Okeson leads CTHS into a new, exciting year

With the retirement of Mat-Su Career and Technical High School’s previous principal, Ben Eveland, Gene Stone had been selected as the school’s new principal. However, due to death of the district’s superintendent, Kenneth Burnley June 2, 2011, Stone was transferred to work as a district administrator. With an open position and only weeks left before the beginning of the school year, Mark Okeson, formally the vice principal of Wasilla High School, was selected as CTHS’s new principal.

“I was offered the job on a Friday, and I showed up here on a Monday,” says Okeson when asked how much notice he had.

Though this is Okeson’s first year as principal of CTHS, it is not his first year working in education. Okeson worked as an English teacher before becoming principal at Colony High School and later the vice principal at Wasilla High School.

This year, Okeson has taken on his new role with great enthusiasm and energy.

“It’s a relatively new school and there’s great intellectual energy here. There’s great spirit, great school pride, which is very similar to when we opened up Colony High school years ago,” he said.

Taking the work-oriented mentality of the school to heart, Okeson has implemented new instructional models to assist in teaching. Strategies such as clearly marked agendas in each classroom, pre-class warm-up activities, and leaving no room for wasted class time were applied. One of the most significant changes is in a new grading system.

“We standardize grading practices in all of the departments now, and that’s new this year,” Okeson said. “All of your departments grade on the same categories with the same percentages.”

He said that’s a change from past years, when categories might vary from class to class.

This new unification also included employability standards, such as being prepared and punctual, accounting for 10 percent of students’ grades.

“Every teacher in this school has one common category, no matter what subject you teach, and that common category is called employability skills,” he said.

Okeson said he hopes that these new policies will benefit students and create a more consistent educational experience.

Since being founded five years ago, CTHS has made progress in both its social atmosphere and class availability.

When asked about his future vision for the school, Okeson is enthusiastic.

“I see this place growing,” he said.

Okeson mentioned a school bond proposal voters will consider Oct. 4. If passed, it would allocate money to build a new wing of the school and open additional sets of career based classes.

Even this year, Okeson said he has begun to move ahead with placing furniture throughout CTHS to create a more welcoming atmosphere to both students and staff.

With a possible physical expansion on the way talk of new educational options are beginning to surface. An example is an aviation class that could be offered as soon as next semester.

Okeson said he also envisions providing additional class options such as afternoon and night courses.

“I can see a day in the not to distant future when we are utilizing this building in a lot more hours,” he said.

This year has brought many new additions for the students and staff at CTHS, including Principal Okeson. Everyone involved is excited about the school’s outlook and fresh new ideas that he has brought to the table. With the enthusiasm and dedication that he brings to CTHS, there is no doubt that Okeson will use his past experience to lead Mat-Su Career and Technical High School into another great year.

Zac Neubauer is a sophomore and Sophie Harris is a senior at Mat-Su Career and Technical High School.