State Profile For Oklahoma

Data sources used in this profile (PDF,177Kb)

State Director

Dr. Phil Berkenbile, State Director
OK Department of Career & Technology Education
1500 West Seventh Avenue
Stillwater, OK 74074

CTE Web Site(s) as Applicable

Secondary/Postsecondary : http://www.okcareertech.org/

Career Readiness Certification Program: http://www.okcommerce.gov/workkeys

Mission

Secondary/Postsecondary: To help Oklahomans succeed in the workplace, education and life.

CTE Statistics

Number of Public High Schools: 465
Number of Public High Schools Offering Solely (or primarily) CTE courses: 0
Number of Students in Public High Schools: 178,292
Number of Secondary Students Enrolled in CTE: 115,894
Number of Public Community Colleges: 13
Number of Students at Public Community Colleges: 65,617
Number of Postsecondary Students Enrolled in CTE: 20,303
Perkins Funds Received: $16,664,042
Number of Adult Students Enrolled in CTE: 11,657

CTE Governance Structure

Perkins Eligible Agency: Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
Agency Administering Secondary CTE: Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
Agency Administering Postsecondary CTE: Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
Programmatic Control For Secondary CTE: State Board of Career and Technology Education
Programmatic Control For Postsecondary CTE: State Board of Career and Technology Education

CTE Funding: Non-Perkins

Key: Increased Funding  Small_green_arrow_up    Decreased Funding   Small_red_arrow_down    Funding Maintained   Small_blue_arrow_both
State Secondary Funding: Small_green_arrow_up
State Postsecondary Funding: Small_green_arrow_up
Local Secondary Funding: Small_red_arrow_down
Local Postsecondary Funding: Small_blue_arrow_both

State Director Roles and Responsibilities

The State Director has the title of State Director, Career and Technology Education. The Director is a career position that reports to the State Board of Career and Technology Education. The Director’s primary areas of responsibility are Middle and High School Careertech programs, Post-Secondary CareerTech programs, CareerTech Skill Center (prison) programs, On-Line CareerTech courses, Business and Industry short term and adult training include safety, existing industry and training for specific industry programs.

CTE Connections to Secondary Education and High School Reform

Career technical education plays a significant role in high school reform. Oklahoma is implementing Career Academies; has recently passed Senate Bill 982, implementers of high school plans of study; created Cooperative Alliances for dual high school/college credit for CTE programs and High Schools That Work; is implementing Career Clusters; holding a best practice conference; creating drop out recovery programs in technology centers; and hosts Oklahoma’s School of Science and Math which are regional schools in technology centers. That State Director is a member of the state’s high school reform leadership team.

Implementation of Career Clusters

Oklahoma believes that Career Clusters offer many benefits and should be used as a basis for high school reform. The state views Career Clusters as an infrastructure for a seamless educational transition between all learner levels. Career Clusters are also seen as a tool for career guidance, a structure to organize instruction around, a way to align Workforce and Economic development and, in general, a means to improve the quality of CTE.
In order to effectively implement Career Clusters, Oklahoma has integrated Career Clusters into the state plan and adopted a strategic vision paper that supports Career Clusters. In addition, the state is incorporating the Governor’s Council on Workforce and Economic Development. Numerous strategies have been used to support the implementation of Career Clusters. For example, Oklahoma has used them to support effective transitions between secondary and postsecondary education. In addition the state has required local Perkins plans to incorporate Career Clusters and accountability information is collected by Career Clusters. Finally, the state now benchmarks existing program standards against Career Cluster knowledge and skill statements, has redirected state resources and personnel, and sponsored pilot sites.
Several delivery methods are being used to implement Career Clusters, including career academies, High Schools That Work, and Tech Prep. Oklahoma is currently implementing the 16 nationally-recognized career cluster model.


Implementation levels of programs of study