Thorpe becomes PTC superintendent

Traci Thorpe has become the seventh superintendent to serve at Pioneer Technology Center since its beginning in 1973.

She also is the third female to serve in this leadership capacity for the tech center. Thorpe has been employed at Pioneer Technology Center for the past 19 years. A career educator of 26 years, Thorpe began her education career in Gate, Oklahoma, as an elementary/middle school teacher.

She is a native of Fairview, Oklahoma, where her parents were educators. She has received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education as well as a Masters of Education in Educational Administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

At Pioneer Tech, Thorpe began as the first instructor for the SHARE Program (Sharing Hope and Redefining Education), a dropout recovery initiative, and was instrumental in its development and implementation. She has served in several positions at PTC, and in 2006, transitioned to administration at the tech center, being named Director of Special Programs, Executive Director of Full-Time Programs and later as Deputy Superintendent.

An active leader within the CareerTech system, Thorpe was recognized as the Oklahoma CareerTech Administrator of the Year in 2014. Certified as a Superintendent, a Technology Center Administrator and as a Secondary Principal, education is at the heart of everything she does.

Serving in many leadership roles, she has been a member of several Ponca City Chamber of Commerce committees, including Education and Workforce. She participated in the Oklahoma Academy Town Hall and is a graduate of both Ponca City and Blackwell Leadership. A current member of the Ponca City Library board, she also served as a board member to the Survivor Resource Network, formerly Domestic Violence Program of Oklahoma.

“I’m excited to assume the next level of leadership at Pioneer Tech and look forward to working with the PTC Team to further our mission of Enhancing Lives and Securing Futures,” Thorpe said.

For more information about Pioneer Tech and its programs visit www.pioneertech.edu or call 580-762-8336.