Oklahoma HSTW Updates

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES:
Project Moves Welding Program
There will be a short term Welding Program offered at Metro Tech’s Bryan Road Campus starting on March 24, 2008. The hours will be from 3 pm to 9 pm Monday thru Thursday for Youth ages 18 to 21. All applicants must register with the Workforce Investment Act and score at a Bronze Level on the Work Key exam. The class will consist of 180 hours of class room/shop training, a 40-hour un-paid internship, and a 240-hour paid Work Based Learning Experience. Students will be paid $8.50 per hour for this final phase.

Successful graduates will be offered employment at $10+ per hour. There are numerous openings for welders in the metro area and this is a great opportunity for a young person to start a promising career. Any interested applicants should call Barrett Richardson at 405-880-0831 ASAP.

Pamela Kirby, MHR Program Coordinator, Program Monitor
Central Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board
3813 N Santa Fe Suite 135
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Ph [405] 622-2029 Fax [405] 622-2032

Oklahoma College and Universities Summer Academies
2 FREE Summer Academies will be held this summer at different Oklahoma colleges and universities. These math, science and technology academies are for Oklahoma residents who will be entering the 8th – 12th grades in the fall 2008. Contact and general information about each academy is available at: www.okhighered.org. The information may be found at http://www.okhighered.org/student-center/jrhigh-highscl/summer-academies.shtml.

If unable to access the Internet, call 1-800-858-1840 for information. Encourage your students to APPLY EARLY because these academies fill up fast.

Cynthia N. Brown, Ed.D.
Senior Coordinator for Student Preparation
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
(405) 225-9100

Touring Oklahoma Curriculum
Download a complete unit from the forthcoming "Touring Oklahoma" curriculum at:
http://www.okcimc.com/titles/tourism/. This new curriculum may be of interest to Oklahoma History teachers bringing focus to the Hospitality and Tourism cluster and industry of Oklahoma. The student book will be available for $30 (in-state price). The teacher edition will be a student edition plus a CD with quizzes and answers. The cost reflects the use of color throughout the curriculum, the heavy glossy paper required for the color, and a heavy-duty coil binding.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
HOT TOPICS WANTED for OkACTE Summer Conference – August 5, 2008
WE WANT YOU to present during The Hot Topics Sessions at the 2008 Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education (OkACTE) Summer Conference in Oklahoma City. Session topics will center around Career Clusters and Instructional Improvement/High Expectations - Utilizing Career Clusters to Increase Student Achievement. Two roundtable sessions (45 minutes each) will be held in the Ballroom of the Cox Center on Tuesday, August 5. Approximately 30 table presentations will occur during each session. The first session will be from 8:30-9:15 a.m. and the second session from 9:45-10:30 a.m. Our hope is for HSTW and TCTW sites to offer presentations based on best practices in their school, especially in the classroom setting. Please complete and return the short proposal to present no-later-than Friday, April 4, 2008. This will be an excellent opportunity to focus on instructional improvement and student achievement activities that are occurring in your school. Download and complete a “Proposal to Present” at http://www.okcareertech.org/hstw/resources.htm or by contacting Cheryl Bell at cbell@okcareertech.org.

GRANT WRITING FOR BEGINNERS
The Grant Writing for Beginners will be offered by Dr. Linda Mason, Thursday, March 13, 2008 – 9:00 am to 12:00 noon in the OneNet Conference Room, Oklahoma State Regents, Oklahoma City, 655 Research Parkway. There is no registration fee, but you must register to attend by sending an email to lmason@osrhe.edu. You can request this workshop be made available by videoconference!

6TH ANNUAL CAREER CLUSTERS INSTITUTE
With ONE exciting, new location, THREE nationally-recognized general session speakers, and 60+ breakout sessions, “Career Clusters: The New Horizon” will be a Career Clusters Institute you won’t want to miss! As leaders, the Career Clusters Institute is the place to find out what is new, learn from best practices, and discover innovative strategies for implementing and integrating Career Clusters and Pathways. Register early to secure your spot and your copy of the recently revalidated Career Cluster and Pathway Knowledge and Skills statements. Register online at www.careerclusters.org before the deadline of May 2, 2008.

June 16-18, 2008
Marriott Atlanta Marquis
265 Peachtree Center Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia
Strand A: Career Clusters as a Model for Collaboration - designed for state/regional system leaders of education, workforce development, economic development, CTE, and post secondary systems
Strand B: Career Clusters as a Tool for School Reform & Improvement - designed for district/system administrators, counselors and general education teachers
Strand C: Implementing the Career Clusters Model – Issues & Ideas - designed for state/district administrators and teachers
Strand D: Career Cluster-Specific Instruction & Implementation - designed for state/district administrators and teachers

Make your hotel reservations at www.careerclusters.org or call 1-866-469-5475 and request the Career Clusters Institute room block to be assured the special room rate of $129.00 plus tax per night. At the time of your lodging reservation, you will be charged a first night’s deposit. This deposit is refundable up to 72 hours before your reservation is to begin.

For more information, please contact our office at 202-737-0303 or email us at institute@careertech.org.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES:
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grant
The Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grants initiative is to foster inventiveness among high school students and excite them about science, mathematics, engineering and entrepreneurship. The initiative aims to empower students through hands-on problem solving and to encourage a sustainable culture of invention in schools and communities. We encourage your career/technical, mathematics and science teachers to pursue this opportunity to pique students' interests in STEM-related studies.

Each year, Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams offers grants up to $10,000 for teams of high school students and their teachers to identify a problem and invent a technological solution to it. These teams can function as an entire class or extracurricular activity. Deadline for initial application for 2009 is April 28, 2008. Use the following link
(http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html>http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html)
to retrieve an application and learn more about the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program. Last year, 16 high schools received InvenTeams grants, and one was a High Schools That Work school.

Provide more learning opportunities for your students!

Grants Available for School In-Service Training
Need financial support for your school’s in-service math training needs? NCTM’s Mathematics Education Trust (MET) can help. In 2009-2010, grants of up to $4,000 each will be awarded to elementary, middle, and secondary schools for in-service education in mathematics.
Apply by May 9, 2008.

http://www.nctm.org/met.aspx
Established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Mathematics Education Trust (MET) supports the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning at the classroom level through the funding of grants, awards, honors, and other projects.