Originally from Chicago, Elton Sykes graduated from Tufts University with an undergraduate degree in political science and was accepted into the Teach for America program. Teach for America selects applicants nationwide to serve in a highly acclaimed national service corps where applicants commit to teach for two years in an under-resourced urban region to help close the educational gap. Teach for America sent Mr. Sykes to complete his two years of service at McLain High School in Tulsa. Elton taught English for four years at McLain and also served the Dean of Students. He fell in love with the profession at McLain and decided to pursue a career in administration. During this time, Mr. Sykes graduated from the University of Oklahoma with his master’s in education administration curriculum and supervision. He was then promoted to be an assistant principal at Memorial High School in 2013 and also served as an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School from 2015 - 2017. Mr. Sykes currently serves as principal of George Washington Carver Middle School and is working on his educational doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma, with a planned graduation date of 2021. Mr. Sykes has a strong belief that an education can change one’s life trajectory and he wants to ensure that every child receives a quality education no matter what they look like or where they live.

Elton Sykes
Principal
sykesel@tulsaschools.org 

Joy Parnosky
Assistant Principal
parnojo@tulsaschools.org

Namesake

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was born a slave in Diamond Grove, Missouri. He is one of the nation's most famous agricultural scientists and is best known for his research on peanuts and his commitment to helping poor Southern African-American farmers. He is also known for actively promoting alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. In an era of racial polarization, his fame reached beyond the African American community. He was widely recognized and praised in the white community for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a “Black Leonardo.” Carver worked at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for most of his adult life. He was the head of the agricultural department and director of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1886 to 1943. In 1943, soon after Carver's death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made Carver's boyhood home a national monument. It was the first national monument to honor an African American.

Key Contributions

Carver is widely known for developing industrial uses for peanuts and methods to prevent soil depletion and improve the productivity of farm land. His work is widely considered to have improved the quality of life for millions. His legacy of determination, intelligence, and ingenuity are consistent with community values.
Just about everyone would respect and look up to Carver as his contributions positively affected all people. Carver is a symbol of the intellectual achievements of African Americans immediately after the abolition of slavery. However, Carver appeared to be uninterested in the role his image played in the racial politics of the time. His desire in life was simply to serve humanity. His work, which began for the sake of the poorest of the African American sharecroppers, paved the way for a better life for the entire South.

History of our school

The school opened in 1928. This is the time frame of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, when Carver’s contributions to society would have been greatly respected and appreciated by all.