In a new Listen Frontier episode, councilors break down the... Deborah Gist is the superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, an urban district serving 33,000 students across 78 schools and charter partners. Gist ’s career as an educator started in a classroom at Kirkpatrick Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas in 1988. Deborah Gist is the superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, an urban district serving 33,000 students across 78 schools and charter partners. Gist ’s career as an educator started in a classroom at Kirkpatrick Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas in 1988. Gist ’s career as an educator started in Texas in an elementary classroom, where she began receiving awards for teaching early in her career. While in Texas, she was one of the founding teachers for an innovative school based on experiential learning.