STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We have a story on Oklahoma's top education official, Ryan Walters. His supporters praise him for bringing religion back into public schools. His critics accuse him of mismanaging Oklahoma's public education, which U.S. News ranks 49th in the nation. Former students say they do not recognize the teacher who once enjoyed talking with them about HBO dramas. Elizabeth Caldwell from our member station KWGS has this story.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All right. It's kids time.
ELIZABETH CALDWELL, BYLINE: It's a Sunday in McAlester, Oklahoma, and a dozen children are gathering at the Main and Oklahoma Church of Christ. They sing a song in front of the congregation that's like a Christian version of "Wheels On The Bus."
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing) Roll the gospel chariot along.
CALDWELL: A few decades ago, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters could have been among these children. He was baptized in this rural church. Since then, the 39-year-old has become what critics call Oklahoma's culture-warrior-in-chief. He's labeled public schools atheist indoctrination centers and teachers unions terrorist organizations.
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RYAN WALTERS: In Oklahoma, voters have made clear that they want leaders who will completely wipe out a radical far-left agenda in our schools. That's the mandate that I'm here to fulfill, and I'm laser-focused on that and will remain so.
CALDWELL: His frequent Fox News appearances have earned praise from former President Donald Trump, but Walters' agenda is not necessarily reflected in his childhood church's messages.
BJ MCMICHAEL: At the heart of our movement is Jesus and love, and yet we have turned that into, in some cases, this, you're not a part of us. We have a call to participate in God's mission of reconciliation.
CALDWELL: That's Minister B.J. McMichael, who says Ryan Walters' family left this congregation some time ago. His father preaches at another church across the city. Requests for interviews there were not returned, and neither were requests sent directly to Walters' office. Eight years ago, Walters was a popular history teacher at McAlester High School, where he discussed HBO's "Game Of Thrones" in the classroom. Former student Maria Louise Fassino says the man who now wants to ban literature depicting sex scenes from public schools was a big fan of the racy show.
MARIA LOUISE FASSINO: And I think we did talk about certain plot points of the show that were kind of mildly inappropriate. It was just very normal, casual conversation.
CALDWELL: Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Walters as secretary of education in 2018. Walters soon established a social media presence that was a far cry from his teaching persona. He began denouncing everything from Satanists to the Federal Department of Education.
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WALTERS: It's a very simple process to abolish that department. It's also - you've got the agency, and then you have the local implementation of that agency, which is the teachers unions.
CALDWELL: Reporter Clifton Adock with Oklahoma outlet The Frontier says when Walters was secretary, he also drew a salary from a nonprofit promoting private schools.
CLIFTON ADCOCK: He was earning around $160,000, both from the state and Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, funded by Walton Family Foundation, you know, Betsy DeVos' group and the Koch brothers.
CALDWELL: Oklahomans elected Walters in 2022 to be superintendent of public instruction, with 57% of the vote. Since then, Walters has spent tens of thousands on a public relations campaign tied to the Heritage Foundation, the think tank behind Project 2025. Heritage is one of several conservative groups reviewing the state's social studies curriculum. Walters supporters, like Pastor Wade Burleson, say returning religion to classrooms promotes learning by instilling a respect for rules.
WADE BURLESON: All Ryan cares about is that students learn to read, students learn science. What he doesn't want is a system whereby kids are promoted without reading, graduate without skills.
CALDWELL: A classroom in Oklahoma is where Walters got his start. The question now is how far he'll go.
For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Caldwell in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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