About
About Western Technology Center
Mission
Educating People For Success
Vision
Western Oklahoma's first choice in education and industry- specific training.
History
On December 7, 1965, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the closing of Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base in Burns Flat, Oklahoma. In June of the next year, The State Department of Vocational and Technical Education completed a feasibility study to determine if a local district could form an area district around the former base. January 27, 1970, was the beginning of Western Technology Center when several school districts unanimously voted to become a part of the area district and the election of board members was held for Zones 1 through 5. In 1987, the new 350-seat seminar center and cafeteria were completed at the Burns Flat campus.
In May of 1991, WTC purchased property in Weatherford along I-40 located on Historic Route 66. Renovations to an existing building were soon completed and classes began in 1992. August of 1995 construction was completed at the Sayre campus and both full-time and part-time classes began. In 2003, WTC opened a fourth campus in Hobart, The Kiowa County Adult Education Center. This campus offers an adult education and training facility, which annually hosts a number of group meetings in the Kiowa County area and offers patrons conference facilities.
The next year WTC began renovating the east wing of the Weatherford campus to house a partnership program with the University of Oklahoma's School of Dental Hygiene, which opened in 2005. The state-of-art Dental Lab and high-tech classrooms include WTC's Dental Assisting program along with the WTC/OU Dental Hygiene baccalaureate program.
October 2014, WTC opened its 5th campus location in Elk City, OK. It will provide training to students and companies in the western corridor of Oklahoma.
Today
WTC provides western Oklahoma with workforce training for adult and high school students along with customized training programs, expert assistance and training facilities for business and industry services. WTC has more than 90 employees, who train hundreds of students and clients each year. Additionally, it has 14 partner schools: Arapaho-Butler, Burns Flat-Dill City, Canute, Clinton, Cordell, Elk City, Hammon, Hobart, Lone Wolf, Merritt, Sayre, Sentinel, Sweetwater, and Weatherford.
Administration
|
Superintendent |
Kathe Corning |
|
Assistant Superintendent, Director of Instruction |
Penny Berry |
|
Director of Student Services |
Jeff Lewallen |
|
BIS Director |
Danny Britton |
|
BIS Campus Director, Weatherford |
Audie Corning |
|
Sayre Site Director |
Dee Wilhelm |
|
Business Manager |
Pamela Clark |
|
Treasurer |
Lori Piercey |
School Board
WTC is governed by a school board, which consists of a president, vice president, and three members. A member is elected by the public from each district within the service area.
Sending Schools
Western Technology Center serves 14 school districts in Western Oklahoma. Junior and senior students from these school districts have the opportunity to enroll in a training program and gain certification at WTC.
Accreditations
Western Technology Center takes pride in our state and nationally accredited programs and courses where students can gain knowledge and training to prepare them for certification. The success of our students, recognition of their hard work, and increased employment opportunities are foremost in our goals at all times. Western Technology Center is accredited by:
- Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education
- Commission of Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association
- National Automotive Training Education Foundation (NATEF)
- National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER)
- Oklahoma Board of Nursing
- Oklahoma Department of Education
- Oklahoma Department of Health/Nurse Registry
- Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
- State Board of Cosmetology (SBC)
Oklahoma Government Website Information Act
In accordance with the Oklahoma Government Website Information Act, which requires public bodies to make available on the Web sites statutes affecting the public body and it operation, the following links are provided:
Open Records Requests
For open records requests from Western Technology Center, please dial (580) 562-3181, ext. 217 or email pclark@westtech.edu
CLICK HERE FOR -- Open Records Procedures During School Breaks