Lasallian Founder's Alumni Award: Dedication to Quality Education, David Ruskoski

November 9, 2023

From the Bishop Kelley Class of 1981.

Our next recipient is receiving an award for Dedication to Education which is one of the five tenets of the Lasallian Charism. And if you ask 1981 graduate, David Ruskoski, how he developed high academic standards, he will tell you he did that here at Bishop Kelley. A 1981 BK grad, David reminded us that when he was a student here, the grading scale was 93% for an A, 85% for a B, 77% for a C, and 70% for a D. He said that made college courses feel a bit easier since the normal grading standard, the one we use today, is not as high.

When David graduated from Bishop Kelley, he first earned Associate’s degrees from Tulsa Community College in History and German. He then attended the University of Oklahoma where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Criminal Justice. Eventually, he moved to Atlanta where he studied at Georgia State University, earning a Master’s in History and completing his coursework toward a Ph.D., also in History.

In 2000, David moved back to Tulsa from Atlanta and became an Adjunct Professor at TCC while writing his dissertation on a World War I topic. During this same time frame, David was a high school teacher, with most of his teaching done at a Title I high school in the Tulsa Public School system. While teaching high school, David also coached boys basketball and girls soccer. He graduated from Georgia State University with a Ph.D. in History in 2006 and was initially an Assistant Professor of History at Tulsa Community College where he is now an Associate Professor of History.

Dr. Ruskoski has led several “study abroad” trips to Europe, given lectures about American History at TCC’s Sister College, Jilin (Gee-Lin) Normal University in Siping (Si-ping), China, and has given several presentations about his research into the first World War at TCC, the University of Tulsa and many other places including Chaumont (Show-Mont), France.

David serves on the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education and he has given several presentations at the Tulsa City/County Library. A year ago, he organized and hosted an event called “Tulsan’s Remember the Holocaust” that featured Holocaust Survivors who live in Tulsa.

David continues to serve on the Tulsa Holocaust Education Committee. He serves on the Advisory Board of the YMCA. He’s also served multiple years on the United Way “Day of Caring” volunteer committee. David is a single parent to his three grown children, Heather, Laurel and Paul. Paul is a 2022 BK graduate and he currently attends Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois which is also a LaSallian institution.

David has twice received TCC’s Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence and he also received the Outstanding Alumni award from Tulsa Community College. David credits two Bishop Kelley faculty members for being exceptional educators. Donna Yadon, according to David, brought an amazingly positive attitude to her classes. David says, as an educator, Brother Michael Witt was as brilliant as any that he encountered in his college career.

Please join us in congratulating this year’s recipient of the award for Dedication to Education, Dr. David Ruskoski.

Lasallian Founder’s Alumni Award

Recognizing the accomplishments of Outstanding Bishop Kelley Alumni who exemplify the five core principles of the Lasallian Mission; Faith in the Presence of God, Quality Education, Concern for the Poor & Social Justice, Respect for All Persons & Inclusive Community.

If you know a deserving BK Alumni, please nominate them here:

https://www.bishopkelley.org/alumni#LasallianFoundersAlumniAwardsNominationForm

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Bishop Kelley Named to Advanced Placement Gold Honor Roll

January 15, 2026

Bishop Kelley High School was recently named to the Gold Advanced Placement Honor Roll by the College Board . The AP Honor Roll program works to acknowledge schools around the United States that help students achieve excellence while maintaining broad access to challenging curriculum. According to the College Board, Honor Roll schools, “Reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, maximizing college readiness.” The award also recognizes the broad access to advanced classes especially for students in underrepresented populations. The AP Honor Roll distinguished schools in three main areas: college culture, college credit and college optimization. Seventy-two percent of Bishop Kelley students in the Class of 2025 took at least one AP class and test during their time at the school. Fifty-eight percent earned college credit by scoring at least a “3” on one AP test and thirteen percent of the class took at least five AP tests through their four years of high school. All three of these indicators show an increase from previous years for Bishop Kelley. Two hundred and fifty-seven Bishop Kelley students took a record six hundred and twenty-six Advanced Placement (AP) tests in May, 2025 with an extraordinary 85% scoring “3” or higher. Nineteen percent of Bishop Kelley test takers scored the highest possible “5” on their exams, the equivalent of “Extremely Well Qualified” according to the College Board which administers the international testing. A “5” equates to an A+ or A in college level classes. Internationally, only 9% of all tests earn a “5” score. Another thirty-six percent of Bishop Kelley students scored at the second highest tier, a “4,” equal to ”Very well Qualified,” a level only achieved by twenty percent of all testers. The record number of exams for Bishop Kelley students cover a wide range of disciplines including science, math, English, social studies, fine arts, world languages and business. The largest number of tests for Bishop Kelley students included one hundred and thirteen AP English Language and Composition students, followed by eighty-six students who took the AP United States Government test, and seventy-one who took the AP United States History exam. Bishop Kelley students scored the highest average on the second-year AP Precalculus exam with a school mean score of 4.6, followed by AP Physics I with a mean score of 4.3. In the 2024-2025 school year, Bishop Kelley offered AP tests in twenty-four different subject areas. The Advanced Placement program is sponsored by the College Board. Research has proven that students who take AP classes are more likely to enroll in and complete four-year colleges.