Joy Hofmeister

“We must do everything in our power to ensure that every home in Oklahoma is fully connected so each of our students has the opportunity for academic success in a 21st-century context. That means full connectivity and a device that can accommodate rigorous distance education,” said Hofmeister.

“The relationships that I have with my students, staff, and families are irreplaceable, and I greatly miss them. However, I get to see them daily in their own environment on ZOOM,” stated school principal Lynnette Dixon.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted Wednesday to close public schools statewide for the remainder of the school year and to turn to distance learning in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has now infected 164 Oklahomans.

Now as the new virus upends life across the nation, officials are reconsidering remote learning as the probability of closing schools beyond April 6 looms.

Public schools in Oklahoma will be closed through at least April 6 as the state scrambles to contain the spread of the coronavirus, State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said Monday.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister has called an emergency meeting of the State Board of Education for 4 p.m. today to authorize the closure of all Oklahoma schools beginning March 17 and lasting until April 6.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Oklahoma Joy Hofmeister will testify before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 9:15 a.m. (Central time) in Washington, D.C.