More than 2,400 public school educators from over 20 districts filled FireLake Arena in Shawnee, trading classrooms for a stage packed with music, games, gifts, and a motivational speaker ahead of the new school year. The gathering came as area school districts scheduled Friday as a professional development day for teachers and staff, giving thousands of educators a rare chance to be celebrated rather than stretched thin.
The event, known as Celebrate Educators, was organized by the Avedis Foundation, according to KFOR. This year marked the ninth iteration of the foundation's signature professional development experience, which launched in 2017 with speaker Ron Clark and has since brought in nationally known names like Kim Bearden, Gerry Brooks, Dr. Rick Rigsby, Dr. Manny Scott, Jon Gordon, and Dr. Adolph Brown to boost morale before the school year begins, according to the Avedis Foundation. Kathy Laster, the foundation's president and CEO, told the station that teachers have the most important job in the world.
A Message Forged Behind Bars
This year's keynote speaker was Damon West, who was released on parole after receiving a life sentence tied to an organized burglary ring in Dallas, per KFOR's reporting. West spent seven years of a 65-year prison sentence in a Texas maximum-security facility after leading a meth-fueled burglary operation, according to the Avedis Foundation's own historical materials and reporting from Catholic Central. The former University of North Texas Division I quarterback and stockbroker developed his signature “Coffee Bean” message while incarcerated, later co-authoring the 2019 bestselling book of the same name with Jon Gordon — the very speaker who addressed the same Shawnee crowd back in 2023.
West told the Shawnee crowd he remains on parole in Texas until 2073, a detail the same station reported. He travels the country as an author and speaker, addressing athletic teams, corporations, schools, and even prison inmates, according to information from Leading Authorities. At FireLake Arena, per the outlet's account, he talked about his transformation in prison and the power of the coffee bean, telling the assembled teachers that people are capable of more than they think and have the power they need within themselves.
Teachers Reflect on the Weight of the Job
Students emceeing the event said teachers show their power through service to students, the station reported. Kaydence Staude, a senior at Meeker Public High School, said teachers serve students by making them feel seen, according to the same account. Mackenzie Ogden, a kindergarten teacher at Shawnee Early Childhood Center, said teachers have many expectations and responsibilities that people may not realize — and added that while teaching is difficult, it is rewarding and matters to students.
Will Jones, superintendent of Dale Public Schools, echoed that sentiment, saying teaching is the passion and calling of many teachers, even though hard days can drag people down. Organizers said the celebration, which provided music, prizes, and inspiration, was meant to energize teachers for the new school year and remind them their work of molding the minds of the future does not go unnoticed.
Shortages and Pay Gaps Loom Over the Celebration
The morale boost arrives as Oklahoma continues to grapple with teacher retention pressure. Statewide emergency teacher certifications fell to 3,928 for the 2025–26 school year from a peak of 5,114 in 2023–24, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Education reported by KGOU. Even with that decline, completions of university educator preparation programs in Oklahoma remained down nearly 40% in 2024 compared to 2013, the station noted.
Compensation remains a persistent obstacle. Oklahoma's average starting teacher salary was $41,152 for the 2023–24 academic year, ranking 45th nationally and trailing neighboring Texas by roughly $7,000 and Arkansas by roughly $9,000, according to National Education Association benchmark data cited by the Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative. Regional salary gaps have driven teacher turnover toward neighboring states with higher pay, the group notes.
The Avedis Foundation has tried to address the shortage directly as well as through morale events. In January 2023, the Shawnee-based foundation funded a tuition assistance grant partnering with Oklahoma Baptist University to cover alternative teaching certification for 50 teachers working in Pottawatomie County and surrounding districts, tailored to help working school staff meet formal state certification requirements. Founded in 2012 in Shawnee, the foundation holds more than $100 million in assets dedicated to improving health, education, and community well-being across Pottawatomie and neighboring counties, according to Granted AI.
A Growing Tribal-Owned Venue
FireLake Arena, where the crowd of educators assembled, offers 57,000 square feet of multi-purpose event space with a seating capacity of 5,000 and is owned and operated by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, according to TravelOK.com. The arena opened in 2014 and regularly hosts high school commencements, trade shows, and regional athletic tournaments. The tribe has continued expanding the surrounding FireLake complex, having broken ground in late 2023 on a new hotel and casino and announcing plans for a 4,100-seat softball stadium in April.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
