A Welcome Back Message from Superintendent Robert Schornick
Catoosa parents and families,
The countdown is on! A new school year is almost here, and I could not be more excited to welcome our students, staff, and families back to Catoosa Public Schools.
There is something special about the beginning of a new school year. It represents a fresh start filled with new opportunities, new friendships, new goals, and memories waiting to be made.
Throughout the summer, our dedicated team has worked tirelessly to prepare our campuses, classrooms, buses, technology, and learning environments so every student walks into a school they can be proud of. We believe every student deserves exceptional opportunities in schools, and I cannot wait for you to see everything that has been accomplished across our district.
As we continue moving Catoosa FORWARD, I would like to share a few important updates to help your family prepare for a successful school year and to share our progress from this summer.
Back to School Hub
Our Back-to-School Hub on the district website should be your first stop as we prepare to welcome students back. It contains everything families need to begin the year with confidence, including school supply lists, enrollment and registration information, transportation details, Child Nutrition information, school calendars, daily bell schedules, athletic information, technology resources, parent communications, frequently asked questions, and much more.
I also encourage every family to attend our annual Back to School Day on Thursday, August 6, from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet teachers and administrators, tour your child's school, drop off school supplies, pick up class schedules, receive transportation information, visit with Child Nutrition, JOM, Technology, Health Services, and other district departments, and complete enrollment if you have not already done so.
Investing in Students Through Exceptional Learning Spaces
This summer has been one of the most transformational in recent district history as we continue making strategic investments in our students and staff.
Catoosa High School: Catoosa High School experienced a remarkable transformation designed to create a modern learning environment that reflects excellence and pride. Improvements include fresh paint throughout the building, updated district branding, new window coverings, brand new classroom, office, and commons area furniture, new flooring in selected classrooms, a new E-Sports classroom, new interactive Promethean teaching panels in every classroom, and numerous life safety enhancements throughout the campus. These improvements create a learning environment that better supports student engagement while providing teachers with outstanding spaces to teach.
Wells Middle School: Building upon last summer's renovations, we continued investing in Wells Middle School with additional improvements that include modern commons area seating and a complete renovation of the Gymnatorium.
The Gymnatorium now features fresh paint, updated district branding, an upgraded stage, state of the art audio and visual technology, new lighting, and fully renovated boys and girls locker rooms. These enhancements support academics, athletics, performing arts, and countless student activities throughout the year.
Cherokee Elementary: Cherokee Elementary continues to provide an outstanding learning environment for our youngest learners.
Looking ahead, we are excited to strategically install artificial turf on all three playgrounds during the coming months. These improvements will create safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable outdoor spaces for our students.
Districtwide Technology Investments
Preparing students for tomorrow requires providing today's technology. This year, every classroom at Catoosa High School and Wells Middle School received brand new Promethean interactive teaching panels, and we also invested in new Chromebooks for students across the district. These resources allow our teachers to deliver engaging, interactive instruction while ensuring students have access to technology that supports learning every day.
The TWIST Center
The TWIST Center also received significant enhancements that continue to expand opportunities for our students. The cafeteria now features brand new furniture designed to create a welcoming college style atmosphere for our high school students. In addition, we completely renovated both upstairs spaces. The north side now includes indoor turf along with batting and pitching cages for our baseball and softball programs. The south side has been transformed into a fully remodeled multipurpose room that will support a wide variety of student activities, meetings, and learning experiences.
To complete the transformation, we also refinished the TWIST Center gym floor to match the Activity Center, creating a consistent, first class appearance across both athletic facilities while enhancing the experience for our student athletes, coaches, and community.
Investing Beyond the Classroom
Our commitment to students extends well beyond the classroom. This year, we added a brand new Activity Bus to our transportation fleet, providing safer and more reliable transportation for athletics, fine arts, competitions, field trips, and extracurricular activities throughout Oklahoma.
We also made significant investments in our outstanding band program through the purchase of new band instruments, a brand new drumline, and new instrument storage systems. These additions will provide our student musicians with high quality equipment while protecting district assets for many years to come.
Safety Remains Our Highest Priority
Every improvement completed this summer also included enhancements designed to strengthen campus safety and security. From facility upgrades to technology improvements to outdoor lighting, we continue making intentional investments that create safe, welcoming schools where students can focus on learning and teachers can focus on teaching.
Stay Connected Throughout the School Year
I encourage every family to bookmark the 2026-2027 Academic Calendar and refer to it frequently throughout the school year. The calendar includes holidays, professional development days, Early Release Fridays, parent conference dates, and other important information. Please also review your child's daily bell schedule, which can be found on our website.
New This Year: Early Release Fridays
Beginning this school year, Catoosa Public Schools will implement designated Early Release Fridays.
These afternoons replace previous virtual learning days and provide teachers and school leaders dedicated time to work together through Professional Learning Communities. During this collaborative time, educators analyze student learning, review academic progress, plan instruction, share effective teaching strategies, and identify ways to better support every student. This investment in teacher collaboration directly benefits student achievement and strengthens instruction throughout the district.
New Oklahoma Laws Affecting Schools
As we prepare for another exciting school year, we also want to keep our families informed about several new Oklahoma laws that will impact schools across the state.
The Bell to Bell No Cell policy is now permanent, meaning students are expected to keep personal electronic devices put away during the instructional day unless an approved exception applies. This change is intended to minimize distractions, increase student engagement, and create the best possible learning environment. Elementary students will receive additional daily recess as schools across Oklahoma adjust schedules to meet new instructional time requirements. Catoosa Public Schools has already made these adjustments to ensure students receive both meaningful instructional time and opportunities to be active. Middle school and high school students will also participate in annual education regarding the dangers of fentanyl and drug poisoning as part of a statewide effort to increase awareness and promote student safety.
Strong Financial Stewardship. Strategic Student Investment.
One of my greatest responsibilities as Superintendent is ensuring district dollars are used wisely while providing outstanding opportunities for every student. I am proud to share that Catoosa Public Schools remains in excellent financial health. During the 2025 and 2026 fiscal year, the district generated more than $23.1 million in General Fund revenue while investing more than $19.3 million directly into educating and serving students. We also ended the fiscal year with a healthy $4.25 million fund balance, allowing us to continue making strategic investments while maintaining long term financial stability. Catoosa Public Schools also maintains an A+ Bond Rating from S&P Global Ratings, reflecting strong financial management and positioning our district for future capital improvements.
Most importantly, our spending priorities reflect what matters most. Nearly half of every General Fund dollar is invested directly into instruction. Significant funding also supports operations, ensuring our schools remain safe, clean, and functional every day, while additional resources are dedicated to student support services, transportation, and school administration. Every financial decision we make is guided by one simple question: How does this improve opportunities for students?
Whether we are renovating classrooms, purchasing instructional technology, strengthening campus safety, investing in fine arts and athletics, or improving our learning environments, our focus remains the same: investing in students today while responsibly planning for tomorrow.
Thank You!
The future of Catoosa Public Schools has never been brighter. Together, we are building schools that inspire learning, support outstanding teachers, strengthen our community, and prepare students for success long after graduation. We cannot wait to welcome everyone back on Friday, August 7, for the first day of school and officially begin another incredible year together.
Here is to an outstanding 2026-2027 school year.
In service,
Robert Schornick