Assistant Superintendent Bowen Receives Award

Jane Bowen, Assistant Superintendent at Northwest Technology Center’s Alva campus was recently named as a finalist for the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education (OkACTE) Outstanding Educator award and was named the Outstanding Educator for OkACTE’s Administration Division.

The overall Outstanding Educator award was presented at the 2008 Career and Technology Education Summer Conference held Aug. 4-Aug. 6, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The conference attracts more than 3,500 career and technology educators from across Oklahoma. Oklahoma ACTE is the professional organization for the state’s career and technology education administrators, teachers and staff members.

In her tenth year with CareerTech education, Bowen serves as a state leader in the Technology Centers That Work initiative with Northwest Technology Center being a pilot site. She is a member of the state Technology Centers That Work administrative advisory committee.

Under her guidance, Northwest Technology Center developed both a Technology Centers That Work strategic plan as well as a literacy plan. She served on a technical site visit for Technology Centers That Work and led her school through its technical visit. Through her team’s efforts, Northwest Technology Center continues to provide professional development activities (using Technology Centers That Work practices) to educators throughout the district.

The Outstanding Educator Award recognizes career and technology educators, other than full-time classroom/laboratory teachers, who have recently provided or are currently providing outstanding career and technology education programs for youth and /or adults in their respective fields and communities. Recipients of this award must have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique or novel programs that are serving to improve and promote career and technology education.

Oklahoma School of Science and Math Coming To NW Tech

Northwest Technology Center with campuses in Alva and Fairview will be the home of a regional site for the Oklahoma School of Science and Math (OSSM) beginning in the fall of 2009. According to Freelin Roberts, NWTC’s Superintendent, “We are thrilled about this opportunity for students throughout Northwest Oklahoma to pursue this high level curriculum”.

“Students will attend the OSSM programs for half of the school day and then can return to their home high schools for the remainder of the day. This allows them the ability to continue to participate in other coursework and school activities.” stated Jane Bowen, NWTC’s Assistant Superintendent at Alva.

“Both the Alva and Fairview OSSM campuses will have staff members to teach the high level math and science curriculum” said Dr. Gerald Harris, NWTC’s Assistant Superintendent at the Fairview campus.

During the 2008-2009 school year, OSSM will work on recruiting faculty and students for the 2009-2010 school year. An open house will be held at each facility in either January or February. Applications for students will be taken from January through April. Students must complete the application process and if they are selected as a semi-finalist, they must complete an interview. The initial class will be announced in late April.

According to Dr. Jack Herron, “The sites at Alva and Fairview will be the eighteenth and nineteenth regional locations for OSSM.” Dr. Herron serves as the Outreach Coordinator for the Oklahoma School of Science and Math. He will be working with the administration at Northwest Technology Center as well as with the public schools in the area during the upcoming school year.

“Most of the students who come to our regional sites in Alva and Fairview will be high school juniors and seniors. Occasionally, we will have a sophomore or a freshman attend, but it is usually in preparation for them to go on to the residential site in Oklahoma City.” said Dr. Edna Manning, President of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.

More information on the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) is available at www.OSSM.edu.