High School Highlight

Claes Nobel School of Distinction

To nominate your school for consideration, please email Dr. Susan Thurman with an explanation of why your school deserves this recognition. Be sure to include your name and contact information, the school's name and city, and a link to the school's website.

We are pleased to recognize the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) as a Claes Nobel School of Distinction. OSSM was created through legislative action in 1983 and is designed as a two-year residential public high school for the academically gifted students in mathematics and science. The school graduated its 15th class in 2006, and among other accolades, has been recognized by both “Redbook” and “Newsweek” as one of the nation’s best high schools. It has produced 234 National Merit Scholars, a number of National Presidential Scholars, seven National Hispanic Scholars, and the highest ACT scores in the country.

The school was created to fill the following:

1. To foster the educational development of Oklahoma high school students who are talented in science and mathematics and show promise of exceptional development through participation in a residential educational setting emphasizing instruction in science and mathematics.
2. To develop, evaluate and foster science and mathematics instructional programs.
3. To serve all schools and students of Oklahoma through research, teacher training and outreach activities.

The school provides an “investment in the future” for students and teachers. Over 13,000 Oklahoma teachers have taken advantage of workshops and seminars provided by the OSSM faculty. The 900 students to graduate from OSSM in fifteen years have received scholarship offers in excess of $62.5 million. The school reaches across the entire state: students from all of Oklahoma's 77 counties have been selected to attend OSSM; over half of the OSSM students are from communities with populations of fewer than 10,000; and approximately 60% of graduating seniors attend colleges and universities in Oklahoma.

Congratulations to Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, which received a $500.00 award from the NSHSS Foundation. The award was presented to OSSM at the NSHSS member event in Oklahoma City on February 17, 2007.