Monday was the first day for Tulsa Public Schools, and a third-grade class at Marshall Elementary had Superintendent Deborah Gist as their teacher.
Gist wasn't the only administrator teaching.
"We had almost 40 administrators from the district office out in classrooms across the city. It was our commitment to make sure every student in Tulsa had a certified teacher in their classroom for the first day of school," Gist said.
"In those cases, like as in the case with my third-grade classroom today, when their teacher comes, then we'll make a two-day transition so that students don't have an abrupt change in teachers," Gist said.
The shift in duties is part of that commitment, which Gist started three years ago. Before that, when TPS was working on filling around 75 teaching positions, substitutes were being used. The past two years, all vacancies have been filled, but some administrators still stepped in temporarily.
"We had folks who were — we were finishing up background checks or making sure they were on payroll or things like that — so just getting the final processing taken care of," Gist said.
That accounts for most cases this year, though Gist said some teaching positions are still vacant.
Gist said her first day teaching third grade was "absolutely wonderful."
