The head of Oklahoma’s largest teachers union has stepped down.
The Oklahoma Education Association announced Monday that its president, Katherine Bishop, has resigned to spend more time with her family. Vice President Cari Elledge will succeed her.
Bishop had been president of OEA since 2021. Before that, she had been vice president since 2015.
“We are grateful for her time and dedication to the profession and OEA and wish her all the best,” the association wrote in its announcement.
Bishop was a National Board Certified special education teacher and instructional coach in Putnam City Public Schools for 23 years.
“I have loved every minute as an educator and my time of advocacy and would do it all over again,” Bishop said in a statement.
Elledge was a fifth grade teacher in Norman Public Schools for 15 years and has been OEA’s vice president since 2021.
OEA counts about 30,000 members, including retired educators and students, the organization’s spokesperson, Monica Royer, said. It is an affiliate of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union.
The OEA Board of Directors has chosen Zach Grimm, a Spanish teacher from Moore Public Schools, to be vice president-elect. Grimm has represented Oklahoma on the NEA Board of Directors since 2020.
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