Working together as the Muskogee Area Educational Consortium, education representatives from all sectors of Muskogee County have built strong partnerships to offer students greater benefits. The group has become a key gathering place for everyone from early childhood educators through graduate school administrators.

“We are unique,” says Sue Godwin, the group’s co-founder and institutional services coordinator at Indian Capital Technology Center. “We are the only one we’re aware of in the state that meets on a monthly basis.”

After meeting regularly for more than 10 years, Godwin says, the group has a comfort level that helps them cut through red tape as well as work together to achieve education goals benefiting the entire community. Collegiate members include Northeastern State University, Bacone College and Connors State College. The organization also includes primary and secondary schools within the Haskell, Warner, Hilldale and Fort Gibson systems, as well as the Oklahoma School for the Blind and area private schools.

Career development is a priority for the group, Godwin says.

“We want to help kids understand what careers there are and why they are important,” she says.

For the past two years, the consortium has sponsored a math and engineering competition where students gather at the civic center for competitive math tests and a design contest. The first year, contestants built rubberband cars. In its second year, the contest challenged students to design mousetrap cars. Nearly 400 students took advantage of the opportunity to apply their classroom lessons in a creative setting.

The consortium’s latest initiative is a Web-based career inventory system, which helps area students research their interests and career possibilities.

“You can log on, build a portfolio, look at specific careers and determine the amount of education you would need and the salary range,” Godwin says.

Godwin notes the consortium’s mission extends to adults as well. Programs such as the career inventory system can help unemployed or underemployed adults find a fresh path, she says.

Its longevity has made the consortium the go-to group for county leaders with education questions. Development officials and chamber representatives also have joined the group.

“So you have the heads of all these entities sitting together and talking in a relaxed atmosphere,” Godwin says. “It’s great for problem-solving and gathering brain power.”

Such cooperation has eased the process of designing curriculum, transferring credits and finding solutions to solve local businesses’ training needs. A recently formed task force can swiftly address staff and training needs resulting from layoffs.

“It’s a quality we almost take for granted,” Godwin says. “We’re not worried about whose student this is or other territorial issues. We all truly believe our community and its development come first.”