Conference FAQs
All Oklahoma charter school heads of school, their instructional and operational teams, and all members of their boards of education should attend. This two-day event will highlight the Oklahoma charter community and be attended by state leaders. This is an unprecedented opportunity to have critical conversations with state leaders about how our charter schools can be strengthened and to engage and learn from peers.
The conference is March 6th - 7th, 2025 in Oklahoma City at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown Medical Center, which is near the state Capitol.
Parking at this facility is free during the day and $20 for overnight guests. For those traveling to the conference, the hotel is offering the state rate for rooms.
Should you receive a message that the conference block is at capacity, please email shelly.hickman@scsb.ok.gov and we will work to expand the block of rooms for the conference.
Conference registration is completely free and is inclusive of beverages and meals.
Yes! This conference aims over its two days to provide all the 12 hours of state-required training that new school board members must receive, as well as training hours for others, such as encumbrance clerks.
Even if board members and encumbrance clerks have received some or all of their training elsewhere, we still highly encourage them to attend this conference, so they are exposed to state leaders, and state and national experts and receive training directly from presenters approved and arranged by the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board.
Yes! For the charter community to drive transformational educational change in Oklahoma, charter board members need the opportunity to interact with their peers in other schools and be exposed to the same professional development opportunities as their heads of school and their schools’ instructional and operational teams. There are no open meetings violations of an entire board attending the conference if board members do not speak about or conduct any official business among one another while attending the conference.
Yes! Day 1 will be comprised of general sessions only. Several of them will be geared to board members but the content also will still be beneficial to heads of school and their teams. Day 1 will also include remarks from some state leaders and end with a complimentary reception and allow attendees to mingle and collaborate.
Day 2 will feature an address by the governor, a dynamic keynote speaker and dozens of breakout sessions from which school teams could pick and choose which ones they will attend. Meals and parking during the two days are free so there is no barrier to schools bringing as many of their leaders, administrators and board members who can attend.
