OASA

from Better Schools Magazine Fall 2023

Future Ready Leadership

Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

members! We are very close. Reaching 200 members provides for one more Oklahoma voice on the AASA Governing Board.

OASA’s weekly “Touch Bases” meetings continue to provide up-to-date information and ideas for handling new programs that include safety and security grants, teacher pay raises, and other initiatives from the OSDE. Attendance at these Zoom meetings has exceeded 275. These meetings have become a vital networking tool for our members. Other networking Zoom groups organized through CCOSA and OASA are federal programs, student information, tribal education, virtual education, and facility/operations directors.

Upcoming Calendar Events

OASA Legislative Conference

January 23 and 24, 2024

Embassy Suites, OKC

Women in School Leadership

March 27 and 28, 2024

Omni Hotel, OKC

CCOSA Summer Leadership Conference

June 12, 13, and 14, 2024

Omni Hotel and OKC Convention Center

Following the CCOSA Conference in June, it was another great conference with a record number of attendees. The keynote speakers at both summer conferences were outstanding! This year’s First Year Superintendent’s Academy has 54 superintendents attending. OASA is proud to have integrated the Professional Standards for Educational Excellence (PSEL) and Oklahoma’s Vision for Education Standards to the required standards in state law. This rich combination of standards has made the training a truly professional learning opportunity for new superintendents. Mentors are provided to support these new leaders, but all school leaders in their area are encouraged to reach out to offer guidance and direction.

The OASA School Finance Bootcamps are a great way to ensure that you stay abreast of the current state of Oklahoma school funding, learn about the nuances of the school funding formula, and work toward becoming a truly professional budget maker. All bootcamps will give a report on the state of school funding, but Bootcamp 1 will focus on basic school finance principles. Bootcamp 2, Advanced School Finance, will go deeper into budget development. Bootcamp 3 is a spring workshop that guides schools in projecting the budget for the upcoming school year and assists in making wise decisions on hiring. Look for registrations for Bootcamp I in your email soon.

The CCOSA Federal Program Bootcamps have become a must-attend training for school leaders. This series will be your best guidance for maximizing your federal program dollars. Kathy Dunn, CCOSA’s Federal Program consultant, leads the trainings. They are vital for central office staff who are leading federal programs. CCOSA Connects is an as-needed, one-hour session on timely topics. Our first CCOSA Connects’ sessions in September, Student Counts’ Matters, occur over a three-week time period to help our members report student counts. Often, schools are underreporting students, in turn costing the district state and federal funding.

OASA’s strength comes from its many members. We want to be sure all of our superintendents, principals, special services directors, and central office staff have the opportunity to become members of CCOSA/OASA and the other organizations under the CCOSA umbrella. We are so much stronger with advocacy efforts and professional learning when we are joined together as members. Thank you for renewing if you are already a member, and please help us bring new members in your districts to CCOSA/OASA. Please remember that school administrators must pay for their own dues but can have that amount included in their contract. If you would like sample language to include professional dues in your contract, please contact Dr. Deering at deering@ ccosa.org or Derald Glover at glover@ccosa.org

CCOSA’s District Level Services (DLS) provides a great opportunity for you to add directors, finance staff, and other members of your leadership team to participate in CCOSA workshops, get advice from CCOSA staff, and take advantage of Zoom consortiums and frameworks. Besides the free workshops and Quality School Framework support focused on virtual education, finance, curriculum and instruction, and energy efficiency, DLS member schools have access to required beginning-year professional development presentations. This easy-to-access digital training takes the burden away from the school to find experts and presenters for those topics. We are committed to continuing to build quality frameworks and trainings. If you have needs or ideas you would like us to add, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kevin Hime, Lawton President-elect

Scott Farmer, Fort Gibson Vice-President

Dale Spradlin, Buffalo Past-President

Dr. Matt Posey, Bethel

OASA is your professional organization and will always respond to the needs of its members. We will continue to fight on behalf of public school administrators by advocating at the State Capitol. Through our professional development, our communications network, and our advocacy, we are committed to highlighting the fact that schools are being led by true professionals. We hope you will continue to be an active part of this amazing organization! ■

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