Freda Deskin, superintendent and founder of ASTEC Charter Schools in Oklahoma City will be presented with the Yvette and Joel Mallah Crystal Heart Award at the HealthCorps® Annual Garden Gala, in New York City, on May 10th.

This National award is bestowed each year upon a school superintendent who independently demonstrates the passion of the HealthCorps mission of educating high school students in the areas of health, wellness and mental resilience and who takes that message beyond the school walls and work diligently to ensure more Americans learn how to live healthier lifestyles.  

HealthCorps as co-founded by Dr. Oz, host of the Daytime Emmy Award winning The Dr. Oz Show, and his wife Lisa, to combat the childhood obesity crisis. The HealthCorps mission is to make students happier and more productive by giving them every day skills in health, wellness and mental resilience. According to Dr. Deskin, “HealthCorps with the support of Continental Resources has transformed our school.”

High schools around the country are able to provide the HealthCorps two year programs through the generosity of local philanthropists. Dr. Oz and his team train coordinators, selected from throughout the United States. The coordinators are students who have completed undergraduate degrees and who set aside graduate or medical school for two years to work within selected schools that served high poverty populations.

Until 2012, there were no HealthCorps schools in the Central U.S. That changed in February of that year when a team from HealthCorps representatives visited Oklahoma City area high schools on behalf of an Oklahoma sponsor, Continental Resources. The representatives were impressed with ASTEC’s school model and the culture Dr. Deskin had created. The representatives said they witnessed soemthing special about ASTEC and made their recommendations to Continental Resources.

The program was kicked off in the fall of 2012 with a visit by Dr. Oz and Harold Hamm, CEO and founder of Continental Resources. Four years later, the program is going strong and has transformed students, families and school employees.

In recent years, The Chickasaw Nation has sponsored additional HealthCorps schools in Oklahoma. The hope is that more companies and philanthropists will sponsor more HealthCorps schools.  For more information about HealthCorps® and their programs, visit www.HealthCorps.org.

Advanced Science and Technology Education Charter  (ASTEC) Schools are public schools of choice in Oklahoma City serving middle and high school students. Today the two inner-city schools have a combined enrollment of more than 900 students. For more information, contact Denise Ebersbach at debersbach@asteccharterschools.com or visit the website at www.asteccharterschools.com.