Beth Wallis
Education ReporterBeth Wallis is StateImpact Oklahoma's education reporter. She joined the collaborative in December 2021, initially focusing on environment and science reporting.
Beth holds two degrees from Oklahoma State University. After teaching band at a public school for five years, she pursued another degree — this time in journalism at The University of Oklahoma.
Previously, Beth was a student reporter for KGOU and The Oklahoma Daily.
Beth is an alumnus of the Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship and NPR Next Generation Radio. She's been recognized for her work by the Hearst Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Collegiate Press and the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association. She was awarded Best Podcast from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists for her series "At the Seams," which explores Norman's relationships with political division, police funding and its own racial history.
Beth enjoys hiking, playing with her four dogs and discovering new favorite musical artists.
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments April 30 over a bid to open the nation's first publicly funded religious charter school in Oklahoma.
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On the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, a theater production brings the stories of survivors and victims to the next generation.
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The Oklahoma state school superintendent says he ordered schools to teach the Bible. But local school districts say they'll make up their own minds.
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Oklahoma's top education official says public schools have to incorporate the Bible into their curriculum as a historical text. Many teachers and others are balking, saying he has no authority.
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Afterschool programs can improve students academic and social skills, and many got a big boost from pandemic relief funding. But that money is expiring soon, and some programs may disappear with it.
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Once the federal money expires, one Tulsa organization estimates its after-school program offerings will shrink from 450 to just 75. That's unless they can find outside funding. -
The Oklahoma Department of Education's new teacher bonus program gave over 500 teachers up to $50,000. In a handful of cases, the department overpaid teachers, then demanded they pay the bonuses back.
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Oklahoma has joined Florida in allowing videos from the conservative group PragerU in classrooms. Officials say it's a way to give a pro-American education. Critics call it right-wing indoctrination.
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Oklahoma Republicans blocked many of the proposals teachers rallied for in 2018. Now, amid record-breaking teacher shortages, the state's GOP is backing a slew of pro-labor bills.
