Oklahoma to offer free summer meals for children

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Department of Education announces it will offer free summer meals to kids at nearly 1,400 locations across the state including in the towns of Commerce and Miami. The summer feeding programs will serve two meals a day while kids are out of school on summer break.

“Hunger is one of the more severe roadblocks to the learning process,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister. “A lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins again. That’s why it’s imperative we ensure appropriate nutrition for our children during these critical months, even though school might not be in session.”

More than 400 sponsors will serve a combination of breakfast and lunch or lunch and a snack at 1,359 sites, including parks, schools, community centers, churches and day camps. Many sites also provide education or recreational programming. Summer meals are eligible for children 18 and under, as well as for people up to 21 years old participating in state education programs for the mentally or physically disabled.

Between May and August 2020, 13.4 million meals were served through the summer feeding program.

To find a feeding site near you, go to meals4kidsok.org.

Joplin High School Student Looks to Follow Family Legacy in Education

(JOPLIN, Mo.) Her grandfather is a teacher, so is her grandmother and her other grandmother. Now a Joplin student is hoping to follow in their footsteps and teach a her alma mater one day.

“Pretty much always known that I wanted to be a teacher,” says Joplin High School Junior Katelynn Rutledge.

And she has a very specific plan for that career.

“Be an English teacher hopefully here a Joplin High someday,” she says.

Rutledge has great role models: three grandparents who are teachers; one on campus at Franklin Tech.

“And as I spend so much time with her before school, after school,” Rutledge says.

Katelynn’s plan includes a degree at Missouri Southern. And she’s determined to return to JHS on the other side of the desk.

“And I think high school has, you know a little bit of maturity there, and they’re like almost, you get to help them up like that last final stretch before they leave for college,” she says.

JHS Principal Dr. Steve Gilbreth says it’s getting tougher and tougher to hire teachers and adds a JHS graduate like Katelynn would be a welcome addition to the staff.

“We’ll take great teachers anywhere we can get, but especially when we get the opportunity to get somebody who is local and will come back and be a part of Joplin,” Gilbreth says.