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In this Message:

• Educational Results Partnership Honor Roll Schools
• COVID-19 Vaccination Update
• Measure S Updates
• Facilities Master Planning
• LCAP Survey
• CARES Interest Survey

Upcoming Events

• January 25: Facilities Master Plan Virtual Town Hall, Villa Park HS Feeder Schools
• January 27: El Modena High School Showcase
• January 28: Cerro Villa Incoming 7th Grade Parent Night; Running Springs IB Parent Information Night
• February 3: Canyon High School Showcase
• February 11: Board of Education Meeting
• February 12 – 15: Presidents Day Holiday

Dear OUSD Community,

Yesterday, we received notice that the District received approval for a South Coast Air Quality Management District Carl Moyer Infrastructure Program grant for up to $910,084 based on eligible costs. This grant allows for a full upgrade and expansion of our existing compressed natural gas (CNG) compressors and CNG charging station infrastructure at the Transportation Yard.

This funding is in addition to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District’s Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund Transit Bus program that awarded Orange Unified seven electric-powered school buses – worth $2.8 million - as part of this grant process. Fun fact: We are now the first school district to have electric-powered school buses with luggage compartments on the exterior of the bus.

We are also pleased to share that the Nutrition Services Department received $612,507 in supplemental funding from the CARES ACT to reimburse the cost of 816,676 meals served to those in need between March and August 2020. It is anticipated that if funds are still available after the March to August reimbursement period, we may receive an additional $547,000 for September - December 2020.

Congratulations to Anaheim Hills Elementary, El Modena High, Prospect Elementary, Villa Park High, and West Orange Elementary for each being named an Honor Roll school by Educational Results Partnership (ERP), a data science organization that recognizes schools with high performance in Math and Science.

Sponsored by the Campaign for Business and Education Excellence, the ERP Honor Roll is the only school recognition program in the state that uses student achievement outcome data, and is a valuable resource for all schools to identify successful peers and learn about best practices that improve student success. For more information about Educational Results and the ERP Honor Roll program, visit www.edresults.org.

The County of Orange, together with Orange County fire services, has launched an effort named ‘Operation Independence’ to complete all County COVID-19 vaccinations by July 4, 2021. Vaccines are being given to the public in a phased, tiered approach.

We are pleased to share that the first tier, 1A, now includes staff beyond our nurses, including school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and various special education staff. Hopefully, vaccines will be made available to additional educational institution employees in the upcoming weeks.

Individuals who register at Othena.com will receive an e-mail to schedule a vaccination appointment once they are eligible. Once successfully registered, you can download the free smartphone app from the Othena website or through the Apple store for iPhones. Android device users can download the app through Google Play or by visiting Othena.com.

Othena platform specialists at the HCA Hotline can assist with questions related to the app and vaccine appointments. They can be reached at support@compositeapps.net, or 714-834-2000, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To view a list of those who are eligible to receive a vaccine, visit the OC Health Care Agency’s website: https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/phased-approach-vaccine-distribution.

Measure S Phase I construction continues to progress at El Modena, Villa Park, and Canyon High School.

El Modena High School’s STEM Center project’s framing is complete, and roofing will begin in the next two weeks. These are major steps toward final completion because once the roof and walls are up, interior work can be expedited.

Villa Park High School’s STEM Center is making headway and moving closer to scheduled completion. The ground floor walls have started to get framed in, and the second-story concrete floor has been poured. As required by code, fireproofing of the steel structure continues with the installation of a sprinkler system. In addition, the installation of the HVAC ductwork has begun.

Canyon High School’s STEM Center is also progressing well, with framing of the exterior walls being put in place while finalization of preparation for ground-level concrete takes place.

We are so excited to see these beautiful facilities come together and can’t wait until we can open them up for our students and community.

This past week, we held three virtual Town Hall Meetings to discuss conceptual drawings that have been prepared for the Facilities Long-Range Master Plan. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had over 100 community members participate in the discussions about the Canyon High and El Modena family of schools. On Thursday, we had 85 participants in the Orange High family of schools discussion.

We look forward to meeting with the Villa Park High family of schools on Monday for our final Town Hall session. To learn more about the Facilities Master Plan process, please visit orangeusd.org/FMP

The District is collecting anonymous parent responses from parents, teachers, and students to allow them to provide input on our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). Your feedback is crucial to help guide the LCAP for the 2021-2022 school year. The survey is open through February 5. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

We are already in the planning stages for the upcoming school year and are currently unsure if we will have enough interest to offer fee-based childcare (CARES for TK-Grade 6) for 2021-2022 at the sites that currently offer the EDGE Club. If you are interested in childcare next year, please fill out the CARES Interest Form. This is only an interest form and not a registration form. As of today, we are unsure if we will be able to offer the parent paid program and this information will be of great help to our planning. Our aim is to let families know of the plans for childcare next year sometime after spring break.

We invite you to take a moment to follow Orange Unified on social media to receive the District’s latest news and announcements. Social media may also be a critical line of communication during emergencies and will be an excellent place for you to get up to date information: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube