A Step-by-Step Plan to Give Every Oklahoma Child the Opportunity to Succeed
Oklahoma’s education system should be built around children—not around bureaucracy.
Every child learns differently. Some excel in mathematics but struggle with reading. Others need more time to master a subject, while some are ready to move ahead much faster than their classmates. Parents also know their children better than anyone else and deserve a meaningful voice in their education.
The Farmer Servant Education Plan is designed around one simple belief:
The education system should adapt to the child—not force the child to adapt to the system.
This plan combines parental choice, individualized learning, accountability, early childhood education, childcare assistance, career readiness, mental health support, and teacher empowerment into one comprehensive education strategy.
Step 1: Start Learning Before Kindergarten
Education doesn’t begin on the first day of kindergarten.
The most important years of brain development happen long before a child ever enters a classroom.
The Farmer Servant Education Plan partners with Oklahoma educators and early childhood professionals to provide voluntary educational resources for parents with children approximately ages three through five.
Families would have access to:
- Age-appropriate educational videos
- Reading readiness activities
- Early math and counting exercises
- Language development
- Social and emotional learning
- Parent teaching guides
- Nine-week developmental benchmarks
- Additional support when children struggle
The purpose isn’t to replace preschool or daycare.
The purpose is to give every Oklahoma child a stronger start before entering school.
Participation would be completely voluntary.
Step 2: Help Working Families Pay for Childcare
For many Oklahoma families, the biggest obstacle to financial stability isn’t finding a job—it’s finding affordable childcare.
Single parents and working families often spend a significant portion of their income on daycare, while many childcare providers struggle with funding shortages and rising operating costs.
The Farmer Servant Education Plan addresses both challenges.
Parents participating in the early-learning program may choose to provide instruction at home or through a licensed daycare or childcare provider. As children demonstrate progress through fair, age-appropriate developmental benchmarks, families could qualify for performance-based childcare assistance or educational stipends.
That assistance could help pay for:
- Licensed daycare
- Early childhood education programs
- Approved in-home childcare
- Before- and after-school care
- Participating faith-based childcare programs
- Other qualified childcare providers
The goal is not simply to subsidize childcare.
The goal is to invest in early education while helping parents stay in the workforce.
If a child struggles to meet a benchmark, the answer is not punishment. Instead, families and childcare providers would receive additional educational resources, tutoring, developmental screenings, or other support to help the child succeed.
This approach helps:
- Working parents
- Single parents
- Daycare providers
- Employers
- Most importantly, Oklahoma’s children
Instead of waiting until a child enters kindergarten to identify learning challenges, we begin helping children years earlier.
Step 3: Reward Parents Who Successfully Educate Their Children
Parents are a child’s first teachers.
Families who choose to actively educate their children before kindergarten—and whose children demonstrate measurable progress—should be recognized for that investment of time and effort.
When children successfully meet state educational benchmarks, parents could qualify for an education stipend based on a portion of what the state would have otherwise spent educating that child in an institutional setting.
This:
- Encourages parental involvement
- Gives families greater flexibility
- Saves taxpayer dollars
- Rewards measurable educational achievement
- Better prepares children for school
This is not a payment simply for staying home.
It is recognition of successful educational outcomes.
Step 4: Let Parents Choose the Best Educational Path
Every child is different.
Parents should be free to choose the educational setting that best meets their child’s needs.
Options may include:
- Public schools
- Charter schools
- Private schools
- Faith-based schools
- Homeschooling
- Online education
- Hybrid education
- Career and technical education
Education funding should follow the student while maintaining transparency and accountability for taxpayer dollars.
Schools receiving public funding should demonstrate measurable educational results.
Step 5: Replace Grade Levels with Individualized Learning
Children should advance based on mastery—not simply age.
A student who excels in science should not be held back because they struggle in English.
Likewise, a student needing additional time in mathematics should not be labeled a failure in every subject.
Students should be able to:
- Move ahead after mastering a subject
- Receive additional support where needed
- Learn at their own pace
- Build confidence through success instead of failure
This model allows every child to reach their fullest potential.
Step 6: Measure Progress Throughout the Year
Instead of relying primarily on one standardized test, students should be evaluated throughout the school year.
Regular benchmark assessments help identify:
- Academic strengths
- Learning gaps
- Students needing additional support
- Educational programs that are working
- Areas needing improvement
Testing should be used to improve education—not punish students or teachers.
Step 7: Empower Teachers
Teachers entered education to teach—not spend excessive time completing paperwork.
Our plan gives teachers more freedom to focus on students by reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and allowing more individualized instruction.
Technology should assist teachers—not replace them.
Teachers remain the most important part of the classroom.
Step 8: Identify Learning Challenges Earlier
Early intervention changes lives.
The plan expands screening and support for:
- Dyslexia
- Autism
- Speech delays
- ADHD
- Hearing and vision issues
- Developmental delays
- Emotional and behavioral concerns
Earlier identification means earlier help—and better long-term outcomes.
Step 9: Expand School Mental Health Services
Children cannot learn effectively when dealing with trauma, abuse, hunger, homelessness, bullying, or severe emotional struggles.
Schools should have access to qualified counselors and community partners who can identify problems early and connect families with appropriate resources.
Healthy children learn better.
Step 10: Strengthen Special Education
Parents should never have to fight for services their children already deserve.
The Farmer Servant Education Plan strengthens:
- Early intervention
- Parent communication
- Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
- Access to specialists
- Transition planning
- Accountability for promised services
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed.
Step 11: Expand Career and Technical Education
College is one path—not the only path.
Oklahoma needs:
- Welders
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- Mechanics
- Farmers
- Ranchers
- Nurses
- First responders
- Small business owners
- Skilled tradespeople
Students should graduate with real-world skills, certifications, apprenticeships, or college credit that prepare them for successful careers.
Step 12: Protect Arts, Music, and Creativity
A complete education includes creativity.
Music, theater, visual arts, creative writing, and other artistic opportunities help students build confidence, discipline, teamwork, and communication skills.
The plan also supports expanding statewide student art and music opportunities, including the proposed Oklahoma Unity Arts Festival, where students from across the state can showcase their talents and celebrate Oklahoma’s diverse communities.
The Goal
The Farmer Servant Education Plan isn’t about choosing public schools over private schools, or technology over teachers.
It’s about creating an education system that recognizes every child is unique.
By investing in early childhood education, helping families afford quality childcare, empowering parents, supporting teachers, individualizing learning, strengthening special education, expanding career training, and maintaining accountability, Oklahoma can build an education system that prepares every child—not just for graduation—but for a successful life.
Because when we invest in our children, we invest in Oklahoma’s future.