An Epic Solution To Oklahoma Education Wows

Oklahoma's fastest growing public school district
​is also the least expensive to operate.

  On Wednesday there will be about 2000 unique students, teachers, and families at the capitol. They are just a portion of the largest school field trip in Oklahoma. Epic Day is when Epic One on One Charter School Takes a trip to the capitol to tell the legislature that they love their school and are happy with their teacher pay. They are not going on strike. Their kids' education is too important. 
​   In an age of technology and communication advances, our public education system is stuck in 18th century thinking and bureaucratic bloat.  In the midst of this we found a tiny concept charter school which started as a concept along the western shore of Lake Eufaula. About 10 years ago, the Graham Public School District took a chance on a new online format of delivering 21st century education.
  Within a few years the little charter outgrew the host district and the legislature stepped in to become the new host of the EPIC One on One statewide charter school district. This year there were over 14,000 students enrolled and the number grows 47% per year, over the past 7 years. It's the 11th largest district in Oklahoma.

---

  Epic meets with each family during the enrollment process & together they choose the curriculum which works best with the student. Epic sets up an education fund in each student's name. From that fund the family is able to secure the curriculum and any computer or internet access they may lack. The remainder of the fund is available for the student's elective & extra curricular ambitions. If it's the arts or sports, the fund can be used for athletic fees with some of the state's premier homeschool sports or club sports programs. Dance academies, community theaters, or other special scholastic studies are also available. The equipment remains the property of EPIC, but the education & enrichment are forever a part of  the child's future.
  
  Today, Epic is available statewide and is the 16th largest school district in the state.  Public school districts are enraged and frustrated with Epic's popularity. They demanded an audit to find out some form of corruption. Epic came out clean.

  Epic pays the teachers on merit structure. The parents evaluate and the pupils demonstrate the quality of the education. Learning is done in the home or at specially organized locations for group study and other events. Teachers are on call for the students and either discuss the special challenges on the phone or in person. As teachers demonstrate competence, they can request and accept additional students under their tutelage.  Their pay is based on how many students they help stay successful.  Some special ed. teachers make over $100k per year.  But the average teacher pay is $63k.

  The format looks more like traditional homeschooling except that the resources of the state are covering the cost. The parents provide the healthy home learning environment.  Progress and time spent in online study are always monitored and tutors have immediate access to how the student approaches academic commitment. It doesn't matter if the student likes evening studies better than mornings; or if the student is highly advanced in one subject, he's free to keep going forward in that area, while still catching up on his more challenging areas.
   Because the students remain at home, the teachers average about 30 students, each. That is why the teachers can make more money. Statewide, Oklahoma's conventional schools average about 16 students per teacher.
  Epic spends 85% of their funds on instruction. The Oklahoma public schools only average 55% on instruction. The national average is 61%
  Epic doesn't have a patent or exclusive license to operate this format. Any current school district can operate in this way. But Epic just does it more efficiently than anyone else is doing. Ben Harris & David Chaney have developed this system since it's conceptual stage.  If you wish to enroll a student at Epic, the process is simple and quick. Just click, here.

Ben Harris & David Chaney, of Epic