Observed the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.

To learn more about the history of Labor Day, click here. 

The Oklahoma Department of Labor endeavors to make Oklahoma a safe and healthy place to live and work. To learn more about Oklahoma resources, visit www.ok.gov/Labor/.

For guidance on Oklahoma Student Work Permits, visit www.okedge.com.

Recent state-level college and career readiness benchmark data demonstrate achievement gaps for many Oklahoma students, suggesting that specific student populations may be experiencing barriers in receiving meaningful college and career readiness support. These include traditionally underserved students – students of color, students in poverty, students learning English, students with disabilities, migratory students, and homeless students.

Designing a flexible Individual Career Academic Planning (ICAP) process provides all students the opportunity to participate in career planning activities, rigorous coursework, and career exploration activities. Students’ ICAPs are designed to ensure they graduate ready to obtain gainful employment that matches their passions and interests while still earning a living wage.

To learn more about how you can leverage ICAP to create Equitable College and Career Pathways for all students, view this helpful one pager or click image to follow link.

College Application Week (CAW) will be held September 20-24, 2021. This is an annual nationwide event provides an opportunity for high school seniors, especially those who have never considered college or will be the first in their families to attend college, to receive hands-on assistance from knowledgeable volunteers while completing their college applications.

If you are planning an event, please complete this registration form to help us determine the number of schools and students who plan to participate so that we may provide the appropriate guidance and materials for your event.

Visit OKCollegeAppWeek.org to access free planning materials and resources for students, event coordinators, and volunteers. 

To learn more about CAW, register today for an information session on September 9, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

For questions, contact Letha Huddleston at lhuddleston@ocap.org.

Featured Spotlight: 

Eligible students are encouraged to submit their application by September 10, 2021 and join the inaugural Thunder Fellows cohort for the 2021-22 school year.  

Program Overview

To address the prevalent opportunity and racial wealth gaps in our community, the Thunder Fellows Program – developed by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Creative Arts Agency (CAA) – aims to unlock new opportunities in sports, entertainment, and technology for Black high school and college students in the Tulsa area.   

Located in the historic Greenwood District, Thunder Fellows will apply data & analytics curriculum uniquely tailored to industries’ standards to gain proficiency in essential skillsets and hands-on experiences highly sought after by recruiters and talent acquisition teams.  The 30-week program will also leverage a strategic pipeline of local & national corporations to provide exclusive access to mentors, professional coaching, and meaningful employment opportunities.        

High-Level Student Outcomes 

• Gaining deep knowledge of high demand technical job functions and life skills 
• Strengthen problem solving & critical thinking skills
• Demonstrating competency with in-demand coding languages
• Receiving professional coaching from industry leaders nationwide
• Growing personal & professional network 

For more information, visit okcthunder.com/fellows/ and view Flyer (PDF).

For questions, contact Cedric Ikpo at cikpo@okcthunder.com or LaKena Whitley at lwhitley@okcthunder.com.

Take a look at Galaxy
Ready to launch kids into a universe of possibilities?

Students will have a blast with Galaxy’s free interactive games, activities and videos that help them uncover interest and get excited for the future. Galaxy was designed for elementary students, grades pre-K through five, by career development and elementary education experts to capitalize on children’s curiosity with early career awareness. 

Upcoming Webinars

Register for a webinar covering Galaxy, Free curriculum setup, and Admin support to make you a Galaxy expert! 

For questions, contact nathan.brubaker@careertech.ok.gov.

The Office of Student Support provides Professional Development which is available for district leaders, principals/administrators, teachers, parents, community members, counselors, and business leaders simply by filling out our request form:

Student Support Professional Development Form

To learn more about the Office of Student Support, click here. 

Did you Know?

The state of Oklahoma has specific financial waivers and programs for our students to receive monies to assist with college. You just need to help your students on the track to finding them. Here are just a few named below:

Oklahoma State Regents Academic Scholars Program

Oklahoma Future Teachers Scholarship Program

Oklahoma Independent Living Act (Foster Care Tuition Waiver)

Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG)

and Oklahoma Tuition Equalization Grant Program (OTEG).

Make sure you pay attention to deadlines, they can vary according to the semester students enroll.

CNA Scholarships

The amount awarded for the scholarships is $500 each. The deadline to apply for the CNA Classes Near Me scholarship is on September 21, 2021, and CNA Free Training scholarship is April 2, 2021. For more information, click on the corresponding links:

• https://cnaclassesnearme.com/cna-scholarship/
• https://cnafreetraining.com/about-us/cna-free-training-scholarship/