e Allen teachers are starting the new year with hundreds of dollars of free classroom supplies after attending a teacher-training workshop sponsored by the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas.

The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) workshops instruct teachers how to use one of the OERB’s nine energy-related curricula in their classrooms. The curricula provide teachers from kindergarten through 12^th grade hands-on lessons to educate their students on STEM concepts through real-world applications in the oil and natural gas industry. The high school curricula also incorporate language arts and social studies.

The teachers from Allen were Pamela Sanders, Cassidy Malm and Tonia Kuehn.

“We wanted to provide Oklahoma teachers with a program that engages their students, while also meeting the Oklahoma Academic Standards,” said OERB Education Director Carla Schaeperkoetter. “Our curriculum is unique, because it was written by Oklahoma teachers and fi eld tested in classrooms around the state. This process ensures that our lessons are a true supplement to the textbooks and other resources Oklahoma teachers are utilizing throughout the school year.”

“Some of our kit materials, like hot plates, beakers and scales, are in great demand in many classrooms across the state,” said Schaeperkoetter. “Our resources can help provide new equipment, especially in math and science, that can be used for lessons beyond the OERB curricula.”

For more information on OERB’s education programs, or to sign up for a workshop, visit OERB-HomeRoom.com and click on the “Workshops” tab. The OERB was created in 1993 by the Oklahoma Legislature and is funded through a voluntary one tenth of 1 percent assessment on oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners.