Educational Services Newsletter
March 2019
Accountability, Equity & School Support
ELPAC testing is in full swing!
Members of Orange Unified School District’s (OUSD) Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Middle School Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) were selected via a public lottery held at the Orange Unified School District Office on February 19th. Stakeholders serving on the committee include the following:
- Parents: one from each middle school, one from each district advisory committee, two elementary, one high school
- Staff: one teacher rep from each middle school, one elementary teacher rep, two OUSD nurses, one curriculum council member, two curriculum office staff members
- Medical/University: two medical professionals and/or university professors
The CRC will review available Adolescent Sexual Health Working Group (ASHWG) recommended middle school comprehensive sexual education curricula, using a rubric that are aligned with the tenets of the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA) and make a recommendation to Orange Unified’s Curriculum Council for further review. CRC meetings start in March and will continue throughout the school year. Meeting minutes will be posted on the Orange Unified School District’s website. In response to the OUSD Board of Education’s request for continued parent awareness of the CHYA legislation, Educational Services has implemented the following actions:
- Continued individual and small group information meetings with parents/community members on the components of CHYA
- Created an online CHYA informational podcast video for stakeholder groups that is easily accessible on the OUSD website
- Facilitated an online CHYA stakeholder input form that allows for stakeholder input. As well as an online CHYA question form that allows stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions and receive prompt feedback
- Continued attendance at the Health Educator's Network Forum to keep abreast of new resources to assist with implementation of the CHYA legislation
- Continued review of any new and/or updated curriculums/programs that meet the requirements of CHYA
If you would like to provide additional input to the CRC, you can do so via a form on OUSD's California Healthy Youth Act webpage.
OUSD’s Commitment to Social and Emotional Development Recognized by OCDE
- Student and Community Services is excited to continue our relationship with the Orange ELKS Club and Mr. Ray Lozano www.RayLozano.com. Two years ago Ray spoke to our high schools last year he spoke to our middle schools on the negative impact of drugs and the importance of making good decisions. This year Ray has developed a program for upper grade elementary students specifically around vaping. Ray and his daughter will be presenting at interested schools on April 8, 9, 10. Like in the past, this is a free of charge program sponsored by our good friends at the Orange ELKS. Specific locations and times will be shared as we get closer to the dates.
- On Wednesday January 27, 2019 Student and Community Services was invited to participate in an Orange Police Department (OPD) crisis response drill. In this drill the OPD opened their Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Scenario was a devastating earthquake and aftershock. OUSD now has a seat at the table in the EOC and will have access to real-time information to help us make informed and supported decisions. Another great benefit is that we have access to the public information officers for each of the departments. This allows us to create and deliver a unified message for our public.
- Saturday Enrichment Academy (SEA) Update: To date our Saturday school attendance recovery and academic enrichment program has recovered 3775 absences. Schools are reporting positive interactions with students and families. Some schools have struggled with numbers. In conversations with site leaders they report that families are telling them that the Saturday option interferes with previous commitments such as youth sports, volunteer obligations, and other family activities. We are pleased with the development of this opportunity and expect to see good returns in both student engagement and our bottom line.
- Reminder School Safe Plans are to be completed on Document Tracker and is due on March 1, 2019
Technology Services
As state reporting and data analytics have become ever more crucial to the success of our district, Chris Keeler has taken the position of Data and State Reporting Manager to focus our development in these areas. Our district follows suit with many others in dedicating a full-time employee to strategize, maintain, and ensure consistency for the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) data we send to the state for accountability purposes. In addition, Chris will be creating new multi-disciplinary processes to inform better decisions through analytics as well as reduce manual processes for all OUSD staff through automation. Also, the Information Technology team is currently deploying battery backup devices for networking equipment at all school site offices. These batteries will provide up to 30 minutes of run time for the office’s phones and wireless access points. Schools will be able to make and receive calls, as well as access Aeries by laptop during a power outages.
Educational Technology
Orange USD’s Educational Technology department continues to provide Instructional Support with a focus on STEM and Computer Science. Collaborations with the Curriculum department have led to STEM Walks and the development of progression of understanding on how different tools can lead to engagement and curriculum connections in the classroom. These include a STEM device evaluation that leads to a STEM lab where teachers can interact with the devices and make connections to the classroom. Schools then have an opportunity to schedule an innovation day where Instructional Specialists in Technology rotate through classrooms to provide example lessons at different grade levels connected to the curriculum with computer science. Further development of a district wide scope and sequence of computer science continues as Educational Technology is supporting the development of Jordan’s Academy of Language and Computer Science. This will help seed growth of computer science integration ideas across the district. The department is also involved in an action research project with California Elementary School as they look at an iPad take home summer program that will help students maintain and grow with intellectual knowledge over the summer involving parents, teachers and students in a blended learning model. The 1:1 program has reached its 4th year with over 400 teachers being supported in how to change the instructional environment at their school sites as they look at innovative pedagogy, tools and instructional practices that provide greater opportunities for students to succeed.
Student Achievement
The Student Achievement department has been very busy working with teachers to increase our understanding of assessments and their purposes. Using the The Formative Assessment Action Plan by Fisher and Frey, along with the Smarter Balanced summative assessment blueprints, we have taken a deep dive into understanding and utilizing assessments to support student learning. Through this work, the Student Achievement Committee identified listening as an area of focus, developed best practices for administering the interim assessments, and analyzed data to identify best steps. The committee has developed activities to support listening instruction in the classroom. These activities, available to all teachers through their MyOUSD Dashboard, are focused on teaching the listening standards. All activities include a brief assessment to support future instructional decision-making. This month the committee is developing a new listening common assessment, using IO Assessment, to assess student progress on the listening standards. These will be made available to all third grade – high school teachers in March.
Educational Services
Email: ousd@orangeusd.org
Website: https://www.orangeusd.org/departments/educational-services
Location: 1401 North Handy Street, Orange, CA, USA
Phone: 714-628-4466