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Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 The Perkins Journal

wear- help with any questions or

just
, but PAYNE
one’s X Page A1
dical was shocked when he heard
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food “There was immediate
Jul eliv- response,” he said. “He cried
23 -ins, a little bit because he had
KRXW never heard sounds before. It
hose was amazing to be in the room
2020 e lost for that.”
save Karter Payne said he is
Page ul to happy with his cochlear
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tical age of implantation has
num- helped Karter develop speech
g up. and language skills, and he
hink currently attends, and excels
CDC in, a regular education class-
ions. room.
all of “From the time he got his
implants, his speech just took
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ivity has been meeting all of his
been milestones. He has done tre-
ssion mendously well. We are very
ensi- happy with his development.”
nion Hearing loss has become
something Karter and his
family are passionate on edu-
cating others.
Mrs. Payne said having a
child with implants has made
a huge impact on teaching.
The year Karter received his
cochlear implants, his mom
had two students in her class
with implants – she was able
to make strong connections
and relationships with their
families due to the mutual
understanding and knowledge
of implants.
She was also able to edu-
cate classmates on hearing
loss, implants, and assisting
children with disabilities or
handicaps; she even brought
Karter to school a few times
for show-and-tell.
Andrew Payne said his
family is grateful for the
cochlear technology.
“We are thankful that this is
a possibility with this technol-
ogy for him to hear,” he said.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Alva Review-Courier
Jul
24
Pandemic spurs
2020
Page
enrollment at Oklahoma
virtual charter school
0003
Clip
resized
108%
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)
— Enrollment at a virtual char-
ter school in Oklahoma has sky-
rocketed amid the coronavirus
pandemic that forced closures for
traditional school districts.
Epic Charter Schools, which
has no schoolhouse and serves
pre-kindergarten through 12th
grade students who attend online,
exploded in growth in the eight
years since it launched and now
boasts an enrollment that rivals
the biggest districts in Oklahoma,
with a projected student body of
46,000 kids by Oct. 1, according
to Shelly Hickman, assistant su-
perintendent of communications.
The Epic One-on-One digital
platform, available in all 77 coun-
WLHVLQ2NODKRPDR൵HUVSK\VLFDO
learning sites at their Blended
Learning Centers in the Tulsa and
Oklahoma City metro areas. Both
are free public charter schools.
Epic grew rapidly since its
founding in 2011, becoming the
third-largest school system in the
state during the 2019-20 school
year, according to The Oklaho-
man. But, their latest surge was
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
XQH[SHFWHG HYHQ WR (SLF R൶-
cials. The charter school adds
about 1,000 new students a day.
Surveys of enrolling families
indicate about 60% are choosing
Epic because of the pandemic and
40% for other reasons, Hickman
said.
Last year, however, the char-
ter school was under investiga-
WLRQ IRU DUWL¿FLDOO\ LQÀDWLQJ WKH
number of students and pocket-
ing millions of dollars illegally.
The school had reported more
than 21,000 students in 2018 and
received nearly $113 million in
state funding.
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Oklahoma State Bureau of In-
vestigation agent wrote in an af-
¿GDYLW IRU D VHDUFK ZDUUDQW WKDW
the school's two founders, David
Chaney and Ben Harris, recruited
and enrolled "ghost students" who
received little to no instruction.
The investigation into Epic is
"still open", Oklahoma State Bu-
reau of Investigation spokeswom-
an Brook Arbeitman said Thurs-
day, while declining to elaborate
further.
 Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise

EDUCATION

Surge
Jul pushes Epic
24
Charter
2020
Schools to
Page
A001 highest
Clip
resized
enrollment
41%
in state
By Nuria Martinez-Keel
The Oklahoman

Epic Charter Schools

has grown into the largest
school system in Oklahoma
amid pandemic demands and
increasing interest.
The virtual charter school
counted 38,026 students on
Wednesday and is adding
1,000 new students a
day, said Shelly Hickman,
assistant superintendent
of communications. This
exceeds the previous No.
1, Oklahoma City Public
Schools, which predicts
34,867 students this fall.
Tulsa Public Schools proj-
ects 34,405 students, not
including sites for alterna-
tive schools and partnership
programs.
The spike in enrollment
began this month, Hickman
said. If the current trend
holds, administrators project
a student body of 46,000 by
Oct. 1.
The coronavirus pandemic
forced traditional districts
to embrace virtual learning
as school closures hindered
face-to-face classes. Many
families opted for Epic
despite the digital push from
other schools.
“Not all virtual is the
same,” Hickman said. “I
think that families are start-
ing to understand that.”
The Epic One-on-One
digital platform is available
in all 77 counties in Okla-
homa. Epic Blended Learning
Centers offer physical learn-
ing sites in the Tulsa and
Oklahoma City metro areas.
Both are free public charter
schools.
Epic grew rapidly since its
founding in 2011, becom-
ing the third largest school
system in the state in the
2019-20 school year. But,
the latest surge was unex-
pected, even to Epic officials.
Little more than
a month ago, the
SEE STATE, A3

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise

nd due to the impact of

re
th
Jul
24
at
STATE programs. The virtual
school system has pro-
s, From Page A1 vided online classes far
e- longer than most Okla-
2020 ut homa school districts.
Page le virtual charter projected Oklahoma City
A003 modest growth over the Superintendent Sean
Clip 0, next school year. McDaniel said tra-
resized a, Epic co-founder Ben ditional districts can
65% Harris predicted enroll- compete in the virtual
ld
From a- ment increases of 15% to realm.
A001
ls 20% over the next year He said some families
ll, in a June 11 presentation might enroll their chil-
rs to the Rose State College dren elsewhere because
id Board of Regents, which of the pandemic,
ed oversees Epic’s Blended but others might be
ts Learning Centers. encouraged to stay for
“We are seeing our Oklahoma City’s own
he growth rate level off a online curriculum. The
to little bit,” Harris said in district school board
ng his presentation in June. voted Tuesday evening
“I “Partly because of the to start the school year
op size we are, the growth virtually for the first
rate is just mathemati- nine weeks.
of cally lower. Secondly, “Our families and our
n- there’s going to be a kids won’t have to look
ng limit to the students that outside of the district
m want to go to school our to have their virtual
y- way and with us.” needs met, “ McDaniel
el, In July, enrollment said at a Wednesday
be skyrocketed. Epic is now press conference. “We
S. experiencing about 65% see in the news about
in growth over last year. Epic as an example and
all Surveys of enroll- the services that they
or ing families indicate provide. We believe
ge about 60% are choos- now that we’re able
ing Epic because of the to provide very simi-
pandemic and 40% for lar services. Obviously
other reasons, Hickman they’ve been doing it a
said. Administrators are long time and they’ve
to hiring more teachers to learned the game and
of maintain an average they understand how
on roster of 28 students per to provide it, but we
ke educator. are also now able to
an While many districts provide that option or
me are offering one online a similar option for our
to curriculum, Epic has a Oklahoma City public
rk menu of about 20 online school kids.”
s.
of
h
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Clip
Jul 2020 Page resized
24 A002 77%
Enid News & Eagle
Pandemic spurs enrollment at
Oklahoma virtual charter school
OKLAHOMA CITY
(AP) — Enrollment at a
virtual charter school in
Oklahoma has skyrock-
eted amid the coronavi-
rus pandemic that forced
closures for traditional
school districts.
Epic Charter Schools,
which has no schoolhouse
and serves pre-kindergar-
ten through 12th grade stu-
dents who attend online,
exploded in growth in
the eight years since it
launched and now boasts
an enrollment that rivals
the biggest districts in
Oklahoma, with a project-
ed student body of 46,000
kids by Oct. 1, accord-
ing to Shelly Hickman,
assistant superintendent
of communications.
The Epic One-on-One
digital platform, avail-
able in all 77 counties in
Oklahoma, offers physi-
cal learning sites at their
Blended Learning Centers
in the Tulsa and Oklahoma
City metro areas. Both
are free public charter
schools.
Epic grew rapidly since
its founding in 2011,
becoming the third-largest
school system in the state
during the 2019-20 school
year, according to The
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
Oklahoman. But, their lat-
est surge was unexpected,
even to Epic officials. The
charter school adds about
1,000 new students a day.
Surveys of enrolling
families indicate about
60% are choosing Epic
because of the pandemic
and 40% for other rea-
sons, Hickman said.
Last year, however,
the charter school was
under investigation for
artificially inflating the
number of students and
pocketing millions of dol-
lars illegally. The school
had reported more than
21,000 students in 2018
and received nearly $113
million in state funding.
No charges were filed,
but an Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation
agent wrote in an affidavit
for a search warrant that
the school’s two found-
ers, David Chaney and
Ben Harris, recruited and
enrolled “ghost students”
who received little to no
instruction.
The investigation
into Epic is “still open,”
Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation spokeswom-
an Brook Arbeitman said
Thursday, while declining
to elaborate further.
 Enid News & Eagle
Jul
24
2020
Page
A007
Clip
resized
48%
Epic Charter Schools students are seen at the school’s graduation ceremony in Oklahoma City in 2019. (Photo provided)
State board joins fight for
Epic’s spending records
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
The agency overseeing the state’s
virtual schools joined the legal battle to
pry free some of Epic Charter Schools’
financial records.
With a 4-0 vote, the Statewide Virtual
Charter School Board recently approved
filing an amicus brief to side with the
State Auditor and Inspector’s Office in
its case against Epic’s management com-
pany, Epic Youth Services. An amicus
brief is a legal document from a third
party that provides information relevant
to the case.
At issue is more than $69 million in
state funds that Epic has spent since 2015
through its “learning fund,” which is
intended to purchase technology, curricu-
lum, supplemental items and extracurric-
ular activities that students request. The
fund is a key recruitment tool for Epic,
whose enrollment has soared in recent
years, to more than 30,000. The funds
are transferred to Epic Youth Services,
which maintains it doesn’t have to pro-
vide records because it is a private com-
pany.
Statewide Virtual Charter School
Board Chairman John Harrington said
for the board to fulfill its oversight role,
access to these records is critical.
“This is the information that any of
our charter schools have agreed to pro-
vide, and we expect to see that type of
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
information,” he said.
Harrington said the board’s
contract with Epic stipulates
that educational expenditure
information would be avail-
able.
When asked why the board
hadn’t sought the information
before, Harrington likened
it to the Internal Revenue
Service asking for a taxpay-
er’s receipt following years
of processing and accepting their tax
returns. “This is the sort of information
that we assume is on record, accessible
and available and … we’ve made that
clear,” he said.
The Statewide Virtual Charter School
Board was established by the Legislature
in 2015 to authorize and oversee all state-
wide virtual charter schools. Epic previ-
ously had been operating under what was
then Graham Public Schools.
The amicus brief outlines which con-
tract terms support releasing the records,
including a stipulation that virtual charter
schools “cooperate fully in all aspects” of
requests by the state auditor.
The State Chamber of Oklahoma pre-
viously filed an amicus brief in the case,
siding with Epic Youth Services, and
arguing that to require a private contrac-
tor working for a public charter school to
release proprietary information would set
a harmful precedent.
The development is the latest in an
ongoing probe into Epic
Charter School’s operations
and finances. Last summer,
Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered an
investigative audit of the
school and its related com-
panies following allegations
by state law enforcement
investigators that the school’s
founders embezzled mil-
lions in state funds. Epic has
denied any wrongdoing and
no charges have been filed.
Epic Youth Services is run by the
school’s two co-founders David Chaney
and Ben Harris. The for-profit compa-
ny has refused to comply with auditors’
subpoenas asking for records, emails and
bank information.
The state auditor, represented by the
Attorney General’s Office, in March
asked a judge to force Epic to provide
the records. The next hearing is sched-
uled for Aug. 5.
Last month, attorneys for the state
auditor filed an affidavit in the case from
Statewide Virtual Charter School Board
Executive Director Rebecca Wilkinson,
stating she believes the learning fund
records should be open for inspection.
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3)
corporation whose mission is to produce in-depth and
investigative journalism on public-policy and quality-of-
life issues facing the state.
 Clip
Jul 2020 Page resized
24 0001 69%

Seminole Producer

Board s latest recommen- tional COVID Prep Days, gresses.

Epic Charter Schools Becomes

es Largest School System in Oklahoma
Farm With many school districts jected enrollment of 34,867 1 if the current trend contin-
attle around the state offering or students and Tulsa Public ues. According to a survey,
ege- mandating distance learn- Schools’ predicted student about 60% of students are
dcut- ing through virtual platforms body of 34,405 this fall. choosing Epic because of
read for the upcoming school Epic, which opened in 2011, the ongoing pandemic while
ing), year, Epic Charter Schools, was listed as the third-larg- 40% cite other reasons.
front an online charter school, est school system in the Epic is a virtual charter
has seen increased enroll- Sooner State for the 2019- school for grades Pre-K
part ment and is now the largest 2020 school year. through 12th available in
Food school system in Oklahoma, Earlier this month, enroll- all 77 counties in the state.
was according to reporting from ment in the virtual charter The school “combines
arch, The Oklahoman. school began to increase the convenience of online
ewis. There are 38,026 stu- at a rate of approximately learning with the support
Grey- dents enrolled in Epic Char- 1,000 new students per of one-on-one instruction
Aunt ter Schools as of Wednes- day. Administrators project from an Oklahoma certi-
ears day, surpassing Oklahoma enrollment to reach around fied teacher,” according to
ving City Public Schools’ pro- 46,000 students by October Epic’s website.
berts

The Academy of Seminole Issues

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Stillwater NewsPress
Pandemic spurs enrollment
Jul
24
into virtual charter school
2020 Enrollment at a vir-
tual charter school in
Page Oklahoma has skyrock-
A002 eted amid the corona-
Clip
resized virus pandemic that
79% forced closures for tra-
ditional school districts.
Epic Charter Schools,
which has no school-
house and serves
pre-kindergarten
through 12th grade
students who attend on-
line, exploded in growth
in the eight years since
it launched and now
boasts an enrollment
that rivals the biggest
districts in Oklahoma,
with a projected stu-
dent body of 46,000 kids
by Oct. 1, according to
Shelly Hickman, assis-
tant superintendent of
communications.
The Epic One-on-
One digital platform,
available in all 77
counties in Oklahoma,
offers physical learning
sites at their Blended
Learning Centers in the
Tulsa and Oklahoma
City metro areas. Both
are free public charter
schools.
Epic grew rapidly
since its founding in
2011, becoming the
third-largest school sys-
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
tem in the state during
the 2019-20 school year,
according to The Okla-
homan. But, their latest
surge was unexpected,
even to Epic officials.
The charter school adds
about 1,000 new stu-
dents a day.
Surveys of enrolling
families indicate about
60% are choosing Epic
because of the pandem-
ic and 40% for other
reasons, Hickman said.
Last year, however,
the charter school was
under investigation for
artificially inflating
the number of students
and pocketing millions
of dollars illegally.
The school had report-
ed more than 21,000
students in 2018 and
received nearly $113
million in state funding.
No charges were filed,
but an Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation
agent wrote in an affi-
davit for a search war-
rant that the school’s
two founders, David
Chaney and Ben Har-
ris, recruited and en-
rolled “ghost students”
who received little to no
instruction.
– AP
 Stillwater NewsPress
‘Epic is prepared, our district is not’
As districts work to reopen, parents flee to virtual schools
By Ben Felder
Jul The Frontier
25 Like many Oklahoma
school districts, Edmond
Public Schools plans a
return to class this fall
with both in-person in-
2020 struction and the option
of a virtual program for
families concerned about
the continued spread of
Page COVID-19.
But April Dinger isn’t
excited about either op-
A006 tion.
“There is no reason for
my children to go back to
Clip school if the virus is still
around,” said Dinger, an
resized Edmond mother of three.
26% “But we did the dis-
trict’s virtual program
when they closed the
first time (in March) and
it was absolutely terri-
ble.”
Dinger has already
enrolled her children
in Epic Virtual Charter
school, the online public
school that has grown
to more than 32,000
students in less than a
decade, which includes
a blended program of
in-person and online ed-
ucation.
But the virtual school
could see its largest
single-year enrollment
increase at a time when
in-person learning at
many school districts is
in doubt.
“We are definitely
seeing COVID related
enrollment,” said Shelly
Hickman, an assistant
superintendent at Epic,
where enrollment topped
1,000 new students each
day last week.
Hickman said the cur-
rent enrollment growth
rate projects a 57 per-
cent increase this com-
ing school year, which
would easily make it
the state’s largest school
system.
Epic is the largest of
six public virtual charter
schools in the state.
Virtual charter schools
have drawn criticism
from some district lead-
ers as millions in state
funding has followed
students to virtual
schools.
Epic has been the sub-
ject of an investigation
by state law enforcement
concerning enrollment
figures and the use of
a private management
company, which is in
the process of fighting a
state audit.
Even some parents
who feel forced to choose
Epic admit they have
concerns about its man-
agement of money and
the impact on the tradi-
tional school system.
“I hate diverting funds
from my local public
school but what are my
other options besides
sacrificing my family’s
health?” said Leslie
Bonebreak, a Moore
parent to two elementa-
ry-age children.
Bonebreak said she
didn’t have a positive
opinion of Epic but
friends who have Epic
students say good things
about the school.
Brittany Martin, an-
other Moore parent who
does not want to send
her kindergarten son to
in-person class, said she
had reluctantly consid-
ered Epic.
“I’m not necessarily in
favor of charter school
funding and I don’t want
my district to lose the
funding for my child,”
Martin said.
Martin said Epic
would give her son the
opportunity to transfer
back to Moore schools if
the health situation im-
proved. But she recently
learned that her district
will allow parents to
choose a virtual program
with a chance to re-
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
whose last name isn’t
being used because she
didn’t want to jeopardize
her employment.
Lisa, who has taught
for 22 years, is in the
process of applying to
Epic because she doesn’t
feel comfortable teach-
ing in a classroom with
students during the pan-
demic.
Her district plans to
ask parents not to send
their children to school
if they have a fever, but
Lisa doesn’t believe that
is enough.
“Parents already send
their kids dosed up on
Tylenol to hide a fever,
what makes us think
that won’t happen now?”
Lisa said.
“I will shield my stu-
dents from bullets, I will
shield them from a tor-
nado, but I will not give
my life for a virus that
we know is out there
BEN FELDER/THE FRONTIER and we can stop.”
Leslie Bonebreak, right, is considering a virtual charter school for her sons Thad, left, and Oliver because Hickman, the assis-
of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. tant superintendent at
Epic, said they are look-
turn to class every nine connectivity that is eq- mother, said the use of learning fund for enrich- ing for more teachers to
weeks. uitable across the state her child’s state funding ment opportunities. meet increased demand.
“He will also be con- but we are not giving was a factor in her deci- Teachers are also con- “We are still hiring
nected with a teacher up on that,” Hofmeister sion. sidering a move to vir- teachers for the school
(online) who would be added. “We are going to take tual charters because of year and that’s really
his teacher if he re- Another advantage kung fu classes through coronavirus concerns. what we are mainly
turned, so I’m feeling virtual charters have Zoom,” Dinger said. “I have three different focused on right now,”
pretty comfortable with over local districts is Bonebreak, the mother high risk factors and my Hickman said.
it right now,” Martin the ability for students of two Moore students, district is not making “We already expected
said. to use a portion of their said her district cut its accommodations,” said another year of growth
School district leaders state funding on extra gifted and talented pro- Lisa, who teaches at a but the pandemic has
have long recognized curricular activities. gram two years ago, but large Oklahoma City-ar- caused a lot more fami-
the growth in online ed- Dinger, the Edmond she planned to use Epic’s ea high school and lies to consider us.”
ucation and some have
implemented their own
virtual programs, al-
STAY CONNECTED.
though few have aggres-
sively promoted it to all
students.
But districts are now
trying to play catch-up
with virtual schools that
have established online
Activate Your
systems in place and
Digital Subscription
were growing even be-
fore the pandemic.
“I think COVID is
forcing districts to look
at the virtual model out
of necessity but I think
it raises the question
about what should vir-
tual education look like
even after this,” said
Brent Bushey, executive
director of the Oklahoma
Public School Resource
Center, a nonprofit
working with districts on
establishing long-term
virtual programs.
In March, the state
r 24/7 Digital Access
Board of Education
ordered all school
buildings closed and is included with all
for districts to adopt
distance learning plans,
a response to the corona- subscriptions.
virus pandemic that was
beginning to take hold in
Oklahoma.
Districts deployed an
r Email Alerts
assortment of plans,
ranging from teachers
recording lectures on
YouTube to students re-
r Breaking News
ceiving a stack of work-
sheets.
For some parents, that
Updates
unsuccessful pivot to
online school instilled a
lack of confidence that a
virtual option this school
year would be any bet-
ter.
“In Edmond (virtual
school) is such a new
thing but Epic is estab-
lished, so I trust that
they have it together,”
Dinger said.
Activate
“Epic is prepared for
this, our district is not.”
State Superintendent
Joy Hofmeister said
school districts have had
enough time to develop
Today!*
more meaningful virtual
programs for the upcom-
ing year.
But in a state where
many regions lack broad-
band internet access and Stillwater
some households are
without computers, Hof- stwnewspress.com
meister acknowledges
that virtual school is not
yet an option for every-
one.
*Go to stwnewspress.com/subscriptions or
“We have not in any
way reached the level of Call (405) 372-5007 for assistance.
 Clip
Jul 2020 Page resized
25 A008 46%

Weatherford Daily News

Local news
TFC school board discusses
COVID-19 precautions for safe return to school
Leanna Cook
WDN Lifestyles Editor
The Thomas-Fay-Custer School Board discussed
different ideas and precautions for the return to school
plan Tuesday night during its regular board meeting.
After nearly 2 hours of discussion on the topic, the
board agreed to let TFC Superintendent Rob Friesen
write up the back-to-school plan, which would then
be sent to school board for final approval before being
posted on the TFC website.
While no final decisions were reached during this
meeting, the board discussed several different topics
including masks, online learning and school parties.
The final plan was not available as of press time
Friday, but some of the ideas discussed can be found
below.
Masks
The board generally was against the idea of
mandatory masks for students in the school. Some
even disagreed with making visitors wear masks
while in the building, as it could make reading
people’s facial expression more difficult.
That being said, they did not want people to feel
uncomfortable wearing a mask if it made them feel
more comfortable.
Elementary Principal Aimee Rainwater expressed
some concerns about the constant need to keep
children’s masks on or younger children swapping/
sharing masks.
The board discussed the idea of requiring masks on
buses due to close proximity, but a firm decision was
not made.
Online Learning Option
The district is planning for an online learning option.
Principal Rainwater and Junior/Senior High School
Principal Ray Oakes expressed concern regarding a
loss of students to homeschooling and other online
programs such as Epic Charter Schools. It also is an
important option for those who have health concerns.
The district is looking into platform options for the
online learning. In addition, TFC teachers are training
with Google Classroom to be prepared for distance
learning.
Like other area school districts, the online options
will require an application process and a full semester
of commitment from the families.
Class Parties
While many schools have cancelled all class parties,
field trips and other large gatherings for the year, TFC
1st grade teacher Alicia Bailey was not in favor of the
district following this example.
“The kids already have so much taken from them
this school year,” Bailey said. “I would hate for them
to lose this as well.”
Principal Rainwater agreed, saying she knew
children while teaching who would not have their
birthdays celebrated if it wasn’t for the school
parities.
As part of the discussion, the board discussed ways
to make the small celebrations safer. Homemade
goods generally are not allowed anyway, so that
would not be a great concern. In addition, Rainwater
said she knew teachers who would happily arrange a
small treat for these birthday celebrations.
The board decided not to make a final decision on
this area because the first real class party would not be
until Halloween, which is several months away.
Other areas of concern discussed were allowing
online students to participate in extra-curricular
activities, response to positive tests and classroom
safety guidelines.
More information will be available when the official
back-to-school plan has been released.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 McCurtain Daily Gazette
Jul
Pandemic spurs
26
2020
enrollment at Oklahoma
Page
A07
virtual charter school
Clip
resized
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)
78% — Enrollment at a virtual
charter school in Oklahoma
has skyrocketed amid the
coronavirus pandemic that
forced closures for traditional
school districts.
Epic Charter Schools,
which has no schoolhouse
and serves pre-kindergarten
through 12th grade students
who attend online, exploded in
growth in the eight years since
it launched and now boasts
an enrollment that rivals the
biggest districts in Oklahoma,
with a projected student body
of 46,000 kids by Oct. 1,
according to Shelly Hickman,
assistant superintendent of
communications.
The Epic One-on-One digi-
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physical learning sites at their
Blended Learning Centers in
the Tulsa and Oklahoma City
metro areas. Both are free
public charter schools.
Epic grew rapidly since its
founding in 2011, becoming
the third-largest school system
in the state during the 2019-20
school year, according to The
Oklahoman. But, their latest
surge was unexpected, even
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
WR (SLF R൶FLDOV 7KH FKDUWHU
school adds about 1,000 new
students a day.
Surveys of enrolling fam-
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choosing Epic because of the
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reasons, Hickman said.
Last year, however, the
charter school was under
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dents and pocketing millions
of dollars illegally. The school
had reported more than 21,000
students in 2018 and received
nearly $113 million in state
funding.
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an Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation agent wrote in an
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that the school’s two founders,
David Chaney and Ben Harris,
recruited and enrolled “ghost
students” who received little
to no instruction.
The investigation into Epic
is “still open”, Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation
spokeswoman Brook
Arbeitman said Thursday,
while declining to elaborate
further.