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“I first learned about OSSM through my instructor at my regional center, when she visited my local high school. I was instantly intrigued, as it was an opportunity to gain knowledge in higher level math and science courses that would otherwise have not been accessible for me. One of the appeals of the OSSM Regional Center is you still receive a lot of the great instruction you would at the main campus while still remaining active at your high school. I chose to attend because I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the STEM field and to achieve that, I would need to prepare myself with challenging classwork that I couldn’t get through my local high school. The program developed my critical thinking and problem solving skills tremendously, allowing me to enter into Engineering at the University of Tulsa without feeling like I was behind my fellow classmates.” Gavin A.
OSSM currently operates five regional centers. All students participate in a one- to three-year scholastic program of excellence with students who share similar interests. Like the Virtual Program, it is the nurturing of this educational community, while maintaining the students’ local high school affiliation that is paramount to the Regional Centers’ success.
Enid (Autry Tech)
Okmulgee (OSU-OKC)
Poteau (KTC)
Stilwell (ICTC)
Tahlequah (ICTC)
Students from the OSSM Stilwell Regional Center with a pumpkin they decorated for a contest at ICTC Stilwell. The pumpkins are then delivered to a local nursing home for residents to enjoy. Students pictured are Joey D., Brian C., Ranier M., and Brandon A. All OSSM students are active members of their community as well as gifted students!
Bailey Brown, B.A. (Appointed 2018)
MeiFoon Eastep, M.S.(Appointed 2014)
Autry Tech’s role as a Regional Center is to provide advanced educational opportunities for high school students gifted in math and science while allowing participating students to maintain their local high school affiliation and extracurricular participation. A cooperative effort of the local high schools, Autry Tech and OSSM make this program possible. OSSM, Autry, and the Enid community have worked together to allow these students to continue this endeavor.
Autry’s Oklahoma School of Science and Math was started in 2000 with two instructors and has been one of the most successful regional sites of the eight regional centers left in the state.
Since 2000, Autry’s OSSM program has had over 327 students that have received $12.2 million in scholarships. One-hundred percent of Autry’s OSSM graduates have gone on to attend college with 84 percent of them receiving college credit for calculus one and two. These former students have 73 different college majors at 64 different universities. Of these individuals, 23 are National Merit finalists and 21 are academic all-staters. Students in Autry’s OSSM program also take the Advance Placement Calculus BC exam. Forty-seven percent of Autry’s students earn a perfect score. This is almost double the Oklahoma average of twenty-six percent earning perfect scores.
Advanced Placement Calculus BC
AP Calculus BC is a full-year course in the calculus of functions of a single variable. It includes all topics covered in AP Calculus AB plus additional topics. Both courses represent college-level mathematics for which most colleges grant advanced placement and credit. The content of AP Calculus BC is designed to qualify the student for placement and credit in a course that is one course beyond that granted for AP Calculus AB.
Advanced Placement Physics C Mechanics
This course ordinarily forms the first part of the college sequence that serves as the foundation in physics for students majoring in the physical sciences or engineering. The sequence is parallel to or preceded by mathematics courses that include calculus. Methods of calculus are used wherever appropriate in formulating physical principles and in applying them to physical problems. Strong emphasis is placed on solving a variety of challenging problems, some requiring calculus. The subject matter of the AP Physics C Mechanics course is classical mechanics and includes topics in kinematics; Newton’s laws of motion, work, energy and power; systems of particles and linear momentum; circular motion and rotation; oscillations; and gravitation.
All students selected to attend OSSM at Autry will participate in a one-year scholastic program of excellence with students who share similar interests. Students are required to take the assigned calculus and the assigned physics course each semester. All courses are on a semester basis at the collegiate level requiring rigorous academics and a minimum of one-hour homework per evening.
For more information on OSSM and for the donation form, please click here.
Applications are available online or at Autry Technology Center at 1201 W. Willow in Enid.
For more information contact Janet Strate, director of student activities, at 580-242-2750 or by email, or Bailey Brown, OSSM instructor, via her email.
Ellen Barton, Ph.D. (Appointed 2006)
Ellen J. Barton, PhD: Dr. Barton received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her master’s in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Tufts University. She teaches pre-calculus, calculus, and physics.
The Okmulgee Regional Center, started in 1999, has helped students to take a giant step academically for many years. The students not only develop their skills in math and science, they also develop test taking and study skills. The typical overall rise in ACT score is about four or five points, and there are regularly students with jumps of six or seven points. The rise in ACT scores makes a massive difference in receiving scholarships and helps with acceptance into the more demanding college programs.
While the college courses of calculus and physics are demanding, the regional center provides 3-4 times the instruction time that the colleges offer. This long instruction time allows the students to gradually learn to think at a college level, cover the subjects in great detail, and master the subjects better than they would in the usual college course. Through the long instruction time, the students are given substantial assistance in learning to think and study at a college level. They therefore go off to college far better prepared. In short, the regional center acts as a bridge to take the students from high school level material to college level material.
The Okmulgee Regional Center is located on the attractive campus of Oklahoma State University -Institute of Technology (OSUIT). It is the only program in Okmulgee County that offers free college credit through OSUIT. There are no charges for fees or books (unlike the usual concurrent enrollment). Seven credit hours of math and four credit hours of physics are offered through OSUIT, in addition to the AP credits. Green Country Technology Center provides a bus for students to/from the OSUIT campus.
Science and Technology Building
1801 East 4th St
OSU-IT
Okmulgee, OK 74447-3901
918-293-5462
Ellen.barton@okstate.edu
Shaylie Sanders, B.S. (Appointed 2023)
Since 2006, Kiamichi Technology Center’s OSSM (Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics) program has graduated over 170 students that have received approximately $10 million in scholarships. KTC’s OSSM students receive instruction in AP Calculus AB and AP Physics C-Mechanics. Students in KTC’s OSSM program take the Advance Placement Calculus AB and Advanced Placement Physics C Mechanics or Physics 1 exam. Thirty-Five percent of KTC’s OSSM students earn a perfect score on the AP Calculus AB exam, this is more than the Oklahoma average of twenty-six percent earning perfect scores. A large percentage of KTC’s OSSM students have received college credit for calculus one and. Ninety-eight percent of KTC’s OSSM graduates have gone on to attend college. Several of these individuals, are National Merit finalists and some are even academic all-staters. KTC’s OSSM students have attended college at more than 30 different universities majoring in multiple fields of study. We have had KTC OSSM alumni at the Naval Academy and one at Carnegie Mellan in Pittsburg pursuing his doctorate, and even had one attending Columbia University on a full ride academic scholarship.
Amanda Butler, M.S. (Appointed 2008)
Amanda Butler, B.S., M.S., NBCT: Amanda graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Northeastern State University in 1999 and her Master’s degree in College Teaching of Mathematics from Northeastern State University in 2005. She became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2010. She has been teaching AP Physics C: Mechanics at the OSSM Tahlequah/Stilwell Regional Center since 2008.
Gil Brown, M.A. (Appointed 2000)
The Tahlequah/Stilwell Regional Center graduated its first class in 2001. Since then, the ICTC Regional Center has served over 400 students. Students at the regional center are enrolled in AP Physics: Mechanics and AP Calculus AB and BC. The students who attend the ICTC Regional Center have a unique experience due to there being 2 campuses. Students have calculus and physics on a rotational basis daily (similar to a college schedule). The coursework is challenging and collegiate level, but small class sizes allow for considerable individualized attention for students.
Students from the Tahlequah/Stilwell Regional Center have attended over 50 different colleges with numerous majors. Many students choose to pursue engineering, but others have chosen to include fields such as medicine, education, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, law, optometry, and military careers.
Any student who lives in Adair or Cherokee County, Oklahoma is eligible to apply to the OSSM ICTC Regional Center. Applications are accepted beginning in January of the year the student plans on attending in the fall and are accepted through March 31st. Applications can be obtained by clicking here.
For further questions/information contact Gil Brown, Calculus Instructor; gil.brown@ictctech.com, 918-708-3682, or Amanda Butler, Physics Instructor; Amanda.butler@ictctech.com, 918-708-3683.
