Director's Weekly Memo 2019-4-1
Oklahomans honored for ‘Making It Work’
The Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council honored 21 Oklahomans at the 25th annual Making It Work Day at the Capitol on March 28.
Making It Work Day recognizes individuals who are committed to removing barriers to success for single-parent families by providing educational experiences for students beyond the classroom. The ceremony also recognized nontraditional students.
Individuals were recognized on the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and presentations were made at a luncheon at the Oklahoma History Center.
OkCTEEC is affiliated with the administrative division of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education. The council advocates for students pursuing nontraditional careers and for resources for educating single parents.
Autry Technology Center hosts Teach Tech
Autry Technology Center recently partnered with United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma to create Teach Tech, an effort to provide STEM kits to engage students enrolled in the Coach-A-Kid mentoring program in the Enid Public Schools’ elementary and middle schools.
The United Way’s Coach-A-Kid program has been operating since 2015 with a mission to improve academic achievement to focus on reading and math, building self-esteem, establishing positive relationships and helping children overcome negative behaviors.
The STEM kits include engineering and coding projects, science exploration, drones and robotics. Coach-A-Kid mentors receive training in these disciplines by specialists at Autry and can then apply the training during their mentoring sessions with students.
The addition of the STEM kits and technology-focused curriculum in the Coach-A-Kid program aligns with Autry’s focus of innovation in the community. Sharing technology, providing resources and educating the community are the main focus of this partnership. The equipment provided by Autry Tech will be used in more than 10 schools in Enid.
In addition to providing innovative technology and equipment for the mentorship training, Autry hosted multiple training sessions, which exposed guests to Autry’s campus and facilities.
Southwest Tech student on the road to success
Olivia Wiggins, a business, computer and technology student with a focus on medical office assistant at Southwest Technology Center, turned to the technology center to help her choose the right path for success.
Wiggins entered foster care in 2004 and was adopted in 2008. She graduated from Mangum High School and in 2016 gave birth to a daughter. After her daughter’s birth, she began focusing on her future again and turned to SWTC.
At the tech center, she has received several scholarships and is involved in Business Professionals of America and National Technical Honor Society.
Advance CTE seeks business support for CTE
Advance CTE launched a campaign in February to double the federal investment in career and technology education. The organization is asking individuals to ask employers to sign a statement supporting doubling the investment in CTE.
A new bimonthly newsletter will provide updates on the campaign and provide tweets and resources to spread the word.
CareerTech events
Enhancing Literacy Based Instruction, Session 4, April 1
Business and Industry Services Certification, Program Session IV, April 2
Instructional Leaders Meeting, April 4
Galaxy Webinars for Oklahoma, April 8
OkACTE BMITE Officer Meeting, April 9
Useful links
Follow us on Twitter at @okcareertech and find us on Facebook at OKCareerTech and on Instagram at oklahomacareertech and read our blog, Oklahoma CareerTech Delivers.
For news about Oklahoma’s CareerTech System, subscribe to CareerTech communications.
State Agency Assistance at a Glance
National Center for Research in Career and Technical Education
There are not secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure. – Colin Powell
