By Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman
On Saturday, October 26, the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) partnered with Oklahoma 4-H to present our OK Kid Governor® program to 59 students in 4th-6th grade from across the state.
Of those in attendance, we had about one-third of those students run for the position to serve as a voice for their peers in policy conversations through our organization. While three grades of students were present for the lessons, only 5th graders are allowed to run for Kid Governor® pursuant to the rules provided by the parent organization, the Connecticut Democracy Project.
Each of the speeches given by the students were thoughtful, addressed valid concerns facing our state, and were impressive with how each presented a problem and a potential solution to that issue.
Congratulations to our new officer team: 2025 Kid Governor Emma Stephens, Lt. Governor Shawn Ferrell, and Secretary of State Lawson Ream, along with Cabinet Members Alburto Harmon, Clayton Rohla, Harper Witt, Koda White and Ryan Young. Together, these 5th graders will meet online to shape an agenda for the upcoming year and seek to implement those ideas with lawmakers and agency leaders.
All Oklahoma should be immensely proud of the effort each put into their elections. This program continually inspires me and gives me hope for the future that we will be in good hands once these young leaders become adults.
We at OICA thank Kimberly Blodgett, an Oklahoma educator and OICA supporter, for teaching lessons about the three branches of government, the importance of voting, and how campaigns work to seek votes from those who can cast ballots. The students were attentive with the information provided and each responded that they learned a lot from the workshop, hosted by the Oklahoma County OSU Extension Office.
We appreciate the team of leaders from 4-H and our own staff from OICA for overseeing the conference and staffing the polling place where the students voted, which replicated the process adults use during voting. Finally, we certainly want to thank the many parents and guardians who also stayed at the conference and who joined in on the questioning period to help elevate the conversation.
OICA is incredibly grateful to our current Kid Governor, Mila O’Brien, for her work over the past two years in the role. Mila had to step up and serve two terms with the postponement of the program last year due to each of the classes enrolled in the curriculum withdrawing due to various issues faced by Oklahoma teachers.
A reception will be held in Mila’s honor on November 19 during our annual Fall Forum conference, to be held in Oklahoma City. We appreciate sponsors for this program and the many Oklahomans who help encourage stronger civics learning through Kid Governor® and the many other youth-serving experiences used to promote this type of experience.
We hope that in 2025, Kid Governor® will be back in Oklahoma’s 5th grade classrooms across the state and we hope to continue the partnership with Oklahoma 4-H.
If you want to learn more about how to support the Oklahoma Kid Governor® program, go to oica.org to find out how you can get more involved. You can also join us at the Fall Forum as delegates will help OICA shape our legislative agenda for 2025.
We expect to have a robust conversation about issues, and we know the networking through this conference will help advocates build stronger alliances as we work together to improve the lives of Oklahoma’s youth. Please join us and add your voice to the conversation!
