Robby Korth

Education Reporter

Robby Korth

Robby Korth joined StateImpact Oklahoma in October 2019, focusing on education reporting.

He grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Journalism degree.

Robby has reported for several newspapers, most recently covering higher education and other topics for The Roanoke Times in southwest Virginia. While there, he co-created the podcast Septic, spending a year reporting on the story of a missing five-year-old boy, the discovery of his body in a septic tank a few days after his disappearance, and the subsequent court trial of his mother. Although the story was of particular interest to residents in Virginia, the podcast gained a larger audience and was named as a New and Noteworthy podcast by Apple Podcasts.

On a personal note, Robby loves trivia games and won his elementary school's geography bee in fifth grade.

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Coronavirus In Oklahoma: The Latest

By Ryan LaCroix, Kateleigh Mills, Rachel Hubbard, Robby Korth, Michael Cross, Quinton Chandler, Chelsea Stanfield, Logan Layden, Allison Herrera, Seth Bodine & Catherine Sweeney • 13 hours ago

KOSU is covering the coronavirus in Oklahoma and how it's affecting our lives. Bookmark this page for the latest updates.

Amid Political Pressure, Oklahoma Schools Use Caution In Returning To In Person Classes

By Robby Korth • Jan 19, 2021

Under the right conditions, medical experts say schools can and should stay open despite the COVID-19 pandemic. But with thousands of new cases reported daily across Oklahoma, some school districts continue to use caution despite political pressure from Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.

On Friday, Stitt blasted Tulsa Public Schools Board for delaying reopening for in person classes until March 22nd in a statement sent to reporters. But local public health officials had pushed for the delay, citing a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the Tulsa area.

Oklahoma's New School Quarantine Guidelines Face Mounting Criticism

By Robby Korth • Jan 15, 2021

A new set of quarantine guidelines allow children exposed to COVID-19 to stay in school, but there is mounting criticism for the plan.

WahZhaZhe, Tsalagi, Español: No Matter The Language, COVID Creates Challenges For Immersion Learning

By Robby Korth & Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton • Jan 14, 2021

Immersion learning works like this: students come to school and they learn in two languages, usually English and something else. But COVID-19 has made teaching at these schools difficult.

Oklahoma Students Exposed To The Coronavirus In School Will No Longer Be Required To Quarantine

By Robby Korth • Jan 12, 2021

Quarantining after a COVID-19 exposure will now be optional in Oklahoma classrooms if students and teachers are wearing a mask.

The state’s new policy was announced by Gov. Kevin Stitt in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

It will incentivize mask wearing and keep more kids in the classroom when people who test positive for COVID-19 are discovered in schools, Stitt said.

“This is what’s best for our students period,” he said. “End of story.”

Oklahoma State Board Of Education Says Funding Increase Ask Won't Be Enough

By Robby Korth • Jan 12, 2021

Oklahoma’s State Board of Education is asking for a funding increase for the state's schools in this year’s legislative session.

Oklahoma In-School Quarantine Experiment Abandoned

By Robby Korth • Jan 11, 2021

A program trumpeted by Oklahoma health officials late last year that would allow students exposed to the coronavirus to quarantine together in school has been abandoned.

Oklahoma Public Schools See Largest Enrollment Drop In At Least Four Decades

By Robby Korth • Jan 8, 2021

Public school enrollment in Oklahoma plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to October 1 enrollment data released Thursday by Oklahoma’s State Department of Education.

StateImpact Reporters Reflect On Eventful 2020

By Logan Layden, Quinton Chandler, Robby Korth & Catherine Sweeney • Jan 7, 2021

The coronavirus. Black Lives Matter activism. A presidential election.

The events of 2020 will continue to ripple into 2021.

As Oklahoma Students Learned At Home, School Nutrition Workers Stepped Up

By Robby Korth • Jan 4, 2021

Over the course of the pandemic, Oklahoma’s public schools have been a critical piece to fighting child hunger. StateImpact’s Robby Korth reports on the efforts of the state’s schools to get more than 40 million free meals to children while they’ve been learning from home or just out of school.

Robby Korth

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