When I tell people that my time in high school wasn't traditional, I mean it did not revolve around lectures, social cliques, or hall passes. The learning environment was much more laid back. Students were open and accepting of one another and teachers were more friends than authority. Classes were rigorous—and when we weren't in class, we were lounging on the couches, grabbing a drink from our makeshift coffee bar, or playing an intense game of Jug*. Before adding a middle school (as of about two years ago), the total number of students was about 300, so we were all very close. Since its establishment in 2001, creating a sense of community has been the main goal of Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences.
Yearbook cover 2008
Yearbook cover 2008
We were often tight on money as we are a primarily donations-based charter school. We started off in a small office building in midtown Tulsa. Both my brother and sister spent all four years there, and I, my first two. Rent was high, so we were incredibly lucky when we were able to move to the old Barnard Elementary—a gorgeous 1920's redbrick schoolhouse. We spent the entire summer sprucing it up and personalizing each room. My brother helped one of the founding teachers, Dr. Lee, arrange a hoard of nifty artifacts she'd accumulated over the years. Stallings, who taught English at the time, made his own wallpaper border out of pages from novels. Mrs. Ingram arranged her cow collection, Foshee brought her art books, and everyone volunteered their time to paint, clean, and organize—which made what happened all the more heart-wrenching.
The original office building
Old Barnard Elementary
I was getting ready one morning in the second week of my junior year, wasting time by lying on my parents' bed and listening to the news. A woman said, "Tulsa school building on fire" and I remember thinking how crazy it would be if it were my school... but what were the odds? Then I felt I'd jinxed myself when the newscaster mentioned TSAS. I opened my eyes and saw my high school on the screen with huge plumes of smoke billowing above it. Aside from live-footage, the station kept playing a video from an hour earlier around five in the morning- the sky still dark and black against the blaze. The fire was more intense than I'd thought. Two small explosions burst through the windows, shattering the glass. They were concentrated at the northeast end but being so old and filled with layers of insulation, the entire building went up not long after. Eight firefighters were injured in the blast and had to follow the hose along the hallway to find their way out. Of course, my Facebook feed was overrun by the same post "TSAS is on fire!" Along with speculation as to what could have caused it. I followed news updates all day as I sat in my mom's office. I would've felt restless had I stayed home.
Barnard on fire
Most students would rejoice in cases like this. Every kid wishes some unlikely event like a tornado or fire would reduce their school to rubble just so they could have a day off. Don't get me wrong, I love playing hooky as much as the next person, but TSAS served as a second home. Our original location in the office building held a great deal of sentimentality, but the newly renovated Barnard-now-TSAS held even more. It was the first time we had a chance to personalize rooms and make a space our own. Local alumni of the former elementary school were happy the school would no longer be vacant, and with such a rich history, even the building itself held a sort of nostalgia.
The effects of the fire were truly devastating. All that was able to be recovered were the band and orchestra instruments, some graduation photos (my sister's signature got singed), and Mrs. Sandoval's corn husk doll, which was miraculously blown out onto the lawn with a puff of smoke. Years' worth of alumni information, Foshee's rich collection of art books, Dr. Lee's innumerable treasures, Mrs. Ingram's 20-year-old quirky cow collection, students' diaries, and dozens of other personal mementos were lost. Perhaps more devastating is the fact that many of these things might have been salvaged from fireproof cabinets and lockers if it weren't for denied access due to safety concerns, restrictions put in place by the insurance company, or some other combination of factors. Following the investigation, the cause of the fire was determined to be an accident caused by faulty wiring during the installation of a ventilation hood in the chemistry lab. The presence of flammable chemicals certainly did not help matters (hence the explosions).
While the effects of the fire were undoubtedly upsetting, TSAS's strong sense of community pulled us through, fostering comfort and resilience. But we certainly did not go it alone. The very next day after the fire, Tulsa Public Schools opened the doors to the old Sequoyah Elementary. We spent the day sitting on the floor and talking about plans for the future, as the once abandoned building had no furniture or supplies. Yet in the following weeks, TPS administrators and concerned Tulsans rallied together via fundraisers and volunteer efforts to donate money, supplies and hard work to get us back on our feet. Though we felt misplaced and struggled to settle into the new building, we were intensely grateful to the Tulsa community how showed such compassion, and to the firefighters who risked their lives in an effort to save our school.
All TSAS students outside of Sequoyah Elementary
We found even more solace in our mascot, which is coincidentally appropriate for the situation. In TSAS's first year, students voted on one of three possible mascots. The Phoenix won. In death, this mythical creature bursts into flames and rises from the ashes anew. We took this as a sign and viewed the experience as an opportunity for rebirth and rejuvenation. The current TSAS has once again moved buildings to the old Owen Elementary near north Tulsa. As with Barnard, teachers and students worked to customize the space and make it feel like home. As of September 5th, which marks the sixth anniversary of the fire, TSAS continues to thrive as a unique place for knowledge, friendship, and self-expression.
Old Owen Elementary- current TSAS location
Founding TSAS staff and teachers
*Jug is a strange game similar to the basketball game Horse, but in this case, the more letters the better. The object is to catch the jug with one hand, gaining a letter each time, to spell the word MILK. If you bounce the jug between another player's legs, they lose a letter.
