A Message From The Superintendent
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Take a moment to check out Bart's Monthly Blog!
He writes about education, learning, leadership and more!
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Grading and Pacing Amid the Pandemic
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The state’s mandated cease and desist of all instruction ending at midnight April 6 means many students have not been working in their curriculum and completing work. Some students have elected to continue doing work. All work done during the school closure period will be graded by EPIC teachers beginning April 6. No students will be considered truant and not in attendance if they did no work during the closure period.
EPIC teachers want their students to succeed and they will be encouraging them to return fully to their studies on April 6. It is important for future success that EPIC families do not allow the pandemic to affect their children’s learning. EPIC teachers will be replacing in-person visits with regular Zoom, Skype and other video conferencing options. They will be making themselves fully accessible to students during work hours so that all students can end this year confidently and with mastery of their grade level’s academic standards.
Teachers will be flexible with families so that students are not penalized for the school closure period when it comes to advancing to the next grade or being able to graduate. But they will be diligent in ensuring student learning is not compromised for this school year and that every EPIC student has an opportunity to be academically successful.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state and federal Departments of Education have cancelled the government’s mandated testing of students for the 2019-2020 school year.
Know that:
- The State Department of Education and the State Department of Public Safety are working on a measure to ensure 8th grade students who do not take the 8th grade reading assessment this year are not prevented from getting their driver’s licenses when they turn 16.
- Students will not be prevented from graduating because they were not able to take the state’s administration of the ACT this year.
- Students will not be prevented from matriculating to the 12th grade because they were not able to take the state’s administration of the ACT this year.
- EPIC is requesting a waiver of any testing requirements of any seniors whose only remaining graduation requirement was taking one of four mandated exams.
- Should a student not be recommended to advance to the next grade it cannot and will not be based on a state assessment. It will be based on local assessments and the child’s academic performance throughout the school year.
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We know this pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty for high school seniors across Oklahoma. Given that EPIC is uniquely situated to not allow distance learning to hinder their students’ progress, EPIC seniors will have until June 30 to complete their graduation requirements. We encourage them, however, to complete their requirements in May prior to the scheduled dates for our commencement ceremonies.
Let us reiterate the following points:
- Students will not be prevented from graduating because they were not able to take the state’s administration of the ACT this year.
- Students will not be prevented from matriculating to the 12th grade because they were not able to take the state’s administration of the ACT this year.
- EPIC is requesting a waiver of any testing requirements of any seniors whose only remaining graduation requirement was taking one of four mandated exams.
EPIC annually holds its commencement at later dates than traditional school districts. So, at this point in time, those ceremonies have not been cancelled.
We will announce to families on or before April 13 if we anticipate our ceremonies will be impacted by pandemic guidance.
Should we not be allowed to hold our ceremonies at a physical site, we will hold the state’s best virtual graduation ceremony on May 30. Be it a physical or a virtual ceremony, each of our seniors will be recognized individually and in a manner they can celebrate with their families!
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Due to EPIC Charter Schools not being allowed to conduct instruction or extracurricular activities during the state’s school closure period, the Learning Fund is not able to process any invoices for services provided during the closure period.
With instruction and school operations being allowed to resume on April 6, we are extending the deadline for Learning Fund orders of goods, to April 30 for the current school year.
However, the State Department of Education has disallowed any extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year - even those that perhaps can be conducted virtually. Regretfully, this means EPIC cannot process any extracurricular service Learning Fund orders for the remainder of this school year.
Parents may elect to have their children continue with such extracurricular activities, such as virtual lessons, etc. However, they must do so entirely at their own expense for the remainder of this school year.
Academic tutoring will be allowed for Learning Fund debits. However, fine arts, athletics or extracurricular services, tutoring or coaching is not allowed, per the State Board of Education's order for extracurricular activities to cease for the current school year.
Please Note: any funds not spent this year will roll over to a student’s/family account for next year.
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Because the State Department of Education is not allowing in-person instruction or in-person special education therapies and services for the remainder of this school year, some Individualized Education Plans of special education students may be impacted. EPIC’s Special Education department is currently reviewing the state’s guidance on special education amid the pandemic and will work to identify individual students who are impacted by the state’s order to close public schools. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher.
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EPIC is anticipating another year of enrollment growth. This means it is important to re-enroll now to secure placement on your current teacher’s roster for the 2020-2021 school year. As new students enroll in EPIC for the next school year, they are randomly placed with teachers in their geographic area, unless they make a specific teacher request. So, re-enroll now and remember the enrollment application must be completed using a computer and not a mobile device. You can re-enroll
here
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We know that many of you are curious about what is going to happen to Prom as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently working with our partners to secure a later date to reschedule. We will share that information, as well as refund information, as soon as it becomes available.
If you have questions, you can contact the Prom organizer at:
joy.huber78@gmail.com
(405)426-7030.
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At this time, there is no guidance about events this far in advance. Please note, however, that the possibility does exist that we may have to cancel the planned physical ceremonies.
We are currently preparing to host a virtual ceremony or ceremonies in the event that we must cancel, so expect more information on that in the weeks to come.
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Celebrate these holidays and post a picture or video on social media with the day's hashtag!
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April 1 April Fools' Day
#AprilFoolsDayEPIC
April 15 National Laundry Day
#NationalLaundryDayEPIC
National Haiku Poetry Day #HaikuDayEPIC
April 20 National Look-Alike Day
#NationalLookAlikeDayEPIC
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EPIC Partners with Oklahoma Christian University
We are pleased to be able to announce our new partnership with Oklahoma Christian University, which kicks off with the Difference Maker Scholarship.
Available immediately, Oklahoma Christian will award a $12,500 scholarship to 20 different EPIC students!
All you have to do is fill out the application form telling Oklahoma Christian what you have done to contribute to your community, either locally or globally.
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EPIC is launching a new program called UTeach. The program aims to train professionals with non-education degrees to be alternatively certified Special Education teachers for EPIC. And, once alternatively certified, EPIC will further invest in these employees by helping them to become fully certified Oklahoma teachers.
The first cohort of UTeach participants will begin their training this July, and the details of this new program are outlined in great detail on our EPIC website at this link:
https://epiccharterschools.org/uteach.html
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If you have family or friends you believe would be interested in UTeach, please have them review the information on our website and consider applying. Questions about the program should be directed to me, and my information is in the email signature below.
We are very excited about the potential of UTeach and look forward to hearing from any individuals within your network who are interested in joining EPIC through this innovative new program!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeffrey Keeney,
Director of Educator Preparation & Certification
918.955.7032
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Congratulations to Cameron Fleming and Haley Jenkins! We are proud to have these exceptional students representing EPIC as our March students of the month.
Watch the video to learn more about these young scholars.
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Class Ring Orders Now Available
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View the short tutorial on how to order an official class ring for EPIC Charter Schools.
If you have additional questions or need assistance ordering, contact customer service at
highschoolcs@herffjones.com
or call toll free 866-238-5336.
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New Online Support Groups
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EPIC is offering students and parents the opportunity to join virtual support groups in order to bridge the distance among our EPIC family.
Erica Fenderson, 504 Specialist, tells us more about this new opportunity below:
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Here is Erica in her own words:
"I work as a 504 Specialist for EPIC and was on the phone with a parent who was just really struggling with the idea that their child had a new diagnosis. Listening to the tone of that parent's voice caused the light bulb to go off. I attend class in an online environment. I work for a school that offers online education with the motto "school can be different." I thought, "why can't counseling and support look different?" What if we could offer support groups to the students and parents of EPIC in order to build bridges across the distances that separate us? With a student population of more than 30,000 Oklahomans, there is no reason that we can't utilize the technology before us in order to lean on each other during times of need. I love the idea of facilitating a sense of community and camaraderie because we are all part of the EPIC family, and that alone is something special."
Erica, currently working on her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, stresses the importance of knowing you're not alone and working through negative emotions: "[One of the benefits of a support group] is knowing you are not alone or the only person who feels the way you feel. But also, I think it is always helpful to know that you have a safe place to talk about struggles. Often, we bottle or suppress things that don't make us feel good and in exchange, we look for things to make us feel better instead of dealing with the negative emotion. This type of pattern is not healthy or sustainable, so being a member of a support group can help members learn to deal with these issues before they become a bigger problem."
Other benefits to support groups include:
- Learning helpful information.
- Improved social skills.
- Gaining hope.
- Reducing distress.
- Increased self-understanding.
- Helping others in the group with your story.
If you are an EPIC student in 7-12th grade or the parent of an EPIC student and would like more information about joining a group, please contact Erica Fenderson at erica.fenderson@epiccharterschools.org.
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