EPIC Charter Schools, Rose State create learning centers
When Oklahoma children go back to school this fall, students of the onlinebased EPIC Charter Schools will have the opportunity to add in-classroom educational experiences through on-site learning centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties. School officials said the move will allow them to serve students who otherwise would be unable to participate in EPIC’s learning model.
“We want all Oklahoma families to have a choice when it comes to their education,” said EPIC Superintendent David Chaney. “These centers provide families who need child care during the day a level of customization they would not see in a traditional brick and mortar environment.”
To offer this new program, EPIC Charter Schools has entered into a charter contract with Rose State College for EPIC to operate learning centers during the upcoming school year. The online-based charter school will continue to serve its more than 9,000 students in 77 counties through individualized online curricula.
The learning centers will be open and fully staffed with certified teachers from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and will offer free before- and aftercare.
“These centers particularly benefit working families or parents who may be furthering their education, Chaney said. “Families can utilize them every day for their students’ education, part-time or not at all if our blended learning program with one-on-one instruction by one of our teachers is meeting their needs.”
The day will not be organized into “classes.” Instead, standards for all subjects will be worked on throughout the day with structured play, offline instruction and computerbased learning. The program is not structured for students to come in and take classes, but instead to spend blocks of time or the entire day in the program.
At this time, the learning centers will be for students in early elementary and elementary grade levels only. As opportunities for more sites arise, EPIC Charter Schools will be looking to expand into higher grade levels, Chaney said.
Rose State partnership
“We are very excited to partner with Rose State and believe the learning centers will be beneficial, especially for our early childhood and elementary students living in the two metros,” Chaney said.
If a charter school’s sponsor is a higher education entity like Rose State College, state law allows it to open schools in counties with a population of 500,000 or more. Rose State College President Jeanie Webb said the school’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to enter into a contract with EPIC’s governing nonprofit.
“The goal of every educator is to ensure a student is capable of not only reading, writing and arithmetic but also capable of thinking,” Webb said. “This partnership will allow all involved to do our jobs at the next level, to intersect students in nontraditional ways and think outside the box when it comes to pipelines for education.”
One size does not fit all
Chaney explained that alternatives such as EPIC Charter Schools take into account that not all students learn the same way.
“Students learn in a myriad of ways,” he said. “We find taking a cookiecutter approach to education limits a student’s potential. That’s why we begin every semester with an individualized learning plan for each student and customize the curriculum to their learning style.”
Recognizing families’ needs is part of catering to tailoring education to students. This individualized approach is also at the core of the school’s foray into offering physical learning centers.
Because full-time online learning requires parent or guardian supervision and many students live in households with either two working parents or are headed by a single parent, he is confident physical sites in Oklahoma City and Tulsa would be beneficial to a segment of EPIC’s current and future student populations.
“There is considerable education research affirming that a blended, customized learning approach like what we are currently implementing and now expanding upon with Rose State is the ideal model for the future,” Chaney said.
Chaney added that EPIC is taking a measured approach to its expansion into physical learning sites. Hiring and planning for the coming school year has been underway. Student enrollment the upcoming school year began June 12, and seating is filling up fast.
The learning centers are at 11911 N Pennsylvania Ave. in Oklahoma City and 3810 S 103rd East Avenue in Tulsa. More locations may be announced in the coming weeks. Students attending those sites must be residents of either Oklahoma or Tulsa counties and must be in grades pre-K through 5. Last school year, EPIC served more than 9,000 students and was the 14th largest pre-K through 12th grade public school system in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board continues to sponsor its operations statewide with its teachers still serving students in a blended, one-on-one model.
For more information, visit www.epiccharterschools.org.