Bin 26499 662247 1

The Duncan Banner
Jun
14
2020
Page
B003
Clip
resized
52%
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
Clip
Jun 2020 Page resized
17 A003 67%
Muskogee Phoenix
r EPIC educators donate to feed medical staff

once the word got out to other EP-
Submitted by Price Lang Consulting at the following health care facili-
IC employees. “It just grew from ties were recipients of meals:
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two there and morphed into some- Tulsa: Ascension St. John
principals at EPIC Charter thing quite special.” Medical Center, Oklahoma State
n Schools are the driving force The funds were collected and University Medical Center, Saint
behind more than $10,000 in do- distributed by the Onward Okla- Francis Hospital, EMSA; Ponca
nations collected to provide 640 homa Foundation, an Oklahoma City: AllianceHealth; Muskogee:
meals to frontline medical staff at City-based (501 c3). Meals and Saint Francis Hospital; Lawton:
13 hospitals and two EMSA sites beverages were provided by locally Comanche County Memorial
el in Oklahoma. owned restaurants and bakeries Hospital; Oklahoma City: SSM
EPIC Principals Lealon Taylor across the state and distributed to Health Saint Anthony Hospital,
and Tonya Mann had the idea health care workers in Oklahoma OU Medical Center, Community
r when they learned a colleague’s City, Tulsa, Muskogee, Lawton, Hospital, INTEGRIS Baptist
wife, an ER nurse, was struggling Norman and Ponca City. Medical Center; Norman: Norman
ot under the weight of long hours The following restaurants pro- Regional Health System, J.D. Mc-
e and intense working conditions vided food for the effort: carty Center.
amid the coronavirus pandemic. Oklahoma City: Rococo; Tulsa: “One of the core values we have
is “We wanted to do something Trencher’s Deli; Norman: Aunt at EPIC is citizenship,” said EPIC
nice for her and her coworkers, Pittypat’s Catering; Lawton: Superintendent Bart Banfield.
who are under a huge amount of Mike’s Sports Grille; Ponca City: “This kind of spontaneous giving
- stress and working incredibly long Danny’s BBQ Headquarters; and care for frontline essential
s- hours right now,” Taylor said, add- Muskogee: local Chick-fil-A fran- employees when they need our
of ing that what started as a small chise. support is part of our school’s cul-
gesture of 19 meals quickly grew Frontline medical professionals ture.”
a
nd
Clip
Jun 2020 Page resized
17 A004 71%
Sand Springs Leader
Did parents notice lack of learning?

BY JONATHAN SMALL in Edmond have inter- new material. That school serves many
net access, yet he wrote students with significant economic
When schools in Oklahoma and na- that students in that challenges and a lack of home internet
tionwide transitioned to distance learn- suburban school were access, yet school officials found a way
ing in April in response to COVID-19, asked to cover only “ma- to serve those children anyway.
many schools simply stopped teaching terial they’ve already As a result, those young boys in North
students. Recent polling indicates par- mastered” that “doesn’t Tulsa received a better education this
Small
ents noticed—and aren’t happy with count” because it was not year than many of their affluent peers
that fact. graded. who attend suburban schools. The sub-
A recent RealClear Opinion Research Insufficient technical expertise was urbs may have lavish facilities, but long-
nationwide survey found 40 percent of not the chief barrier. EPIC Charter term benefit is generated by student
families are now more likely to home- Schools, the state’s largest online K-12 learning, not school architecture.
school or use virtual school after the provider, offered several free distance- Many students at Crossover attend
COVID lockdowns. The desire for al- learning tools to other Oklahoma pub- that school thanks to the Oklahoma
ternatives is understandable given lic schools, including two hours of staff Equal Opportunity Education Scholar-
how many traditional schools handled development. Reportedly, only four dis- ship Act, which supports school-choice
their duties during the shutdown. In tricts took EPIC up on that offer by the options for low-income students. Law-
too many cases, schools simply stopped April start of the statewide school re- makers had the chance to build on suc-
teaching new material or even grad- opening via distance learning. cess and expand that program this year,
ing lessons that students were asked to In March, the director of the Center but House Republican leaders refused
complete. on Reinventing Public Education esti- to hear the bill even after the Senate
And that trend was not a product of mated that only 10 percent of schools passed it.
the “digital divide” that makes online nationwide would provide “any kind Perhaps House Republican leaders
learning more challenging for low- of real curriculum and instruction pro- feel what happened to students in Ed-
income students. In fact, some of the gram.” mond and Norman should be the stan-
state’s wealthiest suburbs were among It turns out student demograph- dard statewide. But polling suggests
those who did the least for students. ics mattered less in this process than that parents, in Oklahoma and else-
Norman Public Schools informed par- school officials’ grit and dedication. For where, disagree.
ents and students that “no grades will example, Crossover Preparatory Acad- Jonathan Small serves as president of
be taken on activities assigned during emy, a private school in North Tulsa the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
distance learning.” Longtime journalist that serves mostly working-class minor- (www.ocpathink.org).
and Edmond parent Ted Streuli noted ity male students in grades six through
in a column that 90 percent of homes nine, continued teaching and grading
orig.pdf 1 17-Jun-20 16:19:23
Johnston County Sentinel
ni members, which helps we have in place. If we spond, isolate those in work, he said.
at
way
ec-
g,”
Epic launches UTeach program
Epic Charter Schools, four-year degree in any Special Education OSAT the SPED (mild/moder-
up- the state’s largest charter major from an accredit- (mild/moderate) test. ate) designation attached
Jun ga- school and third-largest ed college or university, Following comple- WR WKHLU VWDQGDUG FHUWLÀ-
18 public school system, earned a 2.75 cumulative tion of the boot camp, cate.
act announced today its GPA, and pass a state participants attain a one- They will also be
2020 ou state-approved UTeach criminal background year provisional special encouraged to contin-
sed program. check. HGXFDWLRQFHUWLÀFDWHDQG ue learning by pursuing
Page tty The program will They will begin train- will begin serving Epic graduate level course-
mi- fast-track professionals ing and employment on students with the support work in special educa-
0010 her with a bachelor’s degree July 1, by participating of an Epic mentor. tion.
Clip we - but not in education - to in Epic’s state-approved Simultaneously, par- “Anyone looking for
resized ion EHFRPH FHUWLÀHG VSHFLDO special education boot ticipants will complete a new and worthwhile
48% education teachers in camp. the American Board for career should consider
Oklahoma. 7KH WUDLQLQJ LV ÀYH &HUWLÀFDWLRQ RI 7HDFK- serving special needs
m- UTeach allows par- and a half weeks of er Excellence program. children and apply to
ity WLFLSDQWVWKHÁH[LELOLW\WR specialized training in Upon completion partic- (SLF 87HDFKµ %DQÀHOG
ig- control their own sched- the education of special ipants are eligible for a said.
ules while paying them needs students and will ÀYH\HDUVWDQGDUGWHDFK- Detailed information
in competitive compensa- be a mix of online, col- LQJFHUWLÀFDWH regarding the phases and
id. tion, including full health laborative sessions and Upon receiving their requirements of UTeach C M
ve DQG UHWLUHPHQW EHQHÀWV ÀHOGH[SHULHQFH ÀYH\HDUVWDQGDUGWHDFK- participants can be found
hat as well as bonus poten- After the boot camp, LQJ FHUWLÀFDWH SDUWLFL- at https://epiccharter- Y K
WO\ tial. Those accepted into participants will take the pants will apply to have schools.org/uteach.html.
lic the program will be paid
in a salary while they are in
training.
lth “It’s not a secret that
di- Oklahoma has a shortage
of quality educators, es-
tor pecially in such all-im-
of portant areas as special
Get out!
oc- education,” Epic Super- and visit
are LQWHQGHQW %DUW %DQÀHOG
lic said.
op- “At Epic, we prize
You innovation and decided
bit to put it to work for our
’re students with special
your local
rge needs by creating an ef-
’re ÀFLHQW SDWK IRU DGXOWV
the with a passion to become
ds, teachers to work where
mil- they are needed most.”
businesses!
According to the
the most recent data (2019)
COVID-19
out from the Oklahoma
not State School Boards
has done its part,
ow Association, the state’s
ion special education stu- so now,
eo- dent-to-teacher ratio is
on nearly 23 to one because
hat, Special Education teach-
lets do ours!
the ing positions are among It is more important than ever
af- WKHPRVWGLIÀFXOWWRÀOO
UTeach qualifying to shop at home.
of applicants must have a
1. Close to home!

Bin 26499 662247 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bin 26499 662247 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bin 26499 662247 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Duncan Banner

r EPIC educators donate to feed medical staff

Sand Springs Leader

Did parents notice lack of learning?

orig.pdf 1 17-Jun-20 16:19:23

You might also like