Tulsa’s preschool programs seen as national model, By Ginnie Graham, March 11, 2013, Tulsa World: “President Barack Obama has proposed sending more federal money to states to create or bolster preschool programs. He mentioned Oklahoma in the State of the Union address for having one of the best. For nearly two months, local early education teachers, advocates and researchers have been answering national calls about Tulsa’s role in this evolution. ‘We love the national attention for the opportunity for all of us to know the value of an early childhood education and invite people in,’ said Andy McKenzie, Tulsa Public Schools assistant superintendent for early childhood services. For the past 15 years, Tulsa has built an early learning system with innovative designs and ongoing social science research. This has been a monumental turnabout. In the mid-’90s, the city nearly lost its Head Start grant and access to a public pre-K class was almost nonexistent. Now, Tulsa’s Head Start is considered a national model. The TPS pre-K classes are full and part of a scientific Georgetown University study…”