FROM THE DIRECTOR

DEAR CCOSA MEMBERS,

The 2019-2020 school year is one I’m sure none of us will ever forget. I’m so proud to have witnessed your life-changing work this past year and to call you my friends and colleagues. I hope this report will help remind you of not only the challenges we faced, but also all the wonderful things we accomplished together.

We started off the 2019-2020 school year with multiple education interim studies, many of which included CCOSA members as participants. This invitation for CCOSA to participate in interim studies further showcases the value we have at the Capitol. Legislators are coming to us for expert opinions and discussions on education legislation. The CCOSA team monitored and reported to membership on the more than 600 education related bills and successfully worked toward our legislative goals, including HB 2905, the Virtual Charter Accountability and Transparency Act of 2020.

CCOSA members also received professional liability insurance for the first time. Many of you have asked for this in the past and we were finally able to provide this long-awaited benefit to our nearly 2,900 members. Also in 2019-2020, eligibility requirements were reviewed for those eligible OARSA members desiring to join the Mutual Benevolence Plan. Our professional learning opportunities were successful yet again, with over 4,000 people participating in the main programs. This doesn’t even count the more than 3,000 participants we had on pandemic-related association update calls!

This year, we also implemented a minority leaders discussion group to help inform our newest Quality Schools Framework – Equity Initiative. This group has worked for many months to develop a framework for schools to implement to not only grow a diverse pool of administrators, but also to better support minorities in their districts. We’re excited to release this framework next year!

We couldn’t do this work without the support of our sponsors. This year we added a new Bronze sponsorship category to allow for any interested business to support CCOSA. Thanks to all of our sponsors, both those who are legacy sponsors and those who are new this year, for supporting the mission of CCOSA.

I’d like to sincerely thank members of the 2019-2020 CCOSA Executive Committee. You have been wonderful examples to me and to our members. Thank you, Chris LeGrande, Justin Mann, Dr. Don Raleigh, Dr. April Grace, Kim Coody, Dusty Throckmorton, Jonathan Atchley, Josh Pierce, Donna Boles, Tracy Mootry, Melisa Kifer and Dr. Gregg Garn. Please thank them for their service to CCOSA.

I’d also like to thank the CCOSA team. You leaned in during tough times to support each other, our members and our mission. I could not be prouder of your work.

Last, I’d like to dedicate this Annual Report to the late Dr. Randall Raburn, longtime educator, administrator and former CCOSA executive director who passed away in June 2020. Dr. Raburn’s leadership in schools and at the state level made a difference for many generations of students and administrators. We are blessed to have known him and learned from him. Thank you, Dr. Raburn, for your contribution to Oklahoma public education!

You will find a lot of information in the coming pages that showcases the hard work of the executive committees from each association and the CCOSA staff. We hope this report captures the things we achieved together this past year.

We thank you for your membership and look forward to moving forward together. We may not know what the future holds, but we know we are stronger together!

Sincerely,

Dr. Pam Deering CCOSA/OASA Executive Director