She says her scores were lower than other teachers’ in part because she refused to withdraw students who did not test well.
Waller says Epic terminated her employment citing her students’ test scores. Principals also receive bonus payments based on students’ scores. She says the pressure to withdraw increased in January or February, as state testing approached.Ītchley, too, alleges her principal, Kristie Surface, pressured her to withdraw students, told her “she needed to dump all her students that reduced bonuses” and once called a low-performing student a “waste of time,” according to the lawsuit. Waller, in the lawsuit, alleges her principal, Jodie Shupe, insisted certain students be withdrawn from her roster for truancy and those students always happened to be low-performing based on benchmarking exams. “Epic’s business model depended on terminating a significant number of teachers, while retaining the students that the teachers had recruited,” Waller’s lawsuit alleges. However, Epic pays out the bonuses the following year, and only if employees are still employed with Epic at the time. Get the inside scoop on jobs, salaries, top office locations, and CEO insights. Teachers were told they could earn significantly more at Epic than other schools. Find out what works well at Epic Charter School from the people who know best. The lawsuits were filed Friday in Oklahoma County District Court Epic’s lawyers have not yet filed responses.īoth lawsuits allege Epic recruited teachers based on a bonus structure that allows teachers an opportunity to earn double their base salary. Waller was hired in 2013 and Atchley in 2017 both were fired in June 2018 and say they are owed all or part of their bonus payment for the 2017-18 school year.Įpic has previously denied the allegations. The lawsuits, by Noelle Waller and Shauna Atchley, also raise issues with the virtual school’s employment practices, such as its bonus pay system. The school is authorized by the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to serve students statewide. Two other teachers who filed notices have not yet filed lawsuits. Epic Charter Schools is an accredited school system that serves students in all Oklahoma counties. Notices that the teachers intended to sue were previously filed with the school, as reported by Oklahoma Watch in June. Two former teachers have filed lawsuits against Epic Charter Schools, alleging they were fired for pushing back against pressure to manipulate the enrollment of their students.
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