Orange County schools share success stories with CUBE members
About 60 school leaders from urban districts got a first-hand look at a local school as part of a site visit sponsored by the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE).
After a breakfast briefing by Orange County Public Schools officials, participants chose one of three rapidly improving schools to visit.
“Turning around schools that aren’t performing well is a challenge,” said CUBE Director Katrina Kelley. “By having the chance to see another district in operation and see how it’s been succeeding for the students, I think board members got some ideas they can take back to their own districts.”
The Orange County school district, with an enrollment of 176,000 students, has triumphed over many of the hardships facing large, urban districts. It has raised its graduation rate from 49.5 percent in 2000 to 71.7 percent and has earned a grade of B from the state for the third year in a row.
Eleven of Orange County’s 17 high schools have been identified by Newsweek as being among the top 5 percent of high schools in the nation.
One of those schools, Oak Ridge High School, was part of the CUBE site visit.
Despite poor performance in the past, Oak Ridge’s scores in reading, math, and science on Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) improved from 2006 to 2007. Scores also improved in these areas at Jones High School, also on the CUBE tour.
“Both have been struggling high schools for a long time,” said Orange County Superintendent Ronald Blocker.
He credits the improvements in student achievement to special programs like Advanced Placement and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which prepares students for higher education. About 95 percent of students in AVID go to college.
The third school on the CUBE visit, Stonewall Jackson Middle School, was recently named one of two National Demonstration AVID schools in Florida.
The number of students taking exams for college credit has increased more than 300 percent since 2001, Blocker said, adding, “We’re putting a lot of resources in our inner-city schools.”
Orange County leaders also recognize that successful students need a safe and modern learning environment. Board members who visited Jones toured the school’s new $58 million facility, and visitors to Oak Ridge observed the school’s ongoing renovations.
“We’re in the middle of one of the largest building programs in the nation,” said school board member Kathleen Gordon. “We were granted a $2.5 billion facility contract to build new schools and renovate old schools.”
To raise expectations, Orange County also set a lofty goal in its mission statement. The district aspires to be “the top producer of successful students in the nation,” Blocker said. “That’s a heavy challenge but we’re going to go for it.”
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