Above and Beyond
Angela Teeman, STEM program specialist, received the Above and Beyond Award.
She came up with the idea of making mini Technology Student Association competitions part of the New Teacher Academy to give teachers an idea of what their students would experience. She used the mini competitions at the fall TSA LEAD conferences to encourage chapter officers to work as a team. She invested significant time and effort in choosing events that could be done in a smaller way and wrote the competition instructions, specifications and rubrics.
She went above and beyond, providing a tangible experience for teachers who know nothing about a CareerTech student organization. It helped teachers develop relationships they can rely on as they network throughout the year. She also explained how they could adapt the activities to use in their classrooms to get their students excited about being a part of TSA.
Leadership in Achieving Excellence
Brittani Phillips, FCCLA state adviser, received the Leadership in Achieving Excellence Award.
In her first year on the job, she planned every FCCLA event with both in-person and virtual options. She converted the typical event to a virtual option very quickly in a positive, professional manner. When the world started moving back to normal, she created the Get Set Conference.
She continues to work diligently to make sure FCCLA resources are readily available for teachers and students, and she has spent many hours outside of work to ensure resources and finances are accurate. She helps teachers find new student opportunities, such as a service-learning project, leadership activity, competitive event or educational experience.
Phillips exemplifies CareerTech values by providing great service to customers and stakeholders and providing high-quality experiences. She is a true believer in FCCLA and provides a commitment of excellence to the organization.
Excellence in Customer Service
Kristye O'Mealey, STEM program specialist, received the Excellence in Customer Service Award.
She planned professional development for the STEM division at Oklahoma Summit, including 88 sessions in 22 different rooms on the agenda. She created a survey to collect ideas from teachers throughout the year and provided sessions aligned with nearly all the requests made by those teachers. She also planned the conference at a new location, which required attention to detail and collaboration with numerous individuals. After the conference, her division received positive feedback from both teachers and presenters.
O’Mealey provided critical professional development for STEM teachers, who need training on the latest equipment and software to keep up with industry needs.
Team Award
The Adult Education and Family Literacy Division received the Team Award. Members of the team were Lana Knott, Caleb Cummings, Sharon Baker, Lance Allee, Letha Bauter and Lisa Batchelder.
Team members spent many hours preparing and supplying documents for a program review conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education in 2021. Upon receiving the OCTAE report, division members prepared a corrective action plan that included developing a new state plan and policies and procedures.
They also conducted in-service and training sessions, developed a grant competition and allocated grants while overseeing 31 programs throughout the state. The response also included changing the division’s name from Adult Basic Education to Adult Education and Family Literacy. OCTAE approved the corrective action plan in November 2022.
