The power of second chances
When it comes to career training, Oklahoma CareerTech has many objectives. Giving people a second chance at life is among them.
Oklahoma CareerTech has been helping inmates find their purpose since 1971, when Oklahoma opened the first inmate training facility in the United States offering vocational-technical training by a state CareerTech system.
Since then, Oklahoma CareerTech’s Skills Centers Division has grown to encompass multiple programs in correctional facilities statewide, including juvenile facilities. This statewide school system is dedicated to equipping inmates with the skills necessary to obtain employment upon release.
The likelihood of an inmate being reincarcerated after release is much greater if we don’t prepare them for life on the outside. It’s a model that works.
Read more on the Oklahoma CareerTech website.
Oklahoma high school student creates law prior to graduation
The vision of Oklahoma FFA is to provide the next generation of leaders who will change the world, and Arapaho-Butler High School FFA member Katie Edelen embodies that vision.
May 12, 2023, was a big day for Edelen. The high school senior walked across the stage to receive her diploma just hours after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed her Orange Alert bill into law.
While her friends were lounging by the pool or sleeping in last summer, Edelen was working on an original piece of legislation that would later become House Bill 1546.
Read more on the Oklahoma CareerTech website.
Event connects small businesses with government contracts
More than 80 small business representatives attended the 2023 Southeast Oklahoma Procurement Outreach event earlier this month at Kiamichi Tech-McAlester.
The event, sponsored by Oklahoma APEX Accelerator at Kiamichi Tech, allowed clients to meet contracting officers and buyers from government agencies.
Oklahoma APEX Accelerator is Oklahoma’s procurement technical assistance center. OkAPEX centers are located in technology centers across the state.
Read more about the Kiamichi Tech event on Kiamichi Tech’s website. Learn more about OkAPEX on the Oklahoma CareerTech website.
Tri County Tech receives million dollar endowment
The Tri County Technology Center Foundation recently announced a $1 million legacy scholarship endowment from Green Country Free Clinic.
The endowment was named after the clinic’s founding director, Cindra Pribil.
Ninety percent of Tri County Tech students rely on the foundation’s tuition aid.
Read more about the endowment on the Tri County Tech website.
Meridian Tech superintendent honored
Meridian Technology Center Superintendent/CEO Douglas Major was named 2023 District 20 Superintendent of the Year by the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators.
He will be recognized at the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration Summer Leadership Conference in June.
Read more about the honor on the Guthrie News Page.
Useful links
Follow us on Twitter at @okcareertech and find us on Facebook at OklahomaCareerTech and on Instagram at oklahomacareertech and read our blog, Oklahoma CareerTech Delivers. Find our podcast at https://www.ctconversations.org/.
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
OK Career Guide Training Opportunities
The big talent is persistence. -- Octavia E. Butler
