Dear OCPS Families, Employees and Community Members:
When I was selected to serve as the Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, I was honored to be chosen to lead this remarkable organization. I have dedicated my life to creating learning environments where all children feel safe, supported, and successful. That is my focus as your superintendent.
My 100 Days Entry Plan served as a foundation from which to build a promising future for our community, for our employees and most importantly for our students. What follows is a summary of my first 100 days as superintendent and what I’ve learned from spending time with all of our stakeholders.
Entry Plan Pillars
Entry Plan Goals
· Ensure effective transition
· Develop trusting, collaborative relationships
· Create opportunities to listen
· Reach out with new modes of engagement
· Collaborate with OCCTA and OESPA
· Learn more about existing barriers
· Build excitement and momentum
· Establish a commitment to adjustments
Entry Plan Activities
· 50 School Visits
· One-on-one meetings with board members
· Planning with senior leadership
· Mondays with Maria
· 44 Town Hall Meetings
22 for employees; 22 for parents and community members
· ThoughtExchange
· Establish Advisory Councils
“My commitment to you is to listen, learn, and engage with all stakeholders”
Observational Strengths
· Multiple pathways for students
· Plethora of resources
· Professional development and planning days
· Mental health supports
· Dedicated staff
· Parent and community engagement
· Clubs, sports, visual and performing arts
· Technology
· Professional Learning Communities
· Intervention programs
· Diversity of staff
· Consistent safety protocols
· Community partnerships
· District support at Community Partnership schools
Observational Concerns
· Lack of standards-based instruction
· Effective systems and structures are not consistent
· Vacancies impacting instruction
· Many new teachers/new clientele of teachers
· Managing vs. leading
· Capacity building needed
· Monitoring is a challenge
· Lack of student processing time vs. teacher talk time
· Discipline and behavior concerns
· Attendance
· Low expectation vs. high expectation for students
· Increase in English Language Learners
· Mental health needs
· Ratio of schools in learning communities
Student Academic Summative Assessment Findings
· Across all comparisons, gaps persist
· English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science and social studies trendlines between comparison and target groups have been moving along parallel trajectories
· Changes to gaps are largely similar to state
· Declines in all content areas in almost all subgroups since pandemic
· Graduation rates are showing slight declines
My entry plan goal was to identify things that were going well within the district as well as things that needed to be improved. Here is a summary of my findings:
Town Halls Summary
The 44 town hall meetings used a platform called ThoughExchange, which allowed participants to not only share their own thoughts, but to rate the thoughts of others. Below you will find a summary of the highest-rated thoughts shared by participants across all of the town hall meetings.
Name one thing that is going well in OCPS and should be continued:
Employees
• Excitement of having in-person interaction with Superintendent
• Bringing back pre-pandemic activities
• Arts and music programs
• Better communication
• Many hard-working teachers and administrators
Parents / Community Members
• Having in-person interaction with Superintendent
• District’s current use of technology with students
• Support for diverse students
• Students at multiple schools with great teachers
• Teacher communication
Name one thing that needs immediate attention and can be improved or changed:
Employees
• Ensure swifter and more assertive responses to student disciplinary infractions
• Increase compensation for staff
• Ensure staff have proper air conditioning for working conditions
• Veteran teacher pay
• Teacher appreciation
Parents / Community Members
• Compensation for staff
• Adding resources for non-college-bound students
• Taking gun threats in the classroom more seriously
• Safety in schools
• Bullying, racism, and gun control in schools
How do you feel about the way OCPS or your school communicates with you and what would you change?
Employees Parents / Community Members
• Staff receive communication prior to parents
• Current level and variety of communication is good
• Process should continue
• Anonymous surveys are good, but should include ES, MS, HS levels
• More need for dialogue versus top down communication
• Continue town halls
• Current various forms of communication are working
• Love lots of communication that is happening
• Great job
• It is efficient
First 100 Days Key Takeaways
• Address compensation
• Greater support for administrators, teachers and support staff
• Inconsistencies in enforcing the Code of Student Conduct
• Student achievement is stagnant
• New standards pose challenge
• Staffing concerns across all divisions
• Continue to expand pathways for students
• More autonomy
• Increase support of ESE and ELL students
• Expand employee pipelines across all divisions
Next Steps
• Renewed Organizational Structures
o Focused on building the capacity of leaders, teachers and support staff
• Strengthen Mental Health Supports
o Continue to provide direct services to schools and revamp curriculum to provide authentic experiences for our students
• Focus on Rebuilding Climate and Culture
o Safe learning and working environments
o Celebrate and support the people and the work
• Align Funding to Strategic Plan and Organizational Priorities
• Expand ThoughtExchange Conversations
• Expand Behavioral Supports
o Middle school EBD and ASD Model
o Increase in behavior support personnel to assist schools
• Establish Earned Autonomy Framework
• Early Literacy Focus
• Review Strategies and KPIs in Strategic Plan
• Explore Outcome-based Contracting
• Intensify Recruitment and Retention Efforts
o Telework, bonus and supplements for hard-to-fill positions, returning retirees, expansion of DROP, planning days, skills-based hiring
