Oklahoma’s education landscape was jolted this week by the announcement that Ryan Walters, the state’s controversial Superintendent of Public Instruction, is stepping down to take the helm of a new national organization, the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Walters’ departure, effective October 1, 2025, signals a shift from state-level leadership to a broader campaign aimed at challenging the power of teachers unions across the United States. According to Fox News, Walters declared, “We’re going to destroy the teachers unions and take back our schools,” underscoring the combative tone that has defined his tenure and will shape his new national role.
The Teacher Freedom Alliance, as described in a press release cited by Fox News, is committed to promoting what it calls educator independence and opposing “liberal, woke agendas” in public education. Walters’ mission, by his own account, is nothing short of transformative. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) and echoed in his press appearances, he reiterated, “For decades, union bosses have poisoned our schools with politics and propaganda while abandoning parents, students, and good teachers. That ends today. We’re going to expose them, fight them, and take back our classrooms.”
Walters’ abrupt exit from Oklahoma’s top education post comes at a time of heightened national debate over the role of teachers unions, curriculum content, and the ideological direction of public schools. His move to the Teacher Freedom Alliance is widely seen as an escalation of these battles, taking Oklahoma’s local disputes onto a national stage. The new organization has set its sights on challenging what it sees as entrenched union influence and promoting a vision of education rooted in conservative values.
Not everyone is cheering Walters’ new direction. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the nation’s largest teachers unions, offered a swift and pointed response. Randi Weingarten, the AFT’s president, told Fox News Digital, “It’s no surprise that Mr. Walters, after failing on the job, is leaving the state. Any educator worth their salt understands it’s impossible to educate students if you don’t support teachers.” She further criticized Walters’ move, saying, “Walters didn’t do that in Oklahoma and now, at a time we need to bring the country together, he’s trying to export his divisive rhetoric nationally.” The exchange captures the deep divisions that now characterize American education debates, with both sides accusing the other of undermining the core mission of schools.
Walters’ resignation wasn’t the only headline-grabbing move this week. Earlier, he announced an ambitious plan to introduce chapters of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative youth organization, into every high school across Oklahoma. According to a state press release cited by Fox News, Walters said, “We will be putting TPUSA on every high school campus in Oklahoma. Charlie Kirk inspired a generation to love America, to speak boldly, and to never shy away from debate.” He added, “We will fight back against the liberal propaganda, pushed by the radical left, and the teachers’ unions. Our fight starts now.”
In a Fox News Channel interview with Martha MacCallum, Walters claimed that the demand for TPUSA chapters is already widespread: “We’ve already got requests from every school — so that makes it very easy.” The plan, if realized, would mark an unprecedented expansion of a politically active group within public schools, raising questions about the appropriate boundaries between education and political advocacy.
These high-profile moves reflect a broader national trend in which education has become a political battleground. Walters’ rhetoric and actions have drawn both passionate support and fierce opposition. Supporters argue that unions have become too powerful, stifling innovation and imposing political agendas on classrooms. Critics counter that attacks on unions are thinly veiled attempts to undermine teachers’ rights and divert attention from underfunding and systemic challenges facing public schools.
Against this backdrop of ideological struggle, a very different perspective on education emerged in a recent article published by Business Insider on September 26, 2025. The author, a former middle school teacher, reflected on the importance of positive communication and relationship-building between teachers, students, and families. The article recounts how, nearly 20 years ago, the author’s principal encouraged all teachers to make positive phone calls home during September and early October—a practice aimed at fostering trust and community from the very start of the school year.
The author recalls initial skepticism about the feasibility of calling every student’s home, given the already heavy workload teachers face. “But the principal’s request didn’t feel like an invitation — it seemed to be an expectation, especially for new teachers, like I was at the time,” the author wrote. Despite the challenge, the author found a way to make it work and was surprised by the lasting impact. “I never imagined that centering positive contact with a child’s family — yes, even amid some of the more difficult conversations that need to be had from time to time — would lead to lifelong relationships.”
Now a college instructor training future teachers, the author continues to advocate for this approach, advising students to begin each school year with a positive call home. The article emphasizes that such gestures, though small, can lay the groundwork for trust and partnership between educators and families. The author’s experience stands in stark contrast to the combative tone of the national debate, highlighting the human connections at the heart of effective education.
This story from Business Insider offers a reminder that, while policy battles rage in legislatures and on cable news, the daily work of teaching often hinges on simple acts of kindness and communication. “Community building is one of the most important things that a teacher can do to foster trust from the beginning,” the author reflects, recalling how a single positive phone call from a teacher left a lasting impression on both student and parent.
As Walters prepares to take his campaign against teachers unions nationwide, the contrast between headline-grabbing political fights and the quiet, persistent efforts of classroom teachers could hardly be starker. On one side, a movement to “take back our schools” by dismantling unions and promoting conservative organizations like TPUSA; on the other, educators quietly building bridges with families, one phone call at a time.
It’s a tension that’s unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. The stakes, after all, are nothing less than the character and future of American education. As Walters steps onto the national stage, the eyes of the country will be watching to see whether his confrontational approach gains traction—or whether the quieter, relationship-based methods championed by everyday teachers will ultimately prove more enduring.
