From Classroom Support to District Leadership, Raelene Farmer Takes on New Role
CLAREMORE, Okla. - For Raelene Farmer, the most rewarding part of education is watching a student master a new skill and gain the confidence to keep learning. As Claremore Public Schools’ new Special Education Director, she is focused on supporting the teachers and teams who make those moments possible.
Farmer brings experience spanning early childhood education, college instruction, classroom teaching and district special education coordination. Her connection to CPS is also personal: she has served as a parent, volunteer, paraprofessional, teacher and district leader.
“In my new role, I am excited to pour into our teachers so each of them can in turn pour into our students, exponentially increasing the reward,” Farmer said.
Raised in Great Bend, Kansas, Farmer grew up in a family of educators with deep Oklahoma roots. Her mother taught kindergarten and first grade, and her father was a junior high teacher and athletic director. Visits to family in Claremore and the Sallisaw area were a regular part of her childhood, as were afternoons helping her mother prepare classroom materials.
Farmer began college in the early childhood associate degree program at Barton County Community College. While working at the college, she continued her education through Fort Hays State University, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She began as a teacher in Barton’s Child Development Center and later became its director. Her work also included teaching college courses, advising early childhood students and developing a multimedia course that combined learning formats.
After nearly a decade at Barton, Farmer and her husband, Marty, moved to Oklahoma to be closer to family. Their children, Aaron and Breanna, attended Roosa Elementary and graduated from Claremore High School and Rogers State University. Farmer volunteered at Roosa before returning to work when her youngest child entered kindergarten.
Her CPS career began as a special education paraprofessional at the junior high. During that year, she completed Oklahoma certification in middle-level social studies, early childhood and special education. In 2006, she began teaching special education at Westside Elementary.
At Westside, Farmer gained experience in direct instruction, collaborative special education services, Response to Intervention and pre-referral support. She also served as the building’s special education lead. In 2019, she moved into a district coordinator role with Special Services, expanding her work across grade levels and learning alongside former director Julie Geiger, whom she credits as a mentor.
That experience has shaped a leadership approach grounded in collaboration and respect for the expertise of others.
“My leadership style is one of collaboration,” Farmer said. “I know that I can’t possibly have all the answers so I seek out the knowledge and experience of others and glean from them.”
As director, Farmer looks forward to helping teachers strengthen instruction and working with district teams to support students’ individual needs. She is especially enthusiastic about CPS’s work with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS. This approach uses student data to identify needs, guide instruction and provide additional support. Farmer sees that work as an opportunity to build on structures already in place and help students across the district learn at the highest level possible.
Her emphasis on teamwork, continued learning and student growth reflects CPS’s core values of Grit, Community, Innovation, Excellence and Purpose.
Outside of work, Farmer enjoys cheering for the Zebras, Sooners and Chiefs, as well as her son’s soccer team at Pryor High School. She especially enjoys women’s college softball. Her daughter is married to Coach Grimett, and Farmer is enjoying her newest family role as a grandmother.
Through each stage of her career, Farmer has found purpose in helping learners grow. She now looks forward to supporting that same work across CPS alongside the educators she values.
“I truly would not want to work anywhere else,” Farmer said.