EPIC showcases Native languages program developed with Seminole partners; student shares personal impact
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Summary
EPIC staff demonstrated an interactive Native languages curriculum developed with tribal partners, described plans to scale and shared a student testimony about cultural reconnection.
EPIC One‑on‑One Charter School staff presented an in‑development Native languages course April 9, describing partnerships with tribal language programs, a multi‑department build and early local recognition for the effort.
Kevin, a member of the team operations group who led the presentation, said EPIC is designing the courses using a communicative language teaching approach and a web‑authoring tool so a single course can be delivered in Schoology or Buzz for both synchronous and asynchronous learners. He said the design emphasizes conversational fluency rather than vocabulary lists and that some AI tools have been used to help generate dialogues and animations for the curriculum.
Tara Damron, identified as a member of the Osage Nation, and Jennifer Morrison, a native languages specialist, joined the presentation and described internal collaborations across instructional design, grant management and educational technology. Staff told the board they have a consulting and licensing agreement with at least one other tribe and that the Seminole Nation language department has been a critical external partner; EPIC also has a partnership with the Seminole Nation Boys & Girls Club to broaden access.
Student Jennifer Trevino spoke to the board about her experience in the program. “I’ve been in the language program for about two years now, and it’s been great. I cannot say a negative thing about my experience,” she said, adding that the program helped her reconnect with culture through activities such as beading and making ribbon skirts. Her mother, Jamie, told the board she has watched Jennifer’s confidence grow and thanked staff for facilitating the student’s cultural learning.
Board members asked about scalability and grade levels. Kevin said the current design is for a two‑year high‑school sequence that can fulfill world‑language requirements; staff plan to extend the program to a four‑year high‑school offering before moving into middle‑grade curriculum. The team emphasized that elementary expansion is not currently part of the design.
Staff said the program has already attracted national interest; EPIC was invited to speak at a National Native American Languages Resource Center summit at the University of Hawaii at Hilo before that event was rescheduled. The presentation closed with board appreciation for the partnerships and the student testimony.
