Goodwell Public Schools Receive Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award

Goodwell, Okla. — In recognition of their partnership with Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Goodwell Public Schools received the Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award during a special event on Tuesday, March 12 at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. The award is designed to highlight successful partnerships and to further cultivate the higher learning environment through State Regents’ Economic Development Grants. Numerous business and higher education partnerships throughout the state were recently recognized as innovative collaborations that further the education of Oklahoma’s workforce.

Goodwell Public Schools has provided Oklahoma Panhandle State University $250,000 in funding, in conjunction with $250,000 in-kind from Texas County and an undisclosed gift from Anchor D Bank, to develop a modernized, $1.2 million artificial turf football and soccer stadium, which both the University and Goodwell Public Schools utilized for the 2018 season.

Goodwell Public Schools is also utilizing the University’s basketball arena. The use of both facilities allowed Goodwell Public schools to pass their first bond issue in decades to construct a new elementary school and remodel the high school, allowing them to become a school of choice in the Panhandle region. Growth and development at both Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Goodwell Public Schools is essential to the economic development of the Panhandle economy.

The partnership between Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Goodwell Public Schools also includes an after school program, a shared faculty and counselor, a special education program, a shared farm and ranch, as well as an early college program to allow high school seniors to earn an associate’s degree when the graduate. These partnerships pool financial resources so that together, services can be provided to the community that often cannot be provided in small rural communities, as well as spur economic development in the Panhandle.

Panhandle State President Dr. Tim Faltyn stated, “not only has our partnership with Goodwell Public Schools led to facilities improvements, but more importantly, it’s allowed us to better support all of our students as they obtain the quality of education they deserve. I am honored to be a part of this innovative partnership between community, public schools, and higher education.”