The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in Science. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Celia Clinton Es
Celia Clinton Elementary School serves students in prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Tulsa Public Schools system. The school is located on the north side of Tulsa, a city whose economy has diversified beyond its historic oil base into finance, aviation, telecommunications, and technology. The school building sits near the intersection of major highways that shape the city’s development, and families will find Tulsa a place with a significant civic and cultural infrastructure, including museums and a downtown campus of Oklahoma State University.
The school’s student body is large for an elementary school, drawing from a surrounding area where housing values and rents are notably below state benchmarks. Home values in the immediate zip code run well under both the Oklahoma and national medians, and monthly rent is also modest. The affordability of the neighborhood means more families can find a foothold, though the local economic profile, including an unemployment rate that is moderate, shapes the resources households bring.
Celia Clinton’s enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with black students making up the next largest group, and smaller shares of white students, those identifying as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native students, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, as well as the number of students receiving special education services or English learner supports, was missing from the available records, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about those populations.
The school’s academic performance on Oklahoma’s state assessments, the OSTP, shows proficiency rates that are far lower than what most families would expect. In math, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was in the single digits in third grade and fourth grade, rising only slightly in fifth grade. In English language arts, fifth graders had a somewhat higher proficiency rate, but the third-grade and fourth-grade figures remained very low. Fifth-grade science results followed the same pattern, with a small fraction of students reaching proficiency. When compared with the other districts in Tulsa County, Celia Clinton Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed it in the bottom quartile. Because the state recently changed the cut scores for the math and English language arts tests, year-to-year trend comparisons are not possible, but the current snapshot is clear: the vast majority of students are not meeting grade-level standards. A parent looking at these results will want to discuss with the school what instructional supports and interventions are in place.
The district context adds further consideration. Tulsa Public Schools, the parent district, has been in the news for several reasons that families should weigh. The Oklahoma State Board of Education lowered the district’s accreditation to “accredited with deficiencies” in 2023, citing low academic performance. Also in 2024, the district closed two elementary schools as part of a right-sizing effort in response to a steady decline in student enrollment over a decade. On the positive side, voters approved a large bond package in 2024 that will fund building improvements, technology, safety, and instructional materials across all schools, Celia Clinton presumably included, without raising the property tax millage rate.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available. The school does not appear to be a charter or magnet school. A family evaluating Celia Clinton will find a school where the academic numbers are a serious concern, the district is under state scrutiny, and the surrounding community offers affordable housing, all set within a large, diverse city with a broad economic base. The school’s staff and leadership would be the first point of contact for understanding the specific programs and efforts aimed at raising student achievement.
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