Harding Charter Preparatory School District Superintendent 

 

With more than a decade of experience in education, Mr. Steven Stefanick was named Superintendent of Harding Charter Preparatory School District in May 2021. 

Mr. Stefanick began his career in education as a secondary mathematics instructor at Norman High School in 2011-2012. He served as a secondary mathematics instructor at Harding Charter Preparatory High School 2012-2015,  ending with a 100% pass rate on the Oklahoma End of Instruction exams. During those years, he also served as the mathematics department chair, head cross country coach, assistant tennis coach, and student council advisor. During his time as student council advisor, students raised more than $20,000 each year for local charities, including Oklahoma Make-A-Wish Foundation and Anna’s House, marking the highest average in school history. Mr. Stefanick was named assistant principal at Harding Charter Preparatory High School in 2015 and also served as child nutrition director and testing coordinator. A proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Mr. Stefanick went on to earn his master's degree in educational leadership from the University of Central Oklahoma.  

Mr. Stefanick has led our district through several significant milestones. In 2019, as a result of Oklahoma City's "Pathway to Greatness" restructuring, Harding Charter Preparatory High School was forced to relocate. Leveraging the support of the HCP community, Mr. Stefanick was able to move the high school in just under five days at no cost to the school. When it matters, Harding Charter Prep families step up. In 2020, as Covid shut the world down, Mr. Stefanick was once again grateful to our community for their support as our leadership team developed a plan to continue educating students through one of the most difficult times in our collective lifetime. During his tenure at the high school, the high school was continually ranked as one of the top performing high schools in Oklahoma.

In 2021, our district was founded as Harding Charter Preparatory High School merged with our middle school, which was then known as Independence Charter Middle School. Mr. Stefanick was selected by the search team to be the district's founding Superintendent. And finally in 2023, under Mr. Stefanick’s leadership, our district was selected to participate in the Charter Strategic Growth Institute facilitated by Bellwether Education Partners. As a result of this partnership, our district developed a strategic growth plan that led to the opening of our first elementary school site, Harding Charter Preparatory Elementary School at Kelley. 

Today under Mr. Stefanick's leadership, our district has grown from one school to three, serving nearly 300% more students across Oklahoma City.

Mr. Stefanick previously served as president and vice-president of the Oklahoma Public Charter School Association from 2020-2024. He formerly served as education advisory chair for Oklahoma State Senator George Young and for Oklahoma State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister.  

Stefanick is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City’s LOYAL Class XVI, received the School Choice Advocate award from School Choice Matters in 2019, and was named a 2016 NextGen Under 30 Winner. He is a former member of the Youth Professional Council for Oklahoma Make-A-Wish. 

 

Earned Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership (University of Central Oklahoma, 2015) 
Earned Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Mathematics (University of Oklahoma, 2011) 
13 years of experience in education 
10 years of experience in administration 
 
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY 

Superintendent, Harding Charter Preparatory School District, 2021-Present 

Superintendent/Principal, Harding Charter Preparatory High School, 2018-2021 
Assistant Principal, Harding Charter Preparatory High School, 2015-2018 
Teacher/Coach, Harding Charter Preparatory High School, 2012-2015 
Teacher/Coach, Norman High School, 2011-2012 

 

Oklahoma Public Charter School Association, president 2022-2024; vice president 2020-22; member since 2018  

Oklahoma Make-A-Wish Young Professional Council, 2018-2022 
Leadership Oklahoma City LOYAL Class XVI, 2020-2022 

Education Advisory Chair for Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, 2019-2022 
Education Advisory Chair for Senator George Young, 2018-2024 

NextGen Under 30 Winner, 2016