Convening 1,500 at Oklahoma City University Sunday afternoon, VOICE leaders challenged a bipartisan panel of candidates for Oklahoma State Superintendent with stories and questions around the state of Oklahoma schools; 5 of the 7 invited candidates directly heard from community members, teachers and parents, and responded with answers to direct questions.

Over the last six months VOICE leaders (including the Oklahoma Educators Association) have been presenting "High-Stakes Testing: Is it Worth the Cost?" all over the state. The presentation exposed the cost of and examines the impact of high-stakes testing and created opportunities for students, teachers, parents and school administrators to weigh in. VOICE leaders collected input regarding what would make an "A" school, identifying four main themes:

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African American clergy from VOICE-OKC called on State Superintendent Janet Barresi and her 6 opponents to participate in an accountability session June 6th focusing on testing and the quality of public schools in Oklahoma. Said Reverend Ray Douglas, senior pastor of Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church in northeast Oklahoma, "These kids are the people who are going to have to be our leaders and take care of us in the future...The future is in their hands, and it has to be in educated hands if we're going to survive and prosper."

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"About 300 people attended the Interfaith Prayer Service for Immigration hosted by Voices Organized in Civic Engagement...Clergy leaders shared Scripture readings, prayers, poetry and other writings that described the church's responsibility to aid immigrants who seek a better life in America...The Rev. Tim Luschen, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, read an excerpt from a United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document titled "Strangers No Longer, Together on the Journey of Hope.""

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When OG&E proposed a $73 Million rate increase, newly launched organization VOICE organized public hearings, in collaboration with the AARP and other entities, in defense of fixed-income families; VOICE succeeded in helping limit the increase to only $4 Million resulting in a residential rate increase of only 2% of the original proposal. VOICE leaders say, "rate increases have become very convoluted, expensive rituals and we are proud to have helped democratize the process...we helped save the public $69.3 Million!"

Regulators OK Settlement in Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. Rate Case, News OK

"Founded last winter at a convention that drew more than 1,200 people, Voices Organized in Civic Engagement (VOICE) hopes to get residents focused on what their biggest needs are, and how those can best be achieved at the local and state level.

"We hope to get citizens engaged in conversations that confront our communities, and we will try to hold public officials accountable for their decisions and votes," said Lance Schmitz, pastor of Capitol Hill Church of the Nazarene and an original member of VOICE's earlier entity, the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee..."

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"Linda Clark, a VOICE leader who attends St. Charles Borromeo, said the issues VOICE will bring to the forefront are those that the poor, immigrants and other marginalized community members have identified as important to them.

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"Four years ago, a group of concerned citizens began the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee (now called Voices Organized in Civic Engagement, or VOICE) to advocate for the residents of Oklahoma City. They held dozens of small meetings in churches and public places to understand the concerns of the local people—the struggling local schools, an inadequate public transportation system, the lack of dignity afforded to undocumented immigrants and the lack of opportunities for people after getting out of prison."

On February 12th, almost 1,200 leaders from 23 institutions and 8 denominations gathered to launch VOICE: Voices Organized in Civic Engagement. Dr. George Young, pastor of Holy Temple Baptist Church asked, "Who will speak for me? ...Do you hear the rumbling?...Do you hear the roar?...I add my voice to the roar: VOICE!"

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