Oklahoma legislators, representing Stephens County and the surrounding area, paid a visit to Duncan Middle School.
The Association of Duncan Educators, along with the ADE Legislative Team, hosted its annual Legislative Breakfast on Feb. 28, in the DMS Parent Resource Room.
Along with a strong showing of teachers and administrators, two Oklahoma representatives and two senators attended the breakfast, where they provided an update for the current legislative session and the bills pertaining to public education.
Rep. Brad Boles has previously attended the breakfast, which was first held in 2019, following the creation of the Legislative Team in 2018. Freshmen legislators Rep. Stacy Jo Adams, Sen. Spencer Kern and Sen. Kendal Sacchieri made their first appearances at the breakfast.
“They visited with all of the teachers; most teachers now know who they are,” ADE Vice President Cathy Barker said. “The (Legislative) Advocacy Team sees them every Tuesday.”
Barker is a teacher at Duncan Middle School and a member of the Legislative Team. The team makes semi-frequent trips up to the Oklahoma State Capitol to visit with legislators about education bills and to building relationships with legislators.
Sonia Norton is the ADE president and another teacher at Duncan Middle School. Norton, who teaches special education in a self-contained classroom, said she was happy with how the annual breakfast went.
“The legislators were really kind and friendly and accommodating,” Norton said.
Norton and Barker are charter members of the legislative team, which is chaired by DMS journalism teacher Derrick Miller.
Following the breakfast, which had food provided by ADE and the Oklahoma Educators Credit Union, the legislators went to visit seventh-grade journalism students in Miller’s first hour class.
As part of a class learning unit, the student had to research their legislators and write questions to ask. The questions ranged from what the legislators do at the Capitol to their favorite colors.
