CHICKASHA — State lawmakers voted Wednesday to provide funding for a new regional program of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics that will be based in Chickasha.

“OSSM offers our most gifted students academic opportunities they cannot otherwise enjoy,” said state Rep. Susan Winchester, R-Chickasha. “The students from Chickasha who've gone to OSSM in Oklahoma City have enjoyed tremendous success. I am pleased that this regional program will now allow many more students in western Oklahoma this opportunity as well. This is exciting for Chickasha.”

The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) was created in 1983 and graduated its first class of 44 seniors from across the state in 1992. Based in Oklahoma City, it is designed as a two-year residential public high school for academically gifted students in mathematics and science. The school currently has 71 juniors, 63 seniors and an ultimate enrollment estimated at 300, according to the school's Web site.

“Our students in western Oklahoma are some of the best in the state and now they'll have the chance to prove it,” said state Rep. Phil Richardson, R-Minco. “OSSM opens a lot of doors for high school students as they prepare for college and I'm proud to offer those opportunities to students in my district.”

Of the over 900 students who have graduated from OSSM since its creation, 41 have been from Grady County. Senate Bill 194, which passed out of the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Wednesday, provides funding for OSSM, including money for a new regional OSSM program to be located in Chickasha.

“This is an excellent opportunity to bring together two of the state's finest educational institutions to offer local students new avenues in their education,” said Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha. “We have so many gifted students in Oklahoma, and it's important that we provide them with as many tools and opportunities to excel as we can.”

The regional program will be operated in conjunction with Canadian Valley Technology Center. Although there are already 15 existing regional centers in Oklahoma that served 229 students last year, most have been in urban areas or eastern Oklahoma. The Chickasha program will be the most accessible for students in western Oklahoma.

“The OSSM-Chickasha program will allow students in western Oklahoma who have completed all available curriculum at their local high school to take advanced classes in science and math and still live at home with their parents, participate in their current school and graduate with their school class,” said state Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton. “This is a great opportunity.”

Students participating in OSSM have enjoyed great success compared to their counterparts across the nation. “The OSSM Classes of 1998 and 2000 had the highest ACT composite scores of any high school in the United States,” said state Rep. Tad Jones, a Claremore Republican who chairs the House Education Committee. “That's no small accomplishment and its time we increased access to the program.”