The 2026 National Governors Association (NGA)Summer Meeting is in Oklahoma City this week July 30 – August 1. This bipartisan event highlights the Governor’s Compact on Entrepreneurship.
The governors will discuss an array of topics focused on “Reigniting the American Dream.” Opening ceremonies include a town hall on “Common Ground,” moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker, led by current NGA Chair and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, withNGAViceChairandMaryland Gov. Wes Moore, Govs. Jared Polis, Matt Meyer, Josh Stein, Spencer Cox, and Phil Scott, plus Tim Shriver,UNITECEOandco-creator of The Dignity Index.
“Common ground” is a crucial topic not discussed enough in our nation. The United States seems increasingly divided, where I wish leaders would focus on what unites us instead of attacking others with differing opinions. Among those holding the highest elective offices, partisan power stoked by division outweighs consensus solutions.
A unifying project of which I am very proud is Oklahoma’s Kid Governor program, operated by Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA). The Connecticut DemocracyCenter’saward-winning civic education program provides lesson plans for state affiliates to share with 5th grade teachers who sign up.
Teachers receive free lesson plans about the role of elected officials, how elections work, the importance of voting, and civic responsibility no partisan slant or bias. Teachers may also opt into an enhanced curriculum with extra lessons for classroom elections in which students select an issue they feelisimportantandthencampaign on this in the classroom.
Classroom winners are considered to have won their PrimaryElectionandthenwillsend a two-minute video to our staff. Then, our board members and the former governors of Oklahoma and their first spouses help select seven finalists. We prepare a ballot listing thosesevenandsendthoseandtheir videostoKidGovernorclassrooms to hold a General Election.
The candidate with the most votes serves as Oklahoma’s Kid Governor for the next calendar year; the remaining finalists will serve as Kid Lieutenant Governor and state-level cabinet members. They travel around the state speaking to civic organizations or acting as advisors for youthserving programs which desire a youth voice.
FifthgradersacrossConnecticut, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Vermont elected their 2026 Kid Governors and they were sworn into office in the early part of the year. Here in Oklahoma, Katelyn Talley of Valliant Elementary School in southeasternOklahomawaselected and she is doing an exemplary job.
In Oklahoma, we also partner with our state 4-H program to hold a similar one-day conference to elect a 4-H Junior Governor who also travels and delivers speeches to peers, helping to inspire them to greater heights and to understand young voices matter despite being not old enough to vote. Our 4-H Junior Governor is Riley Braden of Creek County.
NBC Nightly News featured three of the 2025 Kid Governors in a story which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9NW9seFeG7Y&t=315s Just like the actual governors at the NGA conference, current Kid Governors have their own platform issues such as inclusion for students with disabilities; cancer awareness; the danger of smoking, vaping and drugs; animal abuse; and homelessness.
If we could find common ground and consensus for solutions with these five topics, can you imagine what kind of country we might live in?
I am thankful that Governor Stitt, chair of the NGA this year, has been supportive of our Kid Governor program here in Oklahoma. The fact that this program is only in four other states speaks volumes to me on where others should focus their vision.
If a governor visiting Oklahoma thisweekmightperchancereadthis column, you can learn more about signing up your state at https:// kidgovernor.org/ and if you are a 5th grade teacher in Oklahoma, you can reach out to Licia Walters at lwalters@oica.org in our office to receivemoreinformationforsigning up your classroom.
Oklahoma Intitute for Child Advocacy was established in 1983 by a group of citizens seeking to create a strong advocacy network that would provide a voice for the needs of children and youth in Oklahoma, particularly those in the state’s care and those growing up amid poverty, violence, abuse and neglect, disparities, or other situations that put their lives and future at risk. Our mission statement: “Creating awareness, taking action and changing policy to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma’s children.