It’s official: Zarrow International School is moving.
Tulsa Public Schools’ board voted 6-0 Thursday to approve Superintendent Ebony Johnson’s recommendation to relocate the Spanish language immersion school to Hoover Elementary starting next year.
With the move, Zarrow will add about 65 seats across pre-kindergarten and kindergarten starting in the 2027-2028 school year. The magnet school’s current location at 36th Street and Hudson Avenue has room for about 500 students and is already at 97% capacity.
Located at 23rd Street and Darlington Avenue, Hoover is one of 17 TPS sites that will close at the end of the current school year as part of an effort to address a $12 million shortfall.
Before the board’s Oct. 19 vote to close and consolidate schools, TPS officials said multiple times that they want to expand popular programs, including immersion, dual language and virtual options.
Four other elementary schools on the closure list have larger buildings than Hoover. However, Johnson said Hoover was selected for immersion expansion in part due to community feedback.
“We heard loud and clear from community two things: that there is an interest from the Zarrow community to grow the program and have more students in their international program…and that there is a desire from the Hoover community to not have an empty building in their community,” Johnson said.
At Thursday night’s meeting, district officials clarified that they do not have any plans at this time to relocate another program into Zarrow’s current campus once the immersion school moves.
Zarrow International moved into the former Waite Phillips Elementary School in 2011 and is next door to two private schools, Undercroft Montessori and Bishop Kelley. Board member John Croisant acknowledged that that close proximity often creates traffic problems during drop-off and pick-up windows.
“There’s already three schools there,” Croisant said. “I always hear about the congestion and trying to get in and out of there in the mornings and afternoons, plus the parking and it’s a small building.”