Reclaiming OETA’s Educational Mission and Public Relevance

A Stakeholder Memorandum to the OETA Authority Board

Prepared by: Liza Odom-Founder, Oddball Academy & OKAEYC Board Member Public Policy Chair

I was heartbroken, though not surprised, by the recent challenges surrounding support for public broadcasting. I believe this moment should prompt serious reflection by the Board.

The question facing OETA is not whether the organization has done valuable work in the past. The question is whether Oklahomans can clearly see, feel, and explain its value today.

If the answer is unclear, OETA’s future support will remain vulnerable.

In my view, OETA faces five urgent challenges:

1. The current public support strategy is not working.

2. The organization’s reliance on legacy, history, and public safety messaging is not enough to persuade new supporters, skeptical policymakers, or taxpayers who expect visible value.

3. OETA’s educational mission has become less visible and less central to public perception.

4. OETA’s production capabilities are not being fully leveraged to advance education, workforce awareness, and statewide community impact.

5. The pace of innovation has not matched the pace of change surrounding public media, education, technology, and public trust.

These challenges are significant, but they are also addressable.

OETA does not need to invent relevance. Relevance is already happening all around Oklahoma in classrooms, CareerTech centers, libraries, childcare programs, nonprofits, rural communities, student success stories, workforce initiatives, and education policy conversations. The question is whether OETA will move quickly enough to become the platform that amplifies it.

I encourage the Board to treat this as a time for warp-speed innovation.

The Public Support Challenge

The recent challenges facing public broadcasting should not be viewed solely as funding threats. They should be viewed as evidence that many policymakers, taxpayers, and community members do not clearly understand OETA’s value proposition.

Organizations survive when people believe they are indispensable.

The Board should ask difficult questions:

• What would Oklahoma lose if OETA disappeared tomorrow?

• Would educators notice?

• Would schools notice?

• Would rural communities notice?

• Would families notice?

• Would legislators hear from constituents demanding its preservation?

If the answers are unclear, the solution is not simply better messaging. The solution is deeper impact.

For too long, OETA’s response to public scrutiny has leaned heavily on its history, legacy, public safety function, and institutional importance. Those things matter. They deserve recognition. But they do not answer the question many Oklahomans are asking now: What is OETA doing for Oklahoma today?

The Board should view this moment not as a communications challenge, but as a relevance challenge.

Legacy and Public Safety Messaging Are Not Enough

OETA’s history and public safety role are important. However, a strategy built primarily around defending the organization’s legacy is not sufficient to build the broad, active public support needed for the future.

People support institutions that improve their lives, create opportunity, solve problems, and show up in their communities. They support organizations they experience as useful, responsive, and essential.

OETA cannot successfully argue for its future based primarily on its past.

The organization needs a stronger case for present-day educational value, visible statewide impact, and measurable community relevance.

Reclaiming the Educational Mission

I believe OETA’s greatest asset is not broadcasting. It is education.

Education is the rationale for public investment. Education is what differentiates OETA from countless other media organizations competing for public attention. Education is also the area where OETA can most powerfully rebuild public relevance.

For that reason, I encourage the Board to evaluate educational impact with the same rigor used to evaluate financial performance, operational performance, and audience metrics.

Questions worth asking include:

• How many Oklahoma educators are actively served each year?

• How many school districts are actively engaged with OETA?

• How many students directly benefit from OETA educational initiatives?

• What standards-aligned resources are being developed specifically for Oklahoma learners?

• What measurable educational outcomes are being achieved?

• How are rural communities benefiting from OETA’s educational mission?

• How are grant-funded educational initiatives distributed geographically across the state?

• How is educational success defined and measured?

These questions should become central organizational performance indicators.

The future of OETA will not be secured through broadcasting alone. It will be secured by becoming indispensable to Oklahoma’s educational ecosystem.

Education Requires More Than Information

As OETA evaluates its educational impact, I encourage the Board to distinguish between informing the public and educating the public.

Both are valuable. Both are important. However, they are not the same thing.

News reporting, public affairs programming, and community stories can increase awareness and understanding. They play an important role in civic life.

Yet educational impact requires something more.

Education involves intentional learning objectives, educator engagement, family engagement, workforce preparation, standards alignment, skill development, and measurable outcomes.

For this reason, the Board should be cautious about equating informational programming with educational programming.

The existence of news segments, public affairs coverage, or community-interest stories does not, by itself, demonstrate educational impact.

Educational impact requires evidence.

The Board should ask:

• What are people learning?

• Who is learning it?

• How is learning being measured?

• How are educators being supported?

• How are schools benefiting?

• How are families benefiting?

• How are rural communities gaining access to resources they would not otherwise have?

Education should not be assumed. It should be intentional, measurable, visible, and central to the organization’s mission.

Production as a Tool for Educational Impact

OETA possesses tremendous production capabilities. I encourage the Board to evaluate whether those capabilities are being fully leveraged in service of the organization’s educational mission.

Oklahoma is filled with stories that deserve statewide and national attention:

• Innovative teachers

• CareerTech pathways

• Student entrepreneurs and inventors

• Rural problem-solvers

• Workforce development programs

• STEM initiatives

• Early childhood programs

• Literacy efforts

• Community-based educational organizations

• Family engagement successes

These stories are educational. They are relevant. They demonstrate impact. Most importantly, they help Oklahomans understand why OETA matters.

OETA should aspire to become a national leader in educational storytelling.

The question facing OETA is not whether it can produce content. The question is whether it is producing the content that will secure its future.

The Rural Oklahoma Opportunity

Rural Oklahoma presents one of OETA’s greatest opportunities.

Many communities face challenges related to educational access, workforce development, teacher recruitment, family engagement, childcare access, literacy, and economic opportunity.

OETA is uniquely positioned to help bridge these gaps.

Rather than viewing itself solely as a broadcaster, OETA should view itself as a statewide educational connector.

The organization should be aggressively pursuing partnerships with:

• School districts

• CareerTech centers

• Libraries

• Higher education institutions

• Child-serving organizations

• Community nonprofits

• Workforce development partners

• Museums and cultural organizations

• Local governments

If OETA becomes visible and valuable in every county, public support will follow.

A Call for Warp-Speed Innovation

My greatest concern is not a lack of talent. My greatest concern is the pace of change.

Public expectations have changed. Technology has changed. Education has changed. The media landscape has changed. The speed at which organizations must adapt has changed.

In my opinion, OETA should enter warp-speed mode.

The organization should aggressively pursue:

• New partnerships

• New educational initiatives

• New content strategies

• New community engagement models

• New measures of success

• New statewide collaborations

The Board should not interpret recent events as a call to defend the status quo. The Board should interpret them as a call to innovate.

Innovation should not be measured by activity. It should be measured by impact.

Closing Thoughts

I offer these observations because I care deeply about OETA’s future.

Many of the concerns raised in this memorandum are not new. They reflect challenges and opportunities that have existed for years and that have become increasingly visible through recent public and legislative developments.

I remain convinced that OETA can become one of the most impactful educational organizations in Oklahoma.

The organization has the talent. It has the infrastructure. It has credibility. It has mission.

What is needed now is urgency.

The future of OETA will not be secured through legacy alone. It will be secured through relevance, educational impact, innovation, partnerships, and a renewed commitment to serving Oklahoma communities in ways that are visible, measurable, and indispensable.

Respectfully,

Liza Odom

Founder & Executive Director, Oddball Academy

OKAEYC Public Policy Chair and Board Member

Appendix A: Immediate Opportunities for Educational Impact and Public Relevance

The following recommendations are intentionally narrow. They focus on initiatives OETA could realistically begin developing, announcing, piloting, or measuring within the next 6–18 months using existing strengths, existing relationships, and models that have already demonstrated promise.

1. Replicate and Expand the Aerospace Jobs Explained / ICAP Career Pathways Model

One of the strongest near-term opportunities available to OETA is the replication of the Aerospace Jobs Explained career pathways model and related ICAP-aligned engagement work.

This type of initiative connects students, educators, industry professionals, workforce partners, and career exploration resources through storytelling, career awareness, and educational engagement.

The model aligns naturally with Oklahoma’s ICAP framework and could be replicated across:

• Aerospace and aviation

• Healthcare

• Manufacturing

• Energy

• Agriculture

• Construction trades

• Technology

• Education and early childhood

• Entrepreneurship

The goal should not simply be content production. The goal should be helping students connect educational decisions to real workforce opportunities in Oklahoma.

A realistic first step would be to select three priority industries, identify partners, create a repeatable production-and-resource template, and pilot the model with schools and CareerTech partners.

2. Launch Oklahoma Education Conversations as a Podcast and Video Interview Series

OETA should move quickly to launch a recurring podcast and video interview series focused exclusively on Oklahoma education.

Education is one of the most discussed and emotionally resonant public policy topics in Oklahoma. OETA should not merely report on that conversation. It should help lead it.

Potential guests could include:

• Classroom teachers

• Superintendents

• CareerTech leaders

• Higher education leaders

• Childcare providers

• Early childhood educators

• Workforce development professionals

• Legislators

• Parents

• Students

• Nonprofit leaders

• Library leaders

Potential topics could include:

• Teacher recruitment and retention

• Childcare access

• Early childhood education

• Workforce development

• Career pathways

• Rural education

• Early literacy

• Student success stories

• Educational innovation

• School-community partnerships

• Postsecondary readiness

This could be launched rapidly using existing production infrastructure and distributed through television segments, YouTube, podcast platforms, newsletters, and social media.

A revived Oklahoma education interview series could trend precisely because education is already a high-interest issue in the state. OETA should own that space.

3. Use the Early Childhood Task Force as an Immediate Relevance Opportunity

The Early Childhood Task Force presents an immediate opportunity for OETA to reestablish educational relevance in a policy area that directly affects families, educators, employers, and communities.

OETA should not simply cover the task force as a news item. It should help Oklahoma understand the stakes.

Potential outputs include:

• Explainer videos on early childhood systems and funding

• Interviews with providers, parents, employers, advocates, and policymakers

• A family-facing guide to what early childhood policy changes could mean

• Community conversations in rural and urban communities

• Segments connecting childcare access to workforce participation and economic development

This is a timely opportunity because the conversation already exists. OETA can become the trusted platform that makes it understandable, accessible, and actionable.

4. Create an Oklahoma Student Success Stories Initiative

OETA has a unique opportunity to showcase extraordinary Oklahoma students whose stories inspire families and educators while demonstrating the value of career exploration, mentorship, and educational opportunity.

Stories such as a high school student earning a pilot credential before senior prom, students launching businesses, young people completing workforce certifications, or students solving real community problems are exactly the kind of stories that connect audiences emotionally to the educational mission.

These stories demonstrate outcomes rather than simply describing programs.

A realistic first step would be to produce a short pilot series of 6–10 student stories connected to workforce pathways, rural education, STEM, CareerTech, entrepreneurship, and early college or certification opportunities.

5. Establish a Statewide Educational Leadership Council

OETA should convene a quarterly leadership council composed of organizations already working to improve educational outcomes throughout Oklahoma.

Potential participants include:

• Oklahoma State Department of Education

• Oklahoma CareerTech

• Higher education institutions

• Oklahoma Association for the Education of Young Children (OKAEYC)

• Oklahoma Library Association

• Museums and cultural institutions

• Workforce development organizations

• Child-serving nonprofits

• Rural community partners

• Business and industry partners

The purpose would be coordination, partnership development, and identification of opportunities where OETA can serve as a statewide convener, storyteller, and educational amplifier.

A realistic first step would be to invite a small founding group, identify three priority initiatives, and publicly commit to collaborative educational outcomes.

6. Build a Rural Oklahoma Education Showcase

OETA should create a recurring initiative focused specifically on educational innovation occurring in rural communities.

This initiative could highlight:

• Rural educators

• Community partnerships

• CareerTech programs

• Libraries

• Local economic development efforts

• Student achievement

• Workforce solutions

• Childcare access challenges and solutions

Many rural communities feel overlooked by statewide institutions. OETA can become the organization that tells their stories and connects them to resources, ideas, and public attention.

A realistic first step would be to identify 10 rural communities and build a yearlong editorial calendar around education, workforce, family support, and community resilience.

7. Publish an Educational Impact Dashboard

OETA should develop and publish annual educational impact metrics that clearly demonstrate statewide value.

Suggested measures include:

• Educators served

• Students reached

• School partnerships

• District engagement

• Rural county participation

• Workforce partnerships

• Community engagement outcomes

• Standards-aligned resources created

• Family engagement participation

• Grant-funded educational outcomes

The future debate surrounding public media will increasingly focus on outcomes rather than activity. Educational impact should be measurable and publicly reported.

A realistic first step would be to identify 8–10 core metrics, establish a baseline, and publish progress quarterly or annually.

8. Position OETA as Oklahoma’s Educational Convener

The greatest opportunity may not be a single program. It may be positioning OETA as the organization that connects educators, workforce leaders, nonprofits, libraries, museums, industry, families, and policymakers around a shared vision for Oklahoma’s future.

OETA’s unique value is not simply its ability to broadcast. Its unique value is its ability to convene, connect, explain, and amplify educational opportunity across the state.

Within 6–18 months, OETA could demonstrate this shift by launching a small number of visible, high-impact initiatives tied to career pathways, rural education, early childhood, student success, and educator storytelling.

Appendix B: Suggested 6–18 Month Action Timeline

The following timeline is intended to help the Board evaluate what can realistically be started quickly.

First 30 Days

1. Name educational impact as a Board-level strategic priority.

2. Request a current inventory of education initiatives, partnerships, production outputs, grant-funded activities, and statewide reach.

3. Identify 8–10 educational impact metrics for public reporting.

4. Select two immediate pilot initiatives: Oklahoma Education Conversations and Career Pathways Expansion.

First 90 Days

1. Launch the first episodes of Oklahoma Education Conversations.

2. Convene a founding group for a Statewide Educational Leadership Council.

3. Identify the first three industries for Career Pathways Expansion.

4. Develop a pilot editorial calendar for student success stories and rural education features.

5. Begin public reporting on educational reach and partnership activity.

First 6 Months

1. Release a visible package of education-focused content tied to workforce pathways, early childhood, rural education, and student success.

2. Host or co-host at least one public education convening with statewide partners.

3. Publish baseline educational impact metrics.

4. Secure formal partnerships with education, workforce, library, nonprofit, and early childhood organizations.

First 12–18 Months

1. Demonstrate county-level reach and growth in educational partnerships.

2. Publish a full Educational Impact Dashboard.

3. Scale the Career Pathways model into multiple industries.

4. Create a recurring production pipeline for educator stories, student stories, policy explainers, and rural education features.

5. Make OETA visibly associated with educational problem-solving, not only educational broadcasting.