OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board has trained 17,000 teachers how to use the organization’s free energy curricula, providing millions of dollars of classroom supplies and equipment across the state.
The group celebrated the milestone achievement at a workshop for more than 100 teachers at Cushing High School recently.
The OERB hosts 14 workshops across the state each year. A team of experienced master teachers lead fellow educators through the hands-on curricula that are aligned to Oklahoma academic standards, including many STEM concepts. Teachers receive a free kit of supplies worth up to $1,100, a teacher’s guide and a $50 stipend for attending.
Materials in the kit range from dictionaries and calculators to document cameras and hot plates. The OERB’s education program also offers a free field trip to one of 16 museums across the state which can be used every year as a supplement to the curricula.
“We take pride in working on behalf of the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas to continue to provide quality resources for Oklahoma educators,” said OERB Education Director Terra Argo.
The day also included volunteers from Enbridge Inc. and GFL who provided real-life expertise and information about career opportunities in the oil and natural gas industry for teachers to share with their students. GFL also provided a barbecue lunch.
The people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas fund the OERB through a voluntary one-tenth of 1% assessment on oil and natural gas. The OERB provides free environmental restoration of abandoned well sites and extensive educational resources for Oklahoma educators, students, and classrooms.
Employing Oklahoma contractors, the OERB has restored more than 17,000 orphaned and abandoned well sites throughout the state since the organization’s creation in 1993.