Osage County Interlocal

10/21/2026

Day 2, a new group of students, and more reasons to feel hopeful about the future! 🎢💡

Today, Osage County Interlocal Cooperative welcomed another group of gifted and talented sixth through eighth graders from our member districts for our annual STEM Challenge Day.

Working with students from other schools, they took on a maze escape activity before putting their engineering ideas to the test by designing and building paper roller coasters!

Each team brought its own approach as students planned, tested, revised, and tried again. Along the way, they practiced communicating their ideas, listening to different perspectives, and supporting one another through productive struggle.

This group brought so much curiosity, creativity, and kindness to the room. Watching new teammates make connections and work toward a shared goal was a joy.

Different students, the same wonderful reminder: our young people have so much to offer. ❤️

10/20/2026

The future of America gathered today at Osage County Interlocal Cooperative, bringing curiosity, creativity, and kindness! 🎢💡

Gifted and talented students in sixth through eighth grades from our member districts came together for our annual STEM Challenge Day. Paired with students from other schools, they warmed up with a maze escape activity before tackling the day’s big challenge: designing and building a paper roller coaster!

Collaboration, communication, productive struggle, and critical thinking filled the room as students shared ideas, worked through challenges, and made authentic connections with new peers.

These students were kind, creative, articulate, and persistent. Watching them think, build, and encourage one another was a powerful reminder of what young people can do when given opportunities to connect and create.

What a wonderful day! ❤️

09/30/2026

Students in our Educational Career Exploration class at Hominy High School brought together their Confidence Quotient, Immutable Me, and goal setting work to create vision boards for the school year and beyond.

Each board included a meaningful quote or affirmation, personal values, three goals for the school year, and images, words, or symbols representing the student’s future. Students also chose an Ingenious Influencer who inspires them and explained why that person will encourage them as they work toward their goals.

These students have super bright futures!

09/24/2026

🍂 GET A JUMP ON OCTOBER WITH OCIC! 🍂

The OCIC Teaching & Learning Team has new October resources ready for you!

🍎 For Teachers
📚 The Day the Books Disappeared K–5 Lessons
🚽 October Potty PD
🔬 OKScience Framework Teacher Tour

🏫 For Administrators
🕵️ Undercover Spirit Week Ideas
📅 October 2026 Special Days Calendar

💙 And don’t forget, OCIC instructional coaches are here for you! Whether you need resources, ideas, planning support, or someone to brainstorm with, we’re ready to collaborate. Coaching is always confidential and non-evaluative.

🍎 Explore October Resources:
https://sites.google.com/ocic.k12.ok.us/osagecountyilc/teaching-learning

🤝 Connect with an OCIC Coach:
https://forms.gle/VMJ5umgYheHwK3ja7

Get ahead. Grab what you need. We’re here to help! 🍂

09/10/2026

📚 Educators — this is a unique professional learning opportunity!

OCIC is pleased to share Exploring Tribal Sovereignty through Constitutional History, a full-day educator workshop hosted by the National Constitution Center and the Oklahoma History Center Museum.

OCIC Director of Teaching & Learning Jacqui Gover-Robb will be one of the presenters, sharing What Does Tribal Sovereignty Look Like Since the 1970s? and exploring connections among sovereignty, community, language, cultural preservation, and Oklahoma academic standards.

📅 October 24, 2026
📍 Oklahoma History Center Museum
💵 $100 teacher stipend
🚗 Additional $50 travel stipend for eligible participants traveling more than 60 miles
🍽️ Light breakfast & lunch provided

⚠️ Space is very limited! Registration closes October 9.

🔗 Visit the link in our bio for event details and registration.

SocialStudiesEducation TeacherPD OklahomaEducation

09/10/2026

📚 **Professional Learning Opportunity for Educators**

OCIC is pleased to share an upcoming professional learning opportunity, **Exploring Tribal Sovereignty through Constitutional History**, hosted by the National Constitution Center and the Oklahoma History Center Museum.

This full-day workshop will give educators an opportunity to explore the constitutional and judicial history of tribal sovereignty, examine primary sources and historical documents, and make connections to Oklahoma academic standards.

OCIC’s Director of Teaching & Learning, **Jacqui Gover-Robb**, will be one of the presenters, sharing *What Does Tribal Sovereignty Look Like Since the 1970s?* Her session will explore how tribal sovereignty is reflected through community, language, and cultural preservation and help educators connect standards to what sovereignty looks like in Oklahoma communities today.

📅 Saturday, October 24, 2026
📍 Oklahoma History Center Museum, Oklahoma City
💵 $100 stipend for participating teachers
🚗 Additional $50 travel stipend for eligible participants traveling more than 60 miles
🍽️ Light breakfast and boxed lunch provided

**Space for this workshop is very limited**, so interested educators are encouraged to register early. Registration closes October 9.

Learn more and register through the National Constitution Center:

Event details for Exploring Tribal Sovereignty through Constitutional History

09/02/2026

Certification tests can be a real hurdle for Oklahoma educators — and waiting until a certification deadline is approaching can make an already stressful process even harder.

Oklahoma Watch recently spoke with OCIC's Jacqui Gover-Robb and Sherrie Redding about the challenges educators face when preparing for certification exams.

As we shared in the article, test preparation isn't a "magic bullet." But the right support can help candidates understand what to expect, identify where they need to focus, develop a study plan, and approach the test with better strategies and greater confidence.

That's the purpose behind OCIC's **Passing the Test** support for Oklahoma educators.

One thing we've learned from working with educators preparing for certification exams: **don't wait until your deadline is looming to ask for help.**

OCIC is working on scheduling our next Passing the Test session. In the meantime, educators who need certification test support are encouraged to reach out. We'll connect you with an OCIC coach who can help you identify resources, develop a plan, and provide support as you prepare.

📧 Contact Jacqui Gover-Robb at [email protected] or Sherrie Redding at [email protected] to get started.

Thank you to Oklahoma Watch for bringing attention to an issue that affects individual educators, schools, and Oklahoma's teacher pipeline.

**Read the full article below.**

Oklahoma's teacher certification exam pass rates vary wildly across preparation programs, from 100% at Oklahoma Christian University to 15.2% at Langston University, but data quality problems make the numbers difficult to interpret. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 emergency certifications were approved i...

08/11/2026

📚➕ From Your Osage County Interlocal Teaching & Learning Team

Welcome back! As you begin a new school year, we hope you find time to reconnect, build relationships, and create math classrooms where every student feels comfortable thinking, wondering, making mistakes, talking, and sharing ideas.

Those first days of math class matter. Before diving into content, we have an opportunity to show students what it means to learn mathematics together. Here are a few resources to help you get started:

🌱 START WITH UNIT ZERO
The Oklahoma Math Framework's Unit Zero is a great place to begin. It includes ideas and activities for building mathematical mindsets, establishing classroom practices, and helping students see math as something we make sense of together.

🔗 Explore the OKMath Framework and find your grade/course Unit Zero:
http://okmathframework.pbworks.com/w/page/111390394/Introduction%20to%20the%20OKMath%20Framework

💬 GET STUDENTS TALKING

Name Tents with Feedback | Sara VanDerWerf
Learn students' names while creating an ongoing conversation with each student during those important first days.
🔗 https://www.saravanderwerf.com/week-1-day-1-name-tents-with-feedback/

100 Numbers to Get Students Talking | Sara VanDerWerf
Get students noticing, wondering, collaborating, and listening to one another while beginning to establish norms for mathematical discourse.
🔗 https://www.saravanderwerf.com/100-numbers-to-get-students-talking/

🚽 VISIT THE OCIC TEACHING & LEARNING site
Looking for instructional resources, professional learning, or support throughout the year? Visit our Teaching & Learning page, and keep an eye out for our Potty PD resources!

🔗 https://www.ocic.k12.ok.us/teaching-learning

📬 STAY CONNECTED WITH OKLAHOMA MATHEMATICS
The Oklahoma State Department of Education shares monthly mathematics updates with resources, announcements, professional learning opportunities, and information for Oklahoma math educators.

📩 Sign up for Mathematics updates:
http://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/OKSDE/subscribers/new

📖 View the Oklahoma Mathematics Monthly Updates:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b1LKtE3bX1TUHsl-fESn9f1d8I-wUetXvaQceUTF2l8/edit?usp=sharing

❤️ As you begin the year, give yourself permission to spend time building the mathematical community you want. Relationships, routines, discourse, curiosity, and a willingness to make mistakes are not separate from mathematics. They are part of how students learn mathematics.

From all of us on the Osage County Interlocal Teaching & Learning Team, we wish you and your students a wonderful start to the school year filled with thinking, talking, wondering, and making sense together! 🍎➕✏️

08/08/2026

📣 Only 5 Seats Left!

The agenda for the School Finance Workshop at the Pioneer Woman Event Center in Pawhuska is officially finalized, and we have a great day planned! Join us for valuable information, great food, and meaningful networking at one of Northeast Oklahoma’s most anticipated school finance workshops.

We reached capacity, but we’ve opened 5 additional seats. Once they’re gone, registration is CLOSED!

Already registered? Your seat is secured—no action needed. ✅

Want one of the final spots? Register now:
👉 https://bit.ly/SchoolFinance2026

07/21/2026

School finance professionals, REGISTER TODAY. Space is limited.

Register at https://bit.ly/SchoolFinance2026