Professional Oklahoma Educators

What Professional Oklahoma Educators does

Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE) is a non-union, nonpartisan professional association classified as a 501(c)(6) organization, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma. POE serves all Oklahoma school personnel — certified educators, administrators, support staff, education students, and retired educators — by bundling $2 million in professional liability insurance, in-house legal services (with initial calls returned within 24 hours including holidays), government relations advocacy at the state Capitol, professional learning workshops, and member discounts into tiered annual memberships. The organization positions itself as a values-aligned alternative to union-affiliated associations, emphasizing that all member dues remain within Oklahoma and that it does not participate in collective bargaining or contribute to political candidates/PACs.

POE monetizes exclusively through recurring annual membership dues, with pricing tiers ranging from $20/year for student education majors (SPOE) to $444/year for administrators, anchored on a $336/year certified professional tier. Distribution is conducted through a 10-region field network of Regional Education Professionals (REPs), phone-based inside sales, online self-serve enrollment, and payroll-deduction partnerships with school employers. Sub-brands include RPOE (retired educators at $30/year), SPOE (student education majors), and the POE Foundation, a nonprofit arm supporting educators through donations, the Heart Times Disaster Fund, and finance workshops. The organization runs annual Teach Like a Pro professional development training and operates a public-facing job board.

Operationally, POE employs 11–50 staff including a dedicated in-house legal team (General Counsel Eli Plant, Associate Counsel George Thomas, Legal Assistant Anna Vann) that the organization describes as the largest among Oklahoma's professional education organizations. The technology footprint is intentionally minimal — WordPress content site, Wufoo form-builder for enrollment and event registration, and organic social channels — reflecting a service-delivery model that depends on human legal expertise and field representatives rather than technology platforms. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. POE claims to be the fastest-growing education association in Oklahoma.

Name

Professional Oklahoma Educators

Legal name

Professional Oklahoma Educators

Website

https://professionaloklahomaeducators.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Professional Oklahoma Educators is a 501(c)(6) non-union professional association serving Oklahoma school personnel with tiered membership ($20–$444/year) that bundles $2M liability insurance, in-house legal services, and state government relations advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Membership Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Legal Services (8111), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) (FSAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional Liability (E&O) (FSAJAGAC)

Keywords

• Professional liability insurance
• Education legal services
• Educator advocacy association
• Professional membership dues
• School personnel services

Headquarters

HQ city

Norman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from multiple categories (Administrator, Professional/Certified, Support Staff, First Year Teacher, Retired Educator, Student). Dues range from $20/year (students) to $444/year (administrators). All dues stay in Oklahoma - POE is not affiliated with nor financially supports any national organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Professional Oklahoma Educators sells annual memberships to Oklahoma school personnel (administrators, certified educators, support staff, first-year teachers, students, and retired educators). Memberships bundle $2 Million professional liability insurance, $7,500 AD&D coverage, in-house legal counsel with 24-hour initial response, lobbying and advocacy at the state Capitol, professional learning workshops, and member discounts.

Product overview

Professional Oklahoma Educators is a non-union, nonpartisan professional association for all school personnel offering a membership-based service portfolio. The core offerings include POE membership (with tiers for professional, administrator, support staff, first-year teacher, and student members), supplemented by RPOE for retired educators and SPOE for education students. Members receive legal services and $2 million liability insurance, professional learning and development through workshops like Teach Like a Pro and School Finance Workshop, government relations advocacy, and a job board. The organization is structured as a 501(c)(6) professional association with 10 regional offices, keeping all dues in Oklahoma.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• POE Professional Membership Primary annual membership for Oklahoma school personnel providing $2 Million professional liability insurance, $7,500 AD&D coverage, legal services, government relations advocacy, professional learning access, and member discounts; tiered pricing by role category.
• RPOE (Retired Professional Oklahoma Educators) Membership Retired-educator membership at $30/year (first year free) providing access to POE/RPOE legal team, year-round free legal advice on personal matters, legislative updates, fellowship opportunities, and representation at the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma Board.
• SPOE (Student Professional Oklahoma Educators) Membership Student/education major membership at $20/year offering $2 Million liability insurance, attorney access for education and labor law questions, and Oklahoma-based membership with portability to sister organizations in 27 states.
• Legal Services and Professional Liability Insurance In-house legal team specializing in Oklahoma education and employment law, providing $2 million liability insurance, representation in due process hearings, confidential attorney-client privilege, and initial legal calls returned within 24 hours including holidays and weekends.
• Government Relations and Advocacy Education-only lobbying and representation at the Oklahoma Capitol, including weekly Capitol Corner legislative updates during session and representation of members' views on education policy.
• Professional Learning and Development Free or reduced-cost in-service and professional learning workshops hosted across Oklahoma through the POE Foundation, covering legal issues, professionalism, classroom instruction, and customized district training.
• POE Foundation Nonprofit foundation supporting Oklahoma educators and students through donations, the Heart Times Disaster Fund, and host of finance workshops and training events.
• Job Board Platform for posting and finding education-related jobs in Oklahoma schools, available to members and the public for posting education-related positions.
• Teach Like a Pro Workshop Annual certified professional development conference for Oklahoma educators covering classroom setup and design, discipline and classroom management, proactive parental communication, and innovative teaching techniques, earning up to 6 credit hours from the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
• POE School Finance Workshop Fall and Spring finance training events hosted by the POE Foundation for superintendents and educators covering school finance, OCAS, legal topics, and ethics.

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Dr. John OttominorOthers · 11 May 2022Norman veterinarian and author Dr. John Otto partnered with POE to distribute a children's book titled 'Marvin's Gift' to elementary schools across Oklahoma. The book is designed to help with literacy rates and help children deal with anger.
• Sister Organizations (27 States)minorOthersSPOE mentions sister organizations in 27 states for students who may not stay in Oklahoma after graduation. These provide a pathway for SPOE members to join state organizations that will support them as teachers if they relocate.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Idaho Education Association: Idaho-based educator association offering comparable member services in a different regional market; useful benchmark for state-level membership organization economics.
• Kansas NEA: Kansas state affiliate of the National Education Association providing legal, liability, and advocacy services to educators in a neighboring region to POE's core market.

Broad incumbents

• National Education Association: The largest U.S. educator employee organization; overlaps with POE on liability protection, legal services, and advocacy but operates nationally and through state affiliates at significantly greater scale.
• American Federation of Teachers: National union of educators providing legal protection, liability coverage, and legislative advocacy — broader scope and union-based model versus POE's non-union professional-association positioning.

Direct peers

• Oklahoma Education Association: Oklahoma's primary union-affiliated educator association — directly competes with POE for the same in-state educator membership pool but does so via a collective-bargaining, partisan-engaged model.
• Association of Texas Professional Educators: Texas-based non-union professional association offering legal protection, liability insurance, and advocacy to educators — operates a near-identical membership-based model to POE in a neighboring state.
• Missouri State Teachers Association: State-level professional association serving Missouri teachers with similar legal-support, advocacy, and professional-development offerings — directly comparable state-scope model.
• Texas Classroom Teachers Association: Texas state-level professional association that provides legal services and liability insurance to classroom teachers; another close analog of POE's service portfolio and target customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/profoklaedu
• YouTubeYouTube.com/ProfOklaEdu
• Facebookfacebook.com/APOE.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/profoklaed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-oklahoma-educators

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Professional Oklahoma Educators