Blog 1

 My name is Monica Christmas-Simmons. I am in my 27th year in education. I started out teaching high school English and American Sign Language as a foreign language. At about year 13, I decided to go back and get my Masters in Instructional Media (Library Science). I then became the Director for Curriculum and Instruction for three vocational colleges in the Tulsa area. After five years in this role, I decided that I missed kids and went back into the classroom for two years teaching 6th and 7th grade ELA. After that, I became the lower elementary librarian for the same school district. I am a widow with two adult children so I decided that this would be a good time for me to further pursue my education and get a second Masters. In my spare time, I enjoy being with my family, traveling to Disney, and studying sharks.

Kiefer is a town in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2020 census,^[4] a 30% increase over the 1,685 population recorded at the 2010 census, which itself was a 64 percent increase over the 1,026 figure recorded in 2000.^[5]

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 1,026 people, 373 households, and 281 families residing in the town. The population density was 561.3 inhabitants per square mile (216.7/km²). There were 410 housing units at an average density of 224.3 per square mile (86.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.09% White, 0.19% African American, 9.45% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.58% from other races, and 4.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.12% of the population.

There were 373 households, out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or ol844, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $30,739 versus $22,386 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,479. About 7.8% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over (Wikimedia 2025).

There seems to be a digital divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" in my town in regards to internet access. The students that live within town seem to have more access to internet accessibility than the students that live in the more rural area of town. My Call to Action would be for all Kiefer students, regardless of grade, have access to the internet. During Covid, it was apparent and exposed that many of our Kiefer students were without internet access. This lack of internet access can cause stress for the parents and the students and also cause the student to fall behind. It is my intentions to use what I learn/develop throughout this course, to implement a way for all Kiefer students to have internet access.  

References

Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, November 28). Kiefer, Oklahoma. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiefer,_Oklahoma#:~:text=Kiefer%20is%20a%20town%20in%20Creek%20County%2C,over%20the%201%2C685%20population%20recorded%20at%20the