The Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) today announced the appointment of Ryan Owens as the next Executive Director of CCOSA.
Owens, current CCOSA General Counsel and Executive Director of the United Suburban Schools Association, will assume his duties as Co-Executive Director of CCOSA on July 1, 2015. Owens will succeed Steven Crawford who announced in January of 2015 his intentions to retire effective June 30, 2016.
Owens is a former assistant to Congressman Tom Cole and managed Cole’s 2008 campaign.
“Oklahoma’s education leaders work hard every day to ensure that students have great teachers and an equal opportunity to succeed. It is an honor beyond measure to have the trust of these professionals and to serve as their voice and advocate; advancing policies and professional development that will provide all Oklahoma children with the best possible education,” Owens said.
Current Executive Director Steven Crawford offered the following remarks, “Ryan is an outstanding young man with tremendous knowledge of CCOSA operations. He has proven himself to be a leader on educational issues and state-level public school programs. I look forward to working with Mr. Owens during the transition period.”
“Ryan has proven himself an effective leader dedicated to making sure schools and administrators are equipped and empowered to meet the needs of every child,” said Shawn Hime, Executive Director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. “He is a passionate and respected voice for public education at the Capitol, and I look forward to continuing OSSBA’s partnership with CCOSA under his leadership.”
Schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said, “I know Ryan will be a visionary leader as executive director of CCOSA and will work tirelessly to build school leadership and higher student achievement. Steven Crawford’s successor has big shoes to fill, but Ryan Owens is more than up to the task. He has a keen intellect, drive and commitment to education that will serve him well. I count Ryan as a friend and colleague who is committed to moving our state’s education system forward.”
About CCOSA
The Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration is an incorporated, not for profit organization which establishes close and continuous communication and cooperation between educators, taxpayers, and legislators to improve the effectiveness of professional school administrators and to communicate the needs of Oklahoma schools. The Council is the umbrella organization for five professional associations: the Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principals, the Oklahoma Middle Level Educators Association, the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals, the Oklahoma Directors of Special Services, and the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators.
About Ryan Owens
Ryan Owens is from Marietta, OK. After graduating from high school in 2002, Ryan went on to graduate with honors from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational and Strategic Communication. In 2008 Ryan graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, earning a Juris Doctor degree with distinction.
From 2006 to 2008, he served in the Office of U.S. Congressman Tom Cole as a field representative and then served as Congressman Cole’s campaign manager during the 2008 election cycle.
He joined the staff of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) in December 2008 as the association’s first full-time staff attorney and government affairs specialist. Since that time, he has worked with elected and appointed officials at the State Capitol to influence the outcome of major education initiatives such as: passage of the new teacher-leader evaluation system, establishment of probationary promotion teams within the Reading Sufficiency Act, and the creation of an appeal process for students denied a diploma as a result of the Achieving Classroom Excellence Initiative.
In February of 2012 he was named Interim Executive Director of the United Suburban Schools Association (USSA), and in June of 2012 he was appointed as the permanent Executive Director of USSA.
He currently serves as the Chair of the Oklahoma Education Coalition and works as an adjunct professor in the colleges of education at Southern Nazarene University and the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa. He is currently pursuing the courses necessary to earn building principal and superintendent certification in Oklahoma.
So the Supe says that this guy will be “a visionary leader”? Hoo boy, that would be a change. CCOSA is the bureaucracy for the bureaucracies. All you have to do is read all the buzzwords in this puff piece to get the idea.