The Edmond Sun

Nov
Academic results show
16

2019

Page
why families voting
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55% with their feet
JONATHAN SMALL
PRESIDENT, OCPA If “investment” alone is failing to stem the
bleeding, let alone generate improvement, then
Government officials often refer to govern- more is needed.
ment spending as an “investment” to suggest a Policy changes must also be adopted. And
business approach is being applied to public parents in one of the state’s worst school sys-
policy. But if spending equals investment, then tems have highlighted one solution.
Oklahomans must ask, “What are the results?” Tulsa Public Schools faces a $20 million short-
When it comes to our school system, results fall. The district’s leadership blames its financial
are now worse than they were before problems on state funding cuts. But, as noted,
the “investment” of the past two the state has not been tightfisted over the last
years. two years. Instead, Tulsa’s true problem is that
On the National Assessment of students are leaving the district in droves and
Educational Progress, often called state funding is following them out the exits.
the nation’s report card, Oklahoma Where are those students going? According to
student scores declined in fourth the Tulsa World, 3,700 students left TPS for Epic
and eighth grade reading, were stag- Charter Schools, an online provider, from sum-
Small nant in fourth grade math, and mer 2013 to June 2019, while another 3,300 stu-
improved slightly in eight grade dents left for brick-and-mortar charter schools.
math (by a margin considered statistically Parents are taking stock of the results of state
insignificant). Oklahoma students remain below “investment” in districts like Tulsa, and are
the national average in all NAEP subjects. responding by voting with their feet and moving
On the ACT exam, Oklahoma students’ scores children to schools that produce better out-
declined in every subject this year. In fact, 46 comes.
percent of students failed to meet ACT college- The greatest challenge for those families is not
readiness benchmarks in any of the subjects a lack of state “investment” in schools; it’s a lim-
tested. ited array of school choices when their geo-
When Oklahoma state test results were graphically assigned school fails to deliver
released months ago, they showed academic results.
achievement was lower in 2019 than in 2017. In Combining school choice with greater educa-
every subject and grade tested, a majority per- tion funding is policymakers’ best path to
formed below grade level. improving Oklahoma’s education system and
Those declining results have occurred even student outcomes. Otherwise, next year may
though lawmakers increased K-12 school appro- end the same as this year — with policymakers
priations by 20% over the last two sessions. baffled that schools not only failed to improve
Some will object it’s unrealistic to expect a after tax-and-spending increases, but actually
dramatic turnaround in just over a year. I don’t got worse.
disagree. But is it unrealistic to think academic
results should at least stop declining after such Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public
huge spending increases? Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
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The Shawnee News-Star

EPIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

School announces local

honor society inductees
Nearly 200 EPIC Char- where more than 400 EPIC
ter School students from students were inducted
across the state will be into the two organizations.
inducted into the National Local students honored
Honor Society (NHS) and are:
National Junior Honor National Honor
Society (NJHS) in formal Society
ceremonies at Rose State Asher: Kassidi Fidler
College in Midwest City Shawnee: Kali Lawson
and at Tulsa Community National Junior
College Southeast on No- Honor Society
vember 14 and November Agra: Alec Wright
21 respectively. This fol- Wellston: Madisyn How-
lows a ceremony last May, ard
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
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The Norman Transcript
Little Axe district to offer virtual
academy beginning in January
By Emma Keith
Transcript Staff Writer
As Little Axe schools
steadily grow, the Nor-
man-based school district
is gearing up to offer its
expanding student body
more accessible learning
options.
In January 2020, Little
Axe will start offering a
virtual academy for all of
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
its high school and middle
school students. The pro-
gram is currently testing
the program with about
a dozen students with
special circumstances, but
will do a full rollout in the
spring.
Virtual school options
are growing more com-
mon in Oklahoma public
schools, Oklahoma Watch
reported in September.
While the state does
not track the number of
students that are enrolled
online, Oklahoma Watch
reports that at least 20
Oklahoma districts offer
fully online programs
and/or blended programs.
Norman Public Schools
recently joined that list
as the board of education
approved ExpandED, a
program offering fully vir-
tual or blended learning
options, in August 2019.
Virtual school, much
like online college
programs, will allow
Little Axe students to take
classes entirely online
— they’ll learn and do
homework through the
online curriculum. They’ll
still have access to tutors
and teachers within the
See VIRTUAL Page A8
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The Norman Transcript

suspended students who family circumstances and help them reach that goal “We can offer more growing — we’ve got addi-
Virtual: can’t be on campus during
normal school hours. She
more.
“It’s been very benefi-
of getting a high school
diploma and walking across
opportunities within the
school district — we can
tions going in, all kinds of
crazy stuff. We don’t have
From Page A1 has students with medical cial for the kids who don’t that stage and hopefully offer a teacher who’s going the room right now, so I
treatments that prevent actually qualify under the looking forward to their to be genuinely interested think it will help us be able
district as needed. While them from keeping a regu- state mandated alternative post secondary education in them,” Thomas said. “For to keep our class sizes small
the curriculum is entirely lar school schedule who education program require- or workforce.” the older kids, we can offer giving parents and kids the
online, Little Axe teachers can instead use the online ments — a lot of kids don’t Alongside using the specific tutors for specific different options.”
will grade online students’ program. The program also meet those standards, but program to create greater areas, not just one or two Little Axe is using an
work. offers options for home- still need that extra help,” accessibility for students, teachers.” online-specific curriculum
And online students can schooled students who may said Amber Harp, a Little Little Axe is responding to The online program that doesn’t exactly match
still be part of the district in want to continue taking Axe High School counselor. a greater trend administra- also lets Little Axe offer up with its in-person cur-
non-academic ways. classes at home, but want to Students who want to join tors have started to notice, more advanced classes it riculum, but Blakley said
“It’s going to give students be part of Little Axe com- the online program will still which is students leaving previously didn’t have the she’s working to line the
an opportunity to have an munity and extracurricular be evaluated by the district, for Epic Charter Schools. capacity for. Blakley said she two up, so students could
online school — where they programs. which will make sure online Epic is Oklahoma’s larg- believes the online program transition between them
can be at home if that’s “I’ve got kids in (the pro- classes are suited to their est charter school. The will give the district an edge mid-semester if needed. In
what’s needed — as well as gram) that are suspended... learning and working style, program, whose founders over other online options. the future, she’d like to see
participate in the extracur- we’re required to give Blakley said. But in the recently came under inves- “I found that they can a computer lab or building
ricular activities that we them services even though district’s short trial run this tigation by the Oklahoma play sports, they can be in dedicated to online students
have available,” said Little they’ve been suspended year, the blended online State Bureau of Investiga- choir competition, they can who need to visit campus,
Axe superintendent Jay for drugs or weapons or program has already given tion for alleged embezzle- be on the academic team — or for students who take
Thomas. “If they want to whatever,” Blakley said. “We more flexibility and acces- ment and forgery, offers they can still participate in some classes online and
play football, if they want still have to provide them sibility for students with mostly online education the extracurriculars,” Blak- some in person, she said.
to play basketball, softball, with their coursework, but tough circumstances, Harp with teachers available for ley said. “And we feel like “I just think it’s going
baseball, wrestle — what- usually that’s like, ‘pick up said. support. Epic does offer a that’s going to be our thing to open up a lot of doors,
ever they want to do, they a bunch of worksheets and “...Just being able to take few extracurriculars, such that Epic doesn’t have.” and it’s going to recreate
can still be involved in that do them on your own.’ So off some of the stress that as student council and Eventually, the online the education world that
and still have the online we figured this was a better comes with our teenagers “homeschool band,” but option might also reduce we know,” Blakley said “It’s
environment.” way to serve them.” — it’s family stress, friend does not offer sports for some of the district’s ever- going to change the way we
The virtual school allows The online program also stress, they have to work, students. increasing class sizes. Little look at things and just the
the district to offer some- opens a door for students they have to help support This year alone, Little Axe Axe currently has a student- individualized education for
thing a traditional school who don’t fit into Oklaho- their family or they’re pay- — a district of about 1,300 teacher ratio of 18:1 — right all students and having the
schedule might not: Acces- ma’s Alternative Education ing their own bills,” Harp students — lost about eight around the state average — choice to do things. And it’s
sibility. Programs. Alternative edu- said. “Some of them are students to Epic, Blakley and has been steadily grow- a work in progress.”
During the fall 2019 cation offers more flexible even working or living out said. Little Axe administra- ing over the last few years,
term, Little Axe Curricu- school schedules and op- on their own already and tors said with the online administrators said. Emma Keith
lum Director Emily Blakley tions for students who are supporting themselves, so program, they hope to “I think eventually it will 366-3537
said she’s been able to use at risk of dropping out due just being able to alleviate regain some of what they’ve help us maintain our class Follow me @emma_ckeith
the online program with to high absences, poverty, some of that stress but still lost. sizes,” Blakley said. “We are ekeith@normantranscript.com

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.