The Governors

Mila O'Brien of Enid Inaugurated as Oklahoma's Fifth Kid Governor - Oklahoma's Governors Support the Program!

Kid Governor® is a national award-winning civics program for 5th graders created by the Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC) in 2015. Timed to coincide with Election Day in November, the program offers schools the opportunity to enter one student candidate into a statewide election that other 5th graders vote in. Classes can vote in the election, nominate a classmate to run for office, or both! Toolkits of in-class lessons guide teachers and students through the program.

Mila O’Brien of Enid’s Prairie View Elementary School was elected Kid Governor in the 2022 election and was inaugurated on Feb. 6, 2023 at a ceremony in the Oklahoma State Capitol. Among those in attendance were former Oklahoma Govs. George Nigh, Frank Keating, and David Walters (pictured with Mila).

Our special comic books are available for purchase for $4 each and $4 for shipping for up to 10 books. For each comic book you purchase, an Oklahoma 5th Grader will also receive a copy of the comic book. 

For more information on Oklahoma’s Kid Governor program, go to http://ok.kidgovernor.org/

To see photos from the recent Kid Governor reception with former Oklahoma governors, click HERE.

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As you make your plans for this year’s “Giving Tuesday” on November 28, please keep the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy and the children for whom we fight in mind. We are fully dependent on generous Oklahomans, and it is your investments that have allowed us to help pass a series of initiatives at the Oklahoma Legislature, including measures to:

  • Increase teacher pay.
  • Improve maternity leave for school district and state employees.
  • Protect students’ rights to wear tribal regalia to graduation ceremonies.
  • Enhance state support for access to local fresh fruits and vegetables for consumers.

This list of successes is incomplete, though, without including bills our Board of Directors deemed harmful to Oklahoma’s children that we helped prevent becoming law. Sometimes, it is just as important to stop a bad bill from becoming an even worse law as it is to pass good legislation. The insight and data-driven research OICA provides is a critical resource for lawmakers as they consider increasingly complex bills.

The stage is set for even more child-positive measures in the years ahead, but success is only attainable with support from sponsors like you! To donate to OICA, click the button below:

Save the Date!

The 2024 Legislative Learning Lab – the training lawmakers with they had received. Watch here for registration and more information on this one-of-a-kind program late January/early February as the 2024 session of the Oklahoma Legislature begins!

Recent News and Articles

The most recent news releases and "For the Children" weekly column articles from OICA.

If there are any questions or concerns with your donation, please do not hesitate to contact us. If the issue cannot be resolved, we will issue a refund of your donation.

Thank you,
OICA