Dear EPIC Parent,

In continuing the orientation email series we began earlier this summer, we want to discuss attendance and pacing at EPIC with you. Your child’s academic schedule at EPIC is flexible and his/her education is customized. However, attendance and pacing are two terms with unique definitions when it comes to online/blended learning. It's important you understand both as you begin your family's EPIC journey!

ATTENDANCE

The state of Oklahoma has a mandatory standard for determining whether a public education student in a virtual or blended learning school is in attendance. Attendance is important because if students are not viewed by the state as being in attendance, EPIC must withdraw them from the school and they will be considered by the state to be truant.

If you are withdrawn twice for truancy in one school year, the law will not allow you to re-enroll again at EPIC that school year. That means you’ll have to go back to your prior school or another charter or private school.

The law counts an EPIC student in attendance if they complete 72 assignments each quarter across their six subjects. Assignments are given by the teacher and can include your curriculum assignments that are factored into your grade, meetings with your teacher, field trips and tests. Being in attendance does not guarantee a specific grade. It just means you are in attendance. Your grade reflects your performance on the assignments graded by your teacher.

You also need to engage with your teacher in order to avoid truancy. If you fail to engage for 15 school days, by law, EPIC has to withdraw you. Engagement is key to being academically successful at EPIC. Be sure to let your teacher know if you are sick, going to be traveling, or have a challenge.

If a student does not engage with a teacher, they are not truant if they have met any other instructional activity criteria. Additionally, students must be behind pace, in order to be truant. State law says: “Any student that is behind pace and does not complete an instructional activity for a fifteen-school-day-period shall be withdrawn for truancy.”

All EPIC students should strive to be 100 percent in attendance AND complete all assignments from their curriculum and teacher. Not completing all assignments will be detrimental to students' grades and grade point average.

PACING

How long it takes a student to complete his or her school year and how many breaks (such as for a winter or spring break or for a family trip) depends on a student’s pacing schedule. Pacing is customized for a student and is dependent on two factors: parent request and student ability.

A default pacing schedule will not include breaks from the beginning of the school year until the end of the school year. So if you want your child to have breaks, holidays, family vacations, etc., which many parents do, make sure you communicate that to your teacher so your teacher adjusts the pacing schedule within your child’s curriculum to fit your family’s needs.

Link to the calendar

Pacing can be adjusted during the school year, too. In fact, teachers will adjust it if a student gets behind due to a lack of engagement. However, it is better that you monitor your child's engagement so he or she doesn't get behind and communicate upfront what your expectations and needs are for breaks so that your child doesn’t have to play “catch up” because he or she was not pacing appropriately to allow for those breaks from the beginning.

#EpicUp to #LevelUp

Justin Hunt

Deputy Superintendent of Instruction