In July, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) will bring its fourth annual EngageOK on the Road summer education conference to five high schools across the state.

The one-day conferences will be July 15-23 in Woodward, Lawton, Durant, Bixby and Moore.

As many as 7,000 educators are expected to attend the free conference offering more than 100 professional development workshops.

The conference will include a hands-on sessions on Individual Career Academic Planning (ICAP) programs. A graduation requirement for all ninth-graders beginning next school year, ICAP is a career planning process for career exploration well before high school graduation.

A popular session from previous years, “What Students Wish Their Teachers Knew,” will return this summer. A regional student panel will discuss topics such as what makes an effective teacher, testing, advice for a first-year teacher and the importance of genuine connections between teachers and students.

At the final EngageOK site, Southmoore High School, the 12 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year finalists will be revealed at the 8 a.m. general session.

For the fourth year in a row, the agency will save hundreds of thousands of dollars and reach more educators by taking the conference to regional sites in lieu of what had long been a more traditional, multi-day conference in downtown Oklahoma City.

Doors open at 7 a.m. The conference begins daily at 8 a.m. and concludes at 3 p.m.

• July 15 – Woodward High School, 2406 13th St., Woodward, OK
• July 16 – Lawton High School, 601 NW Fort Sill Blvd., Lawton, OK
• July 17 – Durant High School, 950 Gerlach Dr., Durant, OK
• July 18 – Bixby High School, 601 S Riverview Dr., Bixby, OK
• July 23 – Southmoore High School, 2901 S Santa Fe Ave., Moore

The conference is offered at no cost to educators, but attendees must register. For more information and to register in advance, visit www.engage.ok.gov.