Awards & Scholarships

OASSP High School Principal of the Year

As principal of Woodward High School, Ron Sunderland has encouraged a school culture marked by student well-being and safety, innovative learning programs, and growth in student achievement. In addition to boasting a 96% average attendance rate, Woodward High School revamped its master schedules to embed time for ACT Prep for students. In the 2022-23 school year, through a GEAR-UP grant, all junior students at Woodward High School received free ACT tests in fall semester followed by ACT tests in the spring semester provided through funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. As a result, 62% of juniors improved overall composite ACT scores during that time.

OASSP Assistant Principal of the Year

As assistant principal for the past ten years at Charles Page High School, Timothy Ray has been an integral part in shaping school culture, supporting student learning, and transforming student behavior outcomes. For the past three years, Mr. Ray has implemented a new program, We Always Return with Purpose (WARP) as an alternative to long-term suspensions.  Using the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, students return from a shortened suspension to attend 2 days of training, followed by monthly meetings with Mr. Ray. As a result, the school has reduced long-term suspensions (10 days or more) from an average of 24 per year to five on average. Only 5% of students in the WARP program have had subsequent behaviors requiring long-term suspension.

OMLEA Middle Level Principal of the Year

Crystal Szymanksi is the Principal of Stillwater Junior High School. Szymanski has focused on increasing teacher collaboration around student learning in both English and mathematics. She supports innovation by leading a learning environment where teachers feel safe to use technology, to analyze student assessment data, and to explore new teaching methods. As a result, Stillwater Junior High School students on average showed more than 1.5 academic years of growth in state assessments this past school year.