Great Plains’ Jolly prepares for new role

After more than 50 years, Great Plains Technology Center will have its first female superintendent.

Deputy Superintendent Joelle Jolly will take Superintendent Clarence Fortney’s place July 1. Fortney announced his retirement in a recent school board meeting and the board accepted it a month after. Jolly will learn the ropes until he leaves June 30.

Jolly has had a colorful past that shaped who she is. Before starting her career at GPTC in 2005, she was the Senior Director of Operations at Marie Detty Youth and Family Services, according to her bio on the school’s website.

“I am actually an Army brat,” Jolly said. “I spent 13 years living in Germany and I spent most of my years in schooling, all in American military schools in Germany. After I graduated from high school over there, I went to Colorado and went to Colorado State University where I got my undergraduate degree. After I got out of college, I had no family living in Colorado. My father was getting out of the military and was going to relocate to Oklahoma. He had been here for a year when I was younger and wanted to come back. So I moved back here to Oklahoma to be near family and my first job in Lawton was actually working at the Juvenile Bureau.”

She chose GPTC because of their mission.

“I really respected what they do in the community,” Jolly said. “When I decided to get into education, I had been working in the mental health industry and I really love that we help people reach their goals. I love keeping people here in Southwest Oklahoma and making sure that they have jobs and opportunities. My actual first job here was as the Employment Advisor, helping students get jobs in the community.

Considering she will be the first female superintendent of GPTC, Jolly is pretty excited.

“I think that there’s a place for women in all walks of life,” Jolly said. “Hopefully I can lead with a good example for the females behind me. I love to see women in roles of leadership. It is important, and I think it’s very important especially in education.”

Jolly thinks that superintendents past and present put students first.

“I think that we all have the same common goal of wanting to put students to work in Southwest Oklahoma,” Jolly said.

Jolly plans to make sure there is efficient communication throughout the campus.

“Just to ensure that we have effective communication with our staff, our students, our stakeholders…just be engaged and transparent at all levels,” Jolly said. “I also want to ensure that we have a safe and caring environment and culture here. I think that developing and consistently reinforcing positive culture of service, respect and support for all of our students, faculty and staff is very important.”

One of her most memorable moments is witnessing her first SCORE graduation. SCORE is the school’s dropout recovery program where they help students receive their diploma while helping them get a job after graduation.

“Watching those students who felt that they weren’t going to be able to get a diploma, weren’t going to be able to get CTE certifications that led to employment after they got the certifications, I just thought it was incredible watching them be successful,” Jolly said. “You take for granted all the blessings that you have. And to see those students, it’s a school of second chances. That’s when I knew I had made the right decision to come here.”

When she’s not working Jolly loves to read everything, especially historical fiction. She also loves the theater and arts.

“I’m in a book club that I enjoy a lot,” Jolly said. “We pick books and discuss them monthly. I’m a big supporter of the arts in the community. I try to attend all of the arts events that are put on, whether it’s the Lawton Philharmonic or Lawton Community Theatre, I think that’s very important. I do go to Oklahoma City a lot to watch shows up there at the Civic Center as well.”

For anyone with any goal in mind.

“Keep learning and growing,” Jolly said. “Take every opportunity you can to learn from those around you. Make sure you have good mentors. Mentors are important.”