The 100 campers (who will be selected through a competitive application process) will be divided into teams of 10 and will make decisions daily through a Business Simulation. 

Each team will be assigned a Company Advisor. These Advisors are all high level executives.  Alan Marcum, Executive VP at Devon Energy, has committed to participate as one of the team advisors.

In addition to the Business Simulation competition, each day the campers will also hear presentations from distinguished national business leaders, including:  Rhett Laubauch, Your Next Speaker; Michael Prince, COO of Guess Incorporated; Mary Melon, Publisher, Journal Record; Brad Fenton, Owner of Fenton  Motor Groups; Craig Sheef, CEO & President, Texas Security Bank; Bill Bridgwater, Retired Director, President and COO for three multi-billion dollars Information Technology Corporations , Governor Bill  Anoatubby, the Chickasaw Nation; Congressman Tom Cole; Senator Susan  Paddack; Representative Lisa Johnson Billy; and President John Hargrave,  ECU.

Participants will live in ECU residence halls and participate in a variety of activities on the ECU campus. The camp is scheduled from July 8th-13th. Oklahoma Business Week provides students the opportunity to meet new friends, learn from top business leaders, and explore career options, while competing for scholarships and prizes.

For more information about Oklahoma Business Week visit www.okbusweek.com or contact Stacey
Bolin, Camp Director, at (580)559-5596 or email info@okbusweek.com. Completed applications should be returned by the next application review date: May 7, 2012.  

Those wishing to donate to these families may do so by mailing their donations to:

                Boomer Relief Fund

                C/O The Stock Exchange Bank

                Box 1008

                Woodward, OK  73802

 The bank’s phone number is (580) 256-3314

 Please make checks payable to:  Boomer Relief Fund

Why saving the income tax is critical to public education.

Why saving the income tax is critical to rural Oklahoma.

You can take action and let your legislators and Governor Fallin know that any reduction in the state income tax will hurt public education.

Click here.

Click here.

Click here.

Click here.

Click here.

Please click here to read Governor Mary Fallin's proposed FY 2013 budget.

To qualify, students must meet all of the following criteria:

*Student must be of Hispanic origin

*Student must be eligible to graduate from a public high school in 2012.

*Student must provide proof of acceptance to an accredited post-secondary institution of higher learning with the intention to complete a four-year degree.

*Student must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a four-point scale.

*Student must demonstrate financial need.

Funds must be used for tuition, room and board, books , supplies or items that support the student’s college program. For an application please click here.

The Board took this action today in order to allow more time for clarification from the State Legislature during the upcoming 2012 session.

Moving forward, the Board and State Department of Education personnel will draft new rules through the permanent rule making process. Using the routine rule making process, SDE will collaborate with multiple stakeholders — including CCOSA, OSSBA, other educational organizations, legislators, school district leaders and educators across the state.

The new permanent rules will provide clarification and definitions of supplemental online courses and educational appropriateness as well as guidance and answers to questions regarding local board control, staffing decisions and funding.

It is important to note that today's action does not delay the requirements of SB 280. Consequently, SDE will distribute a guidance package to school districts — including the redraft of proposed rules, fact sheets and frequently asked questions.

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Law/BoardsofEduc/pdf/SchoolBoardMembers.pdf  

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Law/BoardsofEduc/pdf/2011/October/10a-EmergencyRules.pdf

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Law/BoardsofEduc/pdf/2011/October/10a-FactsSheet.pdf

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Law/BoardsofEduc/pdf/2011/October/10a-RIS.pdf

September 21, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brenda Wheelock
Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence
(405) 236-0006; bwheelock@ofe.org

“Building Better Schools Begins With YOU” is the theme for the 2011 Fall Forum for Local Education Foundations and Youth Mentoring Programs, slated from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave., on the University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus. Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8 a.m.

For more than 20 years, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has presented the Fall Forum as the state’s premiere event for school foundation leaders, school administrators and others seeking to improve the quality of public education in their communities. As part of its Boren Mentoring Initiative, the Foundation for Excellence is expanding this year’s Fall Forum to include sessions for youth mentoring program leaders as well.

As an incentive to support the establishment of new public school foundations in Oklahoma, Local Education Foundation Outreach supporters Frank and Ludmila Robson of Claremore are sponsoring complimentary admission to the Fall Forum on a first-come, first-served basis for new and developing foundations, as well as for administrators and community leaders interested in developing foundations in their districts. Complimentary admission is also available to public school teachers and school counselors interested in learning how they can collaborate with public school foundations and mentoring programs to support their students.

Featured speakers for this year’s Forum include mentoring advocate Tom Pace, author of “Mentor: The Kid and the CEO,” and luncheon speaker Janet Barresi, state superintendent of Public Instruction. This year’s conference is the most comprehensive in the Fall Forum’s history, with more than 20 sessions led by national and state leaders in nonprofit administration and youth mentoring.

Sessions for school foundation leaders will include “Fundamentals for New and Developing School Foundations,” “Redefining Fundraising: A New Approach that Works,” “Why and How to Use Social Media,” “Keys to Successful Foundations: Best Practices,” and “Successful Fundraising Initiatives from Throughout the United States.” The foundation track will also include networking sessions for foundation leaders to share ideas and experiences.

The mentoring track will offer sessions on “The Three Rs of Mentoring: Recruitment, Retention & Rewards,” “Evaluating Your Mentoring Program Using Youth Quality Assessment,” “How to Launch a Faith-Based Mentoring Program,” “Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents,” and “How to Train Mentors.” Tulsa Principal Cindi Hemm, the 2011 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence-winning administrator, will offer sessions in both tracks, including “Proven Ways to Build Community Partnerships” and “Best Practices: How Mentoring Changed Eugene Field Elementary School.”

“Oklahoma’s public school foundations and its youth mentoring programs are both working to help the children of our state reach their fullest potential – academically and socially,” said Karen Rose, director of Local Education Foundation Outreach. “It is our hope that school foundation leaders and mentoring leaders will attend both mentoring and school foundation tracks and that they will build partnerships in their communities to support and nurture Oklahoma’s students.”

Elaine Hunter, interim director of the Boren Mentoring Initiative, said she hopes this year’s Fall Forum will provide useful information and resources for those interested in starting new youth mentoring programs. “Sessions will also focus on the elements of best practice for providing safe and effective mentoring programs for our state’s young people.”

During the Fall Forum luncheon, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence will present its $1,000 Outstanding Program Award for Local Education Foundations to the Putnam City Schools Foundation in recognition of its Early Birds Childhood School Readiness and Parent Education Program. The day will culminate with a keynote address by State Superintendent Barresi.

“Through its Outreach Program to Local Education Foundations, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has helped build one of the nation’s largest grassroots networks of public school foundations, with more than 220 established to date,” said Emily Stratton, executive director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. “We hope to follow this pattern with our Boren Mentoring Initiative to build a strong network of youth mentoring organizations in Oklahoma. This year’s Fall Forum provides an opportunity for school foundation leaders, mentoring leaders and school administrators to work together for the common goals of building better schools and a better future for our children.”

Fall Forum registration is $50 per person if received by Oct. 11 and $60 for late registration. Session descriptions and registration forms are available online at www.ofe.org. For more information, call Karen Rose, director of Local Education Outreach, at (918) 743-5533.

###

After months of meetings and negotiations, an agreement to fully fund the Flexible Benefit Allowance (FBA) has been reached. OSSBA and CCOSA have been working with Governor Fallin, House Speaker Kris Steele and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman to resolve this matter.

This afternoon, the Governor, Speaker Steele and Senate President Pro Tem Bingman released a joint statement expressing their commitment to address the shortfall in health insurance funding for FY '12. Part of this agreement includes continuing to work on a substantive and permanent solution that ensures school districts and employees will never again face this problem.

Click here to read the press release on FBA.

We thank our partner organizations USSA and OROS for their continued support and assistance in this matter.

We want to thank legislative leaders and the Governor for their willingness to address this important need of Oklahoma's public school employees. CCOSA and OSSBA are excited to continue working with the Governor and legislative leaders to move Oklahoma schools forward.

Our organizations are committed to staying on top of this issue and ensuring that this agreement is fulfilled.

Thank you,

Dr. Jeff Mills
Executive Director, OSSBA

Steven Crawford
Executive Director, CCOSA

Once an area has been declared a disaster area by the state’s governor, and the federal government [Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)] agrees, a school district, or school, must first contact the local county emergency manager to advise that office of the damage that has been incurred.  When it is known for sure that the disaster has been declared and backed up by the federal government, the public assistance funds may be activated.  The state will conduct an applicant briefing for all those entities in the state that qualify for assistance to advise them how to apply.  This is the procedure that is followed in every state and territory. 

The following information regarding the Education Jobs Fund is now posted on the U.S. Department of Education's web site:

• Letter to Governors

• Application for Funding

• Initial Guidance 

The following states along with Washington D.C. have made the final round:

Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee

Click here for a letter from Kathy Taylor thanking you for your support during the application process for the Race for the Top.