of 7.2%, we can see how this might be affecting our community. When we understand that business, industry, and education all work from middle class norms, we can see how important it is to create a fluency in our young people for dealing with and understanding people from upper, middle and lower classes, and when it is appropriate to use certain language and behaviors in various milieus.
Dr. Payne herself is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Oklahoma Education Association Convention held Oct. 16 at the Maybee Center. Her in-depth program will last the entire day. Non-OEA members and guests of OEA may register for $25.
Thank you to everyone who turned out at the Muskogee Public Library for the overview on Ruby Payne's Understanding the Framework of Poverty. Watch for another community meeting soon to begin the dialogue about the effects of poverty in our schools and on the community.
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