Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/author/jenniferpalmer/)
Who’s responsible for oversight of Epic Charter Schools? In light of accusations revealed by Oklahoma Watch and others detailed in a state investigator’s report, have overseers done enough to put a check on the state’s largest virtual school? State officials have asked for an investigative audit, but where it will lead is unclear.
A state investigator’s search warrant filed in court seeks evidence of alleged embezzlement of state funds and obtaining money under false pretenses at Epic Charter Schools, including through the use of “ghost students” who receive little or no instruction at the school.
One of the state’s most contentious education initiatives, the Reading Sufficiency Act, is fully funded for the first time. Will more support for struggling readers reduce the number of students who are retained?
Administrators at Epic Charter Schools have been allowing, encouraging or pressuring teachers to manipulate students’ enrollment for years in order to improve employees’ bonus pay, according to at least seven former teachers.
Which schools had the highest-scoring students on the 2018 ACT college-readiness exam?
A hockey-themed charter school planning to open this fall in Edmond does not have authorization to operate, according to the state Education Department.
Sixty-five years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down racial segregation in public schools, setting in motion great currents of change that no one foresaw. Our story, video and images reflect on the impact, then and now, of Brown v. Board of Education on Oklahoma City Public Schools.
Moore Public Schools plans to cancel its weekly class for gifted students and instead focus on a science, technology, engineering, art and math program for all students. Some parents and advocates for gifted students think their children will lose a valuable part of their education.
When a rural, southeastern Oklahoma school district was struggling and on the verge of closing, Epic Charter Schools stepped in. The deal, which expanded its “blended learning” presence beyond the two metro areas, allowed Epic to have the trappings of traditional public schools and receive a cut of the funds, as well as gain a toehold in rural Oklahoma.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has abandoned a 2017 effort by the state to push schools to funnel more dollars into the classroom or risk consolidation.