Beth Wallis
Education ReporterBeth Wallis is StateImpact Oklahoma's education reporter. She joined the collaborative in December 2021, initially focusing on environment and science reporting.
Beth holds two degrees from Oklahoma State University. After teaching band at a public school for five years, she pursued another degree — this time in journalism at The University of Oklahoma.
Previously, Beth was a student reporter for KGOU and The Oklahoma Daily.
In April 2021, she worked with Next Generation Radio, reporting on the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The digital journalism and audio training project was a collaboration between KOSU and the OSU School of Strategic Communications.
Beth is also a News21 Fellowship alum, and the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter awarded her first place for At the Seams podcast, which chronicled the community of Norman, Okla. during calls to defund the police, recalls of local politicians and ongoing threats and harassment.
-
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt delivered his sixth State of the State address Monday, delivering his wishlist for the legislative session.
-
Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting saw the passage of a permanent rule change on student gender designations, the suspension of several educators’ teaching certificates and the appearance of a controversial conservative media figure.
-
Gov. Kevin Stitt named Nellie Tayloe Sanders as the state’s new Secretary of Education Wednesday.
-
The Oklahoma State Department of Education overpaid at least $290,000 in teacher bonuses and is working to claw back the money mere months after it was distributed. Nine teachers have been issued demands for repayment, and five additional teachers are under review.
-
State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced in a news release Tuesday he was appointing Chaya Raichik to the department’s Library Media Advisory Committee. Raichik is behind the far-right X (formerly Twitter) account, LibsofTikTok.
-
The first Monday in February marks the beginning of the Oklahoma legislative session. And Oklahoma lawmakers are gearing up to consider thousands of bills.
-
Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Wednesday the State Department of Education is likely ending long-standing relationships with major statewide education organizations.
-
Plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits against the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School will get another chance to disqualify the judge assigned to the case.
-
Rep. Jim Olsen (R-Roland) filed a bill last week that would mandate hanging the Ten Commandments in Oklahoma’s public school classrooms.
-
No district in Oklahoma is under the State Board of Education’s microscope quite like Tulsa Public Schools. StateImpact has this update on how TPS’ state-mandated improvement plan is going so far and the work that lies ahead.