Will Oklahoma Rein In Epic Charter Failure?
By John Thompson.
As the Network for Public Education documents a billion dollars wasted on failed charter schools, the national news is full of the latest charter financial scandals stretching from New Jersey to California. We can’t forget, however, that virtual charters, like Oklahoma’s Epic for-profit charters, have the potential of producing even more harm to our poorest students. The millions of dollars invested in Epic allow adults to pretend that thousands of students have not been abandoned, merely because they have enrolled in the online school.
In March, Epic Charter School brought about 3,000 supporters to the Oklahoma Capitol in support for school choice and virtual schools. Epic’s well-funded public relations machine also filled the Capitol with the food, tee shirts, talking points, and the “swag” that has become an increasingly criticized part of the for-profit charter’s “aggressive marketing” campaigns. For instance, Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools explains that there are“very significant problems with the performance of the (virtual) schools.” He says, “One of the strategies to remaining open is making donations.” Zeibarth explains, “Epic uses giveaways of big-ticket items like concert tickets to reward referrals, and it recently opened a heavily branded children’s play area at (Oklahoma City’s) Penn Square Mall.”
Epic then tried to counter criticism of its students’ outcomes with the Oklahoma Cost Effectiveness Report, FY2014-FY2016 by Robert Sommers, an ally of corporate reformer Jeb Bush, and a founder and CEO of Carpe Diem Learning Systems, a heavily promoted, failed virtual charter school.
The Oklahoma Cost Effectiveness Report is a classic example of a “paper” by an “astroturf” political group, pretending to be research. Instead of offering a substantive evaluation of Oklahoma education outcomes, it merely offers graphics to illustrate political soundbites and provide“branded” content for the local press. It claimed that Epic charters rank 19thin the state in cost effectiveness.
Of course, this lobbying effort is nothing new, but it seems to be less effective than it used to be. so far, House Bill 1395 by Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, received bipartisan support in a 95-0 vote.The bill CONTINUE READING: Will Oklahoma Rein In Epic Charter Failure? - Living in Dialogue
