Consortium Pools Leaders from Education and Business Communities
education, fort gibson schools, muskogee area educational consortium,
The idea was simple: Get educators from in and around Muskogee together once a month so they could brainstorm about a variety of topics that would help all of the area’s schools do a better job for students both during instruction and after graduation.
Anyone who has ever been in a room full of educators knows that it can be difficult to get them to agree on anything, so this deceptively simple concept – sketched out on a napkin – was bold. It led to the formation of the Muskogee Area Educational Consortium, and for more than a decade, the plan has worked.
“I’m surprised at how well it’s succeeded, and not surprised, all at the same time,” says Sue Godwin, institutional services coordinator at Indian Capital Technology Center and a cofounder of the MAEC. “Anytime you get educators together to start sharing, they can help each other. But what has been surprising has been the commitment from each of the institutions. Even though the leadership has changed at many of them, they have maintained their commitment to the consortium simply because they see the benefit to their institution and to their students.”
The consortium’s collegiate members include Northeastern State University, Bacone College and Connors State College, which celebrated its centennial in 2008. The organization also includes primary and secondary institutions within Haskell, Warner, Hilldale and Fort Gibson public schools, as well as the Oklahoma School for the Blind, area private schools and education friendly organizations such as the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce and other workforce-related concerns.
“It’s one of the most unique organizations around, because it involves not only all the educational entities but also ties in the business community,” says Derald Glover, superintendent of Fort Gibson Schools and 2008-09 consortium president. “Besides the communication and the networking, which is invaluable, being able to get a common plan for what strategies will benefit the education needs of the community is huge. And even though this has been around for a while now, I haven’t seen it replicated anywhere.”
The consortium’s deep bench of participants also means it can be an effective lobbying voice for education at the local and state levels. In addition, it stages events such as the annual Hooray for Teachers dinner and awards, which calls attention to educational accomplishments. These days, much of the organization’s effort is focused on connecting students to specific careers, which requires work from the earliest levels all the way through high school.
“We’re looking at those long-term career pathways opportunities, and we’re endorsing one called STEM, which is science, technical engineering and mathematics,” Glover says. “We’re looking to promote projects and competitions in those areas and also expand into health care and other areas as time goes on.”
Working together to enhance local education while also creating that kind of employment pipeline is exactly what those napkin sketches were all about, notes Godwin.
“I don’t think people realize the economic impact that education has on the Muskogee community,” she says. “Working to grow the workforce, to help the community, is something we take very seriously. We’re something of a well-kept secret, and we’re working to change that.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Ian Curcio
