Tulsa Schools’ Dr. Jeanettie Marshall Announces Candidacy for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

TULSA, Okla. — Dr. Jennettie Marshall has announced her candidacy for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
On April 1, Dr. Marshall made a symbolic and literal journey from the historic Greenwood District in Tulsa to the State Capitol in Oklahoma City, marking her drive to become State Superintendent of Public Instruction and lead K-12 schools in a new direction.
A popular pastor, community leader and revered advocate for children and families, Dr. Marshall was elected to and served eight years in the nonpartisan post of board member for Tulsa Public Schools.
In recognition of her work, the Tulsa Big Wheels MC and Social Clubs escorted her to Oklahoma City with supporters joining along the route as she traveled to the State Capitol to file her candidacy. The motorcycle rally and ride were also part of the clubs’ remembrance of the April 2012 Good Friday shooting tragedy as the Tulsa community continues to heal from the racially motivated attack. The tribute reflected Marshall’s lifelong commitment to human rights and justice, values that have guided her leadership in public education.
Pastor Jennettie Marshall has been a public servant and advocate for children, families and her community throughout her life. At the age of 16, Jennettie overheard a bus driver hurling a racial slur at a peer on the school bus. She knew it was wrong; and she knew she should do something about it. According to an April 2024 feature in The Oklahoma Eagle, “Marshall galvanized a small collective of African American students at the school and led them in a protest. She called the Tulsa news media to cover the event. School administrators responded by removing the driver from the bus route that carried those students.”
More than five decades later, Dr. Marshall is still on a mission to help her fellow citizens improve governance of public schools – and not just in North Tulsa. Last year, Pastor Marshall chose to end eight years of service as a member of the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) Board of Education and announced her candidacy for Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2026.
First elected in 2017 to represent TPS District 3, she found this largest of seven board districts supported 18 schools of disparate and urgent needs. In 2018, Dr. Marshall was instrumental in establishing the North Tulsa Community Education Task Force, which is still active today. The group’s recommendations resulted in a state-of-the-art middle school in the McLain Feeder Pattern, relocation of the Tulsa Learning Academy to the former Alcott Building and opening the Parent Resource Center.
In July 2022, Dr. Marshall and another board member sent a letter to Governor Stitt requesting an audit of Tulsa Public Schools due to financial irregularities identified over the previous five years.
Jennettie Marshall’s heart makes the difference. As a pastor, she has been preaching, teaching and serving Oklahomans in Tulsa and congregations throughout the state for more than 32 years. Founding Pastor of Living Sanctuary Evangelistic Ministries, Dr. Marshall has also served as a Chaplain for the Tulsa Police Department and for the Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell Disease
In 1994, she started Reclaim Inc., a 501(c)(3) Public Charity , which helps struggling Tulsans navigate a better future. Her heart also led her to 17 years as a Probation and Parole Officer and case manager for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and three years as a Child Welfare Investigator with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Dr. Marshall’s diverse careers are a result of her education that includes Associate’s degrees in Political Science (Tulsa Junior College) and Funeral Service (Dallas Institute); Bachelors of Science in Corrections (Langston University); Masters of Science in Management (Southern Nazarene University, Bethany), Masters of Religious Arts in Divinity and Doctorate of Pastoral Psychology from Integrity Seminary (Waxahachie) after also attending Phillips Theological Seminary and Oral Roberts University (both in Tulsa).
A presenter at a National School Board Association summit in 2020 with members of TPS administration, Dr. Marshall shared the TPS Audit findings in September 2025 as a case study on board members’ fiduciary responsibilities and governance at the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) conference in Los Angeles.
She has been featured in the Tulsa Kids Magazine, The Oklahoma Eagle, and The Bristow News, among others.
Pastor Marshall is the proud mother of three: DeAndrae Sr. of Mounds, LaKesha of Broken Arrow, and LaToya, who passed in 1985. Jennettie enjoys spending time with her twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren every chance she gets.