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Poteau Daily News

e depth the com/ or call (918) 658-4007. hosting a small business (See FORUM, page 2)

Youth pursues public service

Washington serves page
By Dianna F. for the Howe Volunteer
Dandridge-Rystrom Fire Department and
PDN Reporter will begin training as an
EMT in August.
With a natural bent “I already do a lot
for helping people, serv- of work through the
ing as a page for state Choctaw Nation. Chief
Rep. Lundy Kiger only (Gary) Batton knew
served to make Joshua about me and put my
Washington more fo- name in so I didn’t
cused on his future of have to fill out the ap-
serving others. plication like the rest
Washington, who of the kids,” Washing-
turned 18 on Tuesday, ton said.
will graduate from the While serving as a
Epic Charter online page, Washington par-
school this month. He ticipated in mock legis-
has been helping people lative debates, gutting an
for years, but a taste old bill, reshaping it and
of public service only getting it passed, as well
served to whet that ap- as meeting the legislators Joshua Washington, local student, member of
petite. where they work. the Choctaw Nation, soon-to-be-graduate of Epic
Washington already Charter Schools, debates a mock bill during his time
serves as a firefighter (See PAGE, page 2) spent as a page for state Rep. Lundy Kiger.

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

PAGE
Washington was one
of 12 Oklahoma students
who were selected to work
DV D SDJH GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW
session of the 57th Legis-
lature.
“I like the feeling of
people being proud of me,
like my mom,” he said. “I
work through the Choctaw
Youth Advisory Board.”
Washington said he has
a need to reach out to peo-
ple and help where he can.
His mother is an RN and
his father was a Mason.
He plans on working
as an EMT/paramedic be-
fore completing his RN
training, but he said his
ultimate goal is to run for
a position as a state repre-
sentative.
“I want to help pass
bills to actually help the
community, not just one
person.”

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Enid News & Eagle
EPS school board discusses
May
29
upcoming ePREP program
By Mitchell Willetts
2019 Staff Writer
Enid Public Schools
Page Board of Education had a
A008 lengthy discussion regard-
ing the districts’ upcom-
Clip ing ePREP online learning
resized program during its monthly
47% meeting Tuesday night.
With the online program,
the district will be able to
provide blended classroom
experiences to students,
meaning students could take
a certain number of classes
online at home, and a cer-
tain number in a traditional
classroom setting.
Doug Stafford, assistant
superintendent of secondary
education, said the program
will offer a lot of flexibility,
that the most appropriate
combination of online and
in-person education can be
tailored to each student who
chooses to participate.
The district plans to
make ePREP available by
the start of next school year.
Earlier in the year, in an
effort to determine the pop-
ularity of virtual schooling,
Stafford reached out to EPIC
Online Charter Schools, and
asked how many EPS stu-
dents had withdrawn from
the district, to instead enroll
with EPIC.
The answer was 250 stu-
dents, he said.
“That is not unique
to this district, that is
happening all over the
state,” Superintendent
Darrell Floyd said, the pop-
ularity of digital learning
has continued to grow state-
wide.
Floyd expressed confi-
dence that EPS can offer a
better online learning expe-
rience than other programs
on the market, because it is
bolstered by the infrastruc-
ture and staff of an entire
public school district. More
resources and more teachers
will be available to help stu-
dents who opt for a primari-
ly virtual education.
If students are strug-
gling, they can come to any
physical school building
and get assistance from a
teacher.
Currently, the district
is considering instituting
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
“response coaching,” which
would be after-school tutor-
ing Monday through Friday,
and also on Saturday,
Stafford said.
Stafford also provided
more details on the applica-
tion and acceptance process
for ePREP.
“We want to make sure
before we’re putting anyone
in that program, that we’re
vetting them well, and mak-
ing sure the student has all
the supports they need,” he
said.
All applications will be
reviewed by a committee
made up of school adminis-
trators and faculty, and the
members determine what
would be “educationally
appropriate” for the student.
“We know this program
is not for every student ...
we’re always going to sug-
gest and recommend that
students participate in the
face to face, every day
education setting,” Floyd
said. “But for those stu-
dents who do choose this
online avenue, we want
to insure they’re getting a
quality education, and that
there’s follow up interac-
tion between students and
teachers.”
Administrators said they
aren’t certain of how much
participation they will see in
the program.
“I don’t think we’ll know
the true impact until we get
through a full year of imple-
mentation ... but we will
need to monitor this closely
throughout the next school
year such that we can report
back,” Floyd said.
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Stafford predicts that
participation will be small,
at least initially.
“I don’t see more that 2%
of our current population
even being remotely inter-
ested ... but we don’t have
a specific number, we just
know we can’t grow fast-
er than we can find staff,”
he said, adding that current
staffing should be enough
to meet demands that arise
within the early years of
implementation.
Following the discus-
sion on ePREP, the board
addressed new hires for
the 2019-2020 school year,
approving Amanda Rader
as principal of McKinley
Elementary School, April
Stanley as principal of
Taft Elementary School
and Tonya Rowe for assis-
tant principal at Enid High
School.
The district also official-
ly hired a childcare direc-
tor, Courtney Reuss, for the
planned low cost daycare
center for EPS employees.
Randy Rader, assistant
superintendent of elemen-
tary education, said that the
daycare center still is on
schedule to open in time for
the start of the 2019-2020
school year.
5613 N. Oakwood Rd.
580-242-2488
www.insuranceservicesnw.com
Supplements
 El Reno Tribune
Edmond hockey
May
school not a charter
29 By JENNIFER PALMER
Oklahoma Watch
2019 A hockey-themed
charter school
Page planning to open this
A010 fall in Edmond does
Clip
not have authorization
resized to operate, according
55% to the state Education
Department.
Calling itself the
Oklahoma Hockey
Academy, the school
plans to charge
$6,000 for hockey
instruction but use
Epic Charter Schools
free curriculum while
providing a teacher
and classroom on-
site, according to an
April 30 article in the
Edmond Sun.
Under state law,
charter schools are
prohibited from
charging tuition or
fees.
Charter schools
are also required to
have an authorized
sponsor, a school
district or other
entity that ensures
the school meets
certain standards,
and be accredited by
the state Education
Department.
When contacted
last week, the
department had
no record of the
school’s application.
Gordon Bell, the
school’s organizer,
did not respond to
an email or phone
calls from Oklahoma
Watch requesting
further information.
In response to a
Facebook message,
the Oklahoma Hockey
Academy said it is
unable to discuss
anything with the
media “due to legal
reasons.”
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
Epic does not
have a formal
partnership with the
program, said Bart
Banfield, an assistant
superintendent for
Epic. But he added
it makes sense that
participants in that
program would use
Epic’s model.
“A lot of our
students participate at
a high level in athletic
endeavors, including
hockey, ice skating
and even rodeo. We’re
happy to provide an
academic home for
exceptional student
athletes,” Banfield
said.
Opening a new
charter school takes
a considerable
number of steps.
For the state’s two
newest charter
schools — LeMonde
International School
in Norman and The
Academy of Seminole
— the process
took several years.
Typically, charters
have to first apply for
authorization to the
local school district in
their area.
An Edmond Public
Schools spokeswoman
said the district
had not heard of the
Oklahoma Hockey
Academy.