Vinita Daily Journal

Sep
05
Rotarians hear
about charter
2018

Page
A001

school programs
Clip
resized
84%

Angela Thomason
Journal Reporter
:KLOH WUDGLWLRQDO SXEOLF VFKRRO LV VWLOO PDLQVWUHDP LQ
Vinita and throughout the state, the trend for parents to
look at other options for their child’s education is rising.
$JURZLQJQXPEHURISDUHQWVDUHWXUQLQJWRVWDWHIXQG
ed online charter school programs.
One that has gained attention is Epic Charter Schools.
$IRUPHU9LQLWD3XEOLF6FKRROVHGXFDWRU0LFKHOOH&XUU\
who is now an Epic Charter School special education in
structor, gave an overview about her experience so far
ZLWKWKHSURJUDPWR9LQLWD5RWDULDQVODVW:HGQHVGD\
/RFDOOLEUDULDQDQG5RWDULDQ6XVDQ:DOWHUVLQWURGXFHG
Curry, noting that the library has become a hub for week
ly meetings of local students and teachers who are with
the Epic Charter School program. The library provides
computers and space that make it an ideal location for
study sessions.
Curry explained that as a special education instructor
she saw a need to be able to offer some students an ed
ucational opportunity when they aren’t succeeding in a
public school atmosphere.
See Rotarians Page 12

Proprietàdi OPS News Tracker e membri di Oklahoma Press Association.

 Clip
Sep 2018 Page resized From
05 A012 44% A001
Vinita Daily Journal
Rotarians
Continued from Page 1
She said that it isn’t her in-
tention to pull students away
from public schools, but to try
to help those who need anoth-
er way to get some individual
attention they need.
As a special education in-
structor, Curry said that the
Epic Charter School program
allows parents and their spe-
cial needs child a chance to
get more one-on-one time to
move at their own pace. But
this isn’t just for special edu-
cation students. It also applies
to other children who may not
be succeeding in a traditional
public school atmosphere due
to bullying issues, or a child
needing to move at a slower
or faster pace in their educa-
tion.
The Epic Charter School
program allows a parent and
child to choose from around
50 curriculum programs to
follow. The state provides a
$900 curriculum fee to help
fund the program, which is
accredited by the state.
Locally, the program offers
a one-on-one individualized
plan for students in pre-K
through 12th grade, in which
DQ 2NODKRPDFHUWLÀHG WHDFK-
Wanted
er works with the parent to
establish a curriculum to the
VSHFLÀFQHHGVRIWKHVWXGHQW
Curry said that she currently
works with students at about
14 different school districts
and travels weekly to meet
with the students at a location
such as the Vinita Public Li-
brary.
She noted that because she
is a special education instruc-
tor, more one-on-one, in-per-
son meetings are required, but
that some teachers who teach
a regular curriculum with stu-
dents may meet more often
through video-conferencing.
Curry said that in a lot of
cases on the high school lev-
el, the online educational pro-
gram is a last chance effort at
getting a student on board and
on the path to graduation.
She said that currently the
statistics are not the best for
Epic’s graduation rates, with
around 1,100 graduating this
year, but that many parents
see the online option as the
answer to their child’s needs.
6KH GLGQ·W KDYH VSHFLÀF
stats on the number of Epic
graduates who go on to col-
lege, but said that many do go
to on to college or a technical
program with success.
Curry said the key is paren-
tal involvement and dedica-
tion from the student to stick
Accident
Proprietàdi OPS News Tracker e membri di Oklahoma Press Association.
with the program like any
other educational program in
order to succeed. The online
program, which may sound
easy on the surface, is not a
cakewalk, which is also a
reason that many students
and parents who aren’t will-
ing to commit drop out or get
dropped from the program.
Curry explained that the
program moves at the pace of
the students’ ability, and that
if a student wants to move
ahead of their traditional
grade-level, they can do so.
She noted that in order for
the online charter program
to be successful, the parent
must be very involved in
the educational process with
their child, and that a lot of
students sign up and end up
getting dropped because they
don’t have the self-discipline
to stay with the program.
She added that there are
parents who sign up with the
online program to help their
child catch up and have no
intention of staying on for
more than a year, but plan to
send their child back to public
school once they are perform-
ing at grade level or getting
through a personal issue.
In Curry’s experience, she
is seeing success with spe-
cial-needs students who have
tried public school programs
The OHP explained that traf-
f
but couldn’t move forward.
She said that when Epic
Charter Schools began, it was
thought that there might be
400 students in the state that
the program would help. It
was established in 2011 and
the enrollment went from a
few thousand to now over
22,000 in the state.
Curry said the program isn’t
just for special-needs students
or those who are dealing with
social issues, like bullying.
There are also students who
are in programs like pro-
fessional rodeo circuits and
gymnastics, who are enrolled
in the program and can take
their educational experience
on the road with them during
competitions. They might
have a curriculum set up for
studies from 8 a.m. to noon,
and then gymnastics or their
other activity from 1 to 5 p.m.
7KHSURJUDPLVÁH[LEOHDQG
curriculum is tailored to the
schedules of the student and
parent.
Curry said that there are
about six Epic instructors she
knows of who meet with stu-
dents in Vinita, and that there
currently could be as many as
60 Vinita students enrolled in
the online charter school.
Parents can learn more
about the entire program by
going online at epiccharter-
schools.org and reading about
the requirements.
There are deadline enroll- Epic teachers to advertise on
ment periods, and state guide- Facebook, but she doesn’t do
lines that must be followed in that because she isn’t trying to
order for students to get their persuade parents or students
accreditation. to leave the public school sys-
As far as extra-curricular tem. Rather, she said she is of-
f
activities go, Curry said that fering an alternative program
Epic students with parental that has been successful when
support do have opportunities other options aren’t working.
to get involved with activities
such as team sports and clubs,
but parents foot the cost of
traveling and other associated
costs.
Epic students can partic-
ipate in homeschool band,
National Honor Society and
other organizations.
Curry noted that Epic offers
a prom and graduation cere-
mony in Oklahoma City for
graduating students.
According to the Epic
ZHEVLWH 2NODKRPDFHUWLÀHG
teachers who are employed
through Epic are also paid
well, with the average full-
time teacher salary at around
$63,093 including insurance,
.EHQHÀWVDQG2NODKRPD
WHDFKHU UHWLUHPHQW EHQHÀWV
for those who have a roster of
35 students.
Their pay is based on the
number of students they
choose to teach on their ros-
ter. In Curry’s situation, she
said there is a lot of travel re-
quired in order to meet with
all of her students on a regu-
lar basis.
Curry said it’s common for
Want to be added to