Diversity
Action
Committee
The OkACTE Diversity Action Committee meets quarterly to discuss, communicate and create collaborations in ongoing and upcoming initiatives and events that support the goal of enhancing the environment for diversity, inclusion and equity across the Oklahoma Career Tech System.
The Diversity Action Committee serves to unite the profession of career and technology and advocate awareness of diversity among OkACTE, the students that are taught, and businesses in which our members are involved. Each of the 12 OkACTE divisions has a chairperson appointed or elected to serve on the committee.
Events
The Diversity Action Committee has committed to hosting an annual event, the Diversity Symposium. The Diversity Symposium has addressed issues such as Unconscious Biases, Generational Differences, LGBTQ+ issues and more. The Diversity Symposium is open to any OkACTE member to attend.
Join us for the 2023 Diversity Symposium on November 17th! Register here.
Kaleidoscope Award
The Kaleidoscope Award has been established to recognize those entities that embrace and promote diversity. Sincere commitment to processes and activities that promote a pluralistic campus, community, or agency must be demonstrated. These processes and activities must be aimed at developing, improving, and promoting awareness of and opportunities for integrating multiculturalism, gender equity, and those with physical disabilities into career and technology education programs.
EXAMPLES of processes and activities may be, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
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Minority Intern/Extern programs.
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Implementing strategies to enhance job placement and upward mobility that reflect a diverse population.
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Diversity education and/or in-service programs for staff.
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Incorporating diversity within print and/or visual media such as curriculum, brochures, recruitment materials, etc.
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Developing processes and/or activities for recruiting and retaining a professional, multicultural staff.
Now Accepting Applications! Apply today! Applications are due May 1st.
Recent Kaleidoscope Winners
Read about our most recent Kaleidoscope award winning programs below.
2022 | Administrative Intern Program
In September 2022, SouthernTech launched an Administrative Internship Program (AIP) to advance the careers of a multicultural group of teachers and staff. The project is a part of a long-term strategy to incorporate processes and activities that enable a more pluralistic learning organization with the ultimate desire for SouthernTech’s leadership to mirror student demographics.
The Internship Program Goal is to expose interns to all aspects of leading in a career tech. Interns are mentored and placed in positions outside of their regular duties. Their duties include monitoring and leading initiatives across the district. This AIP provides a holistic perspective expanding the knowledge and skills of interns.
Principals represent the most ‘visible’ form of leadership in schools, but current workforce data show that school principals fail to reflect the diversity within the student population. With increased policy focus on teacher diversity, equal attention must also be directed towards the lack of diversity within school leadership. The United States Department of Education reports that of the 89,000 principals in US public schools, 80% of school principals are white, 10% are Black, and 7% are Latino (Castro, Germain, & Gooden, 2018).
Individuals selected for the AIP identified as either a protected class or a non-traditional background. The seven individuals selected consisted of teachers and a career advisor, all with varying degrees of experiences in the classroom. The cohort is made up of 43% Native Americans and 29% Hispanic. SouthernTech Native American student demographics are 16.5% and the Hispanic group is noted at 18.5%. Currently SouthernTech staff demographics are 3.7% Hispanic and 11.9% Native American. This multicultural cohort have had rich conversations deepening the learning of cultures and a difference in mental models. Interns participate in bi-monthly professional learning communities.
Dr. Stephanie Bills and Dr. Eric Ward, both members of ACTE, OKACTE, and OAMCTE, created, deployed, and lead the program. They are members of the Admin Division and are actively engaged in Oklahoma CareerTech committees. The AIP was started within the current fiscal year by the vote of the Board and has been incorporated into the school’s regular processes, activities, and responsibilities.
2021 | Academics 4 Success (Allen Schneberger)
Allen Schneberger began his CTE career in 1998 at Moore Norman Technology Center (MNTC). Prior to joining MNTC, he taught math at Tuttle High School from 1994 to 1998. When he joined MNTC, he started as a Math Specialist, where he taught an applied mathematics course in our Carpentry, Welding, Precision Machining, Automotive Service Technology, HVAC, and Cosmetology programs. Allen taught Technical Math I and II and Clinical Calculations courses for Oklahoma City Community College for students who were working on their Associates degrees. These math courses were offered on the MNTC Franklin Road Campus, which allowed our students to get very close to finishing their degrees without having to leave our campus.
Allen was promoted to the Student Success Center Coordinator position, where he led a team of four others to serve our students and teachers. His focus has always been student success and to ensure our students receive the best instruction they can from MNTC. Instructional Coaching began for new instructors to MNTC, which led to improved outcomes for our students. Instructors are met where they are currently, and plans are developed to ensure our instructors receive all the necessary tools they need to be successful in the classroom.
Allen started receiving eligibility reports from our sending high schools in 2009. He began trending the data and found almost 40% of our students were failing at least one subject at their high school. Allen’s team started offering Math and English tutoring services to our students, in hopes of improving their grades so they could complete our MNTC programs. Some students took advantage of the tutoring, while others did not. This led to students being sent back to the high school prior to completing their MNTC program because they were short credits due to failing classes. Allen knew he needed to improve how the tutoring was delivered and Academics 4 Success was born.