The Grove Sun

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The Grove Sun

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The Edmond Sun

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AROUND OKLAHOMA
Public schools blended environments, but
Volunteers clean President John Ellis with the town while they are here. problematic," Saffell said.
increasingly enter the department remains up Tenkiller area clean-up idea. While visitors may see no "The vast majority of the
virtual learning landscape certain of the trend regard- "We've been talking about actual red carpet when they traffic we get are business
less. BY SHERI GOURD doing this for a while. The arrive, their welcome may owners ... (and) employees
BY MITCHELL WILLETTS Whether it's enhancing CNHI NEWS OKLAHOMA tornado and floods put seem just as ceremonial — we need to make the
ENID NEWS & EAGLE what a district already has, more stuff in the lake," he when airport staffers hand best impression we possi-
or establishing something TAHLEQUAH — Areas said. "We get to where the them the keys to a Tesla. bly can."
ENID — Even as enroll- new, interest and effort are around Lake Tenkiller were waterline was high and find The airport presently uses Ward II Councilor Dan
ment in virtual schools like surging to a degree not seen a lot cleaner after Thursday Styrofoam that's been there retired police cruisers as Hall, a member of the
Epic Charter Schools con- in previous years. and Friday, even though the 30 years. We could do this courtesy cars. Muskogee Airport Board,
tinues to grow, many Guthrie just recently number of volunteers may three or four years in a row Airport Manager Drew said he had a conversation
Oklahoma public school joined the Education not have been what the Tidy and we'd still find stuff." Saffell said Muskogee-Davis before a meeting with "a
districts have been slow to Department this summer, Up Tenkiller organizers were Ellis was on a boat early will be the first airport in guy who was getting ready
respond, hesitant to inno- leaving his superintendent's hoping for. Friday morning with Oklahoma to provide an to fly out on a $17 million
vate. role at Stigler Public About 20 people volun- District 2 Congressman electric courtesy car. With jet that was costing him
But now, in a sudden Schools. teered Thursday, and 40-50 Markwayne Mullin. Along that courtesy car being a $7,000 an hour." He said
statewide shift, public Virtual and blended learn- on Friday. An estimated 80- with another boat, theirs Tesla, he said Muskogee the business traveler was
school districts are aiming ing were at the forefront of 100 people were expected came back with enough "will have the nicest cour- impressed with the airport
to make up for lost time and his mind at Stigler. Concern for Saturday. debris and trash to fill up a tesy vehicle in the state." facilities and what the city
lost students by launching remained about how to Locations around roll-off dumpster. "Sundance Airport in was trying to do but turned
nontraditional programs of implement these educa- Sixshooter, Chicken Creek, "It turned out to be a real Oklahoma City did buy off by the late-model Fords
their own. tional alternatives along Barnacle Bill's, Burnt Cabin, success. It was a slow start three new Range Rovers, being used as courtesy
"I would say this is going with uncertainty if the Strayhorn, and Pine Cove yesterday, but it picked up and they are nice, but the cars.
to be the big year," said design the district devised were cleared by the end of today," said Ellis on Friday. Tesla will make an impres- "A guy getting off a pri-
Monty Guthrie, deputy would serve its students Friday. "We'll be doing this again, sion," Saffell said. But vate jet, getting off here in
superintendent of finance well. "A lot of debris was picked and try to schedule it when "most people have never Muskogee to do business
and federal programs of the Despite that, he felt his up at the south end of it's not as hot." driven an electric vehicle ..., a newer car would have
state Department of district was obligated to Strayhorn and Tenkiller GTAA plans to do two reg- — they will remember been nice because that's
Education. provide what nontraditional State Park. A dumpster at ular lake cleanups a year driving that Tesla, and they what he's accustomed to,"
"This is the year we're students clearly wanted, Pettit Bay II was filled," said from now on, especially will remember they drove Hall said. "We need to be
going to start seeing the and what was luring them Jenny Maiden. "The Corps since members received so it in Muskogee." putting them in a car that
huge expansion, there's no to the for-profit competi- of Engineers have been much support and assis- Saffell said having a Tesla would be memorable, not
doubt about that." tion. working at Blackgum. tance from other organiza- as a courtesy car at the air- miserable."
Some districts are closer "The fact of the matter is, I They're on their second roll- tions and businesses. port will be "a great mar- Saffell said the airport
to the head of the curve thought I could serve my off." keting opportunity" for has two charging stations
than others, already offering local kids better with an Maiden has been a mem- Muskogee seeks to both the airport and for donated in 2018 by Tesla
substantial virtual and online version in a local ber of the Greater Tenkiller economic development that are used often and will
blended options, but those context," Guthrie said. "I Area Association for 13 years
impress with Tesla efforts. Once word about be used for the courtesy
are fewer. While one district believe there are a lot of and owns Terrapin Peak courtesy car choice the courtesy car spreads, car when the $42,490 car is
may be a tweak or two from superintendents that have Bed, Breakfast & Beyond. he anticipates pilots will fly delivered. The Tesla, he
the cutting edge, another come to that conclusion, She helped coordinate the BY D.E. SMOOT in to buy fuel and make a said, has no annual main-
might be far less familiar and I believe everyone at event. CNHI NEWS OKLAHOMA trip to town just to get a tenance requirements, and
with the latest in digital the (Education) department "Between the tornado chance to drive the Tesla. those who use it will have
learning. is in agreement that we and flooding, it's a mess," MUSKOGEE, Okla. — "Right now, we are put- no obligations to refuel it
Exact stats aren't avail- want to do everything we she said. "The whole busi- Muskogee-Davis Regional ting these individuals in a before returning it to the
able, as the department can to give every school dis- ness dynamic changes Airport officials plan to roll car that is valued at about airport.
doesn't currently track trict in this state the oppor- when people can't get on out the red carpet for visi- $500 — they will get you Saffell said the purchase
which schools — or how tunity to serve their kids the water." tors who fly into town and from Point A to Point B, but will be funded with airport
many — offer virtual or best." Maiden credits GTAA plan to spend a little time in they are worn out, they are user fee
© 2019 THE EDMOND SUN

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The Madill Record

best sport ever created. My favorite to win. I also like football because you rigged. Boy Scout Troop 10

An Epic fail by any other name

By David Blatt
Oklahoma Policy Institute
It has not, to put it mildly, been a
good couple months for David Chaney
and Ben Harris, co-founders of Epic
Charter Schools, Oklahoma’s largest
virtual charter school.
Launched in
2011, Epic has
enjoyed explosive
growth. It enrolled
over 21,000 stu-
dents in 2018-19,
making it larger
than the state’s
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district. It operates
Blatt
online programs
statewide and three
centers that blend virtual and in-
person learning in Oklahoma City
and Tulsa.
Epic’s growth has been fueled by
aggressive marketing campaigns,
bonuses and gifts to help recruit
students, and teacher contracts with
bonuses that allow its highest-paid
teachers to reach annual pay of over
$100,000. This growth has now at-
tracted intense scrutiny of its business
model and operations.
In June, Oklahoma Watch reported
RQ D ODZVXLW ÀOHG E\ VHYHUDO (SLF
teachers alleging that the school has,
for years, encouraged teachers to push
for the withdrawal of low-performing
students to help improve its perfor-
mance measures.
A week later, an Oklahoman article
revealed that over one-quarter of
Epic’s students were automatically
disenrolled for missing ten consecu-
tive school days, more than double
the statewide average, a pattern that
DOVR DUWLÀFLDOO\ DLGV WKH VFKRRO·V DV-
sessment on annual A-F report cards.
Even so, Epic high school received
an F in overall performance on their
2018-18 school report card, while the
middle school earned a C and elemen-
tary school earned a D.
Next came a press release from
State Sen. Ron Sharp questioning why
Epic’s blended charter school have
received state funding allocations for
grade levels the school has acknowl-
edged it did not provide instruction
for over two years.
Then most dramatically, in July,
the Oklahoma State Bureau of In-
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Chaney and Harris alleging them of
embezzling more than $10 million
between 2013 and 2018. The main
accusations involve enrolling “ghost
students,” some of whom are also
home-schooled or attending private
schools. Epic is also being investigated
by the FBI and federal Department of
Education. Chaney and Harris have
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<RXWK 6HUYLFHV D IRUSURÀW DIÀOLDWH
that receives 10 percent of Epic’s total
revenue to provide its management
services – an amount now exceeding
$11 million a year.
So far no criminal charges have
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denied all accusations of wrongdoing.
Until recently, the Legislature
and State Department of Education
have been slow to enact appropriate
oversight and accountability over Epic
and other virtual charter schools, but
this year saw passage of HB 1395 that
will hold virtual charter schools to
WKHVDPHÀQDQFLDOUHSRUWLQJUHTXLUH-
ments as brick and mortar schools.
It also requires charter management
organizations like Epic Youth Ser-
vices to detail how it spends money
on behalf of the school and adds some
additional safeguards. We can expect
the 2020 legislative session to include
additional reform measures, including
efforts to either abolish the Statewide
Virtual Charter School Board or place
it under the authority of the State
Department of Education.
We are also seeing more public
school districts develop their own
virtual alternatives. Recently, the
Cooperative Council for Oklahoma
School Administration launched the
Blended Learning Framework, which
includes guidelines for selecting and
training teachers, recommendations
for identifying students likely to suc-
ceed in a blended/virtual environment,
DQGJXLGHOLQHVIRUFKRRVLQJEHQHÀFLDO
technology resources.
High demand for virtual and
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a need to serve students who don’t
respond well in traditional classroom
settings. But the lesson of Epic sug-
gests that when schools are operated
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RIVWXGHQWVZRQ·WFRPHÀUVW

T di h i f ili

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Oologah Lake Leader
, ,
New year, new faces at Oologah-Talala schools
Gera Wright
Gera Wright will be joining
the Oologah-Talala Public
School system as librarian
at the Lower Elementary
School.
Gera grew up in Skiatook,
and graduated from North-
eastern State University in
Tahlequah with her Bache-
lor’s Degree in Elementary/
Early Childhood Education
and Oklahoma State Univer-
sity with her Master’s De-
Gera Wright grees – one as a reading
specialist, and one, as an el-
Bree Swant
Bree Swant will be teach-
ing 5th grade Language
Arts & Science at Oologah
Upper Elementary School.
She holds a Bachelor’s
Degree in Elementary Edu-
cation from Northeastern
State University.
Bree has previously taught
5th grade at Justus-Tiawah,
and has served as a teach-
er for Epic Charter Schools.
Her husband, Landon
Bree Swant Swant, is an airplane me-
chanic. The couple has two
children, Liv and Maverick,
who will be attending first
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
ementary principal. She also
is a National Board Certified
Teacher in Literacy.
She is married to Bryan,
who works as a process
specialist for Spirit Aero Sys-
tems. The couple has three
children, Seth, 14, Knox, 4,
and Brynna, 2.
Her hobbies include spend-
ing time with her family. “We
love going on weekend trips
and finding new and fun
things to do together,” she
said. She also enjoys read-
ing and gardening in her
grade and kindergarten in
Oologah.
Bree’s hobbies include
reading, gardening, and go-
ing to concerts.
Of why she wanted to work
at Oologah schools, Bree
said: “I have seen that this
school is like a big family,
and I know that they hold
students to a higher stan-
dard. I am excited to be a
part of such a great school
system.”
Most people don’t know Sarah Graves
that during college, Bree
was able to spend a month
in Italy, studying art.
spare time.
As to why Gera wanted to
join the Oologah-Talala team,
she said “I loved my time
teaching at the Upper Ele-
mentary several years ago.
When the opportunity came
open for me to teach at
Oologah again, I was thrilled
to join the Lower Elementary
staff and once again be part
of the Mustang family.”
As to what most people
may not know about her,
Gera described herself being Gera Wright
“super shy and reserved.”
Sarah Graves
Sarah Graves will be ninth
and tenth-grade counselor
at Oologah High School.
She grew up in Weiner,
Ark. And attended Weiner
High School. She attended
the university of Central
Arkansas and Arkansas
Tech University.
She holds a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Psychol-
ogy, and also has her
Masters Degree in School
Counseling.
Previously, Sarah has
been a high school coun-
Crystal Wright
Crystal Wright will be
teaching high school spe-
cial education English.
She grew up in South-
western Wyoming, and
has attended schools in
Wyoming, New Jersey,
and Georgia.
Crystal holds her Ph.D
in Rhetoric and Compo-
sition from Georgia State
University in Atlanta, Ga.
selor at Locust Grove High
School, and has substitute
taught in college while she
was earning her Master’s
Degree.
She is married to Bradley
Graves, who is a civil engi-
neer and works for Garver
in Tulsa.
Her hobbies include read-
ing, crafts, and outdoor
activities.
Something people don’t
know about Sarah is that
she enjoys hockey. “It’s
the best sport to watch in
my opinion. Go Blues!”