TULSA, Okla. — Gov. Kevin Stitt held a press conference at a Tulsa school on Thursday to announce his appointment to the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Lindel Fields, a retired CareerTech administrator, will fill the remaining 15 months of outgoing Supt. Ryan Walters’ term. Walters abruptly resigned last week – making the announcement during an interview on Fox News – to take a position in the private sector as CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a new organization formed in opposition to teachers’ unions.
“Today is about steadying the ship,” Fields said during the news conference, held at Eisenhower International School in Tulsa. “This work is deeply personal.”
Fields served as superintendent and CEO of Tri County Technology Center in Bartlesville from 2009 to 2021 after a 30-year career in education. In 1991, Fields started his career in Oklahoma CareerTech as a horticulture instructor at Dick Conner Correctional Center and later became director of instruction to supervise the Skills Centers programs in the correctional system.
Fields retired from CareerTech in 2021 and has since worked with schools, businesses and local governments across Oklahoma through his firm, Your Culture Coach, which helps organizations improve performance.
“He’s dedicated his career to preparing Oklahoma students for the workforce,” Stitt said. “I can’t think of anyone better to bring the Department of Education into this next season.”
Fields said his top three priorities are reading proficiency, teacher recruitment and retention, and creating career pathways.
“If you’re not a teacher, a bus driver, a cafeteria worker or a custodian… Someone who works with students every day, then you and I are support staff,” Fields said. “Our job is to take care of the people who take care of the students…
“Our new mantra is, ‘If you’re not taking care of the students, take care of someone who is,’” Fields said. “Today, I want to start by thanking those who are most important, our teachers.”
Several candidates have already begun their run for the office.
State Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, recently announced he was joining the Republican primary race, along with retired Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller, current Peggs Public School Superintendent John Cox and Ana Landsaw, of Tahlequah. The Democratic ticket includes retired El Reno Public Schools Superintendent Craig McVay and former Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education member Jennettie Marshall. Jerry Griffin, an independent, who also served on Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education, is also running.
