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School Board meeting highlights (June 22, 2021)
Posted on 06/22/2021
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The School Board of Orange County held its regularly-scheduled board meeting at 4:45 p.m. at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. These are the highlights of the meeting:

District accreditation review and presentation

System Accreditation Engagement Review is a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools. It is designed primarily to recognize institutions adhering to a set of educational standards and policies. The School Board was presented with engagement review findings by Dr. Mark Elgart, President/CEO of Cognia which included over 550 stakeholder interviews. The final report will be shared with all stakeholders in the fall. 

Recognized practices include:

  • Leadership that drives a unified culture, a collaborative team effort, purpose driven mission, and a persistent, unyielding commitment to success.

  • Commitment to authentic and impactful continuous improvement reflected from the board room to the classroom; from the Superintendent to the student; and from the parent to the business partner and in support of the system’s Strategic Direction.

  • Investment in a forward-thinking culture illustrated in several areas including the engagement of professional learning communities, fulfillment of 1:1 technology initiative, and equitable allocation of resources in support of the system’s key objectives. 

  • Embodiment of the system’s values by stakeholders at all levels including a commitment to an inclusive culture that strive for equity in all aspects of the learning process. 

View Accreditation Engagement Review Findings report

Group of people pose for a photoBoard approves Travel + Leisure Eatonville Scholarship Program  

The School Board approved a scholarship program agreement between Orange County Public Schools and Travel + Leisure Charitable Foundation. The program supports Edgewater, Evans and Wekiva high school graduates who are full-time residents of the Town of Eatonville and attended Hungerford Elementary. The scholarship program will begin during the 2021-2022 school year, to provide a maximum of 200 scholarships annually to include Florida state public colleges or universities, Florida community colleges and Florida technical scholarships. The program is targeted to promote educational opportunities within the Eatonville community. 

School Board approves the Foundation’s Board of Directors

The Board approved the 2021-22 Board of Directors for the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools. The Foundation for Orange County Public Schools was established in 1987 and is committed to providing schools and teachers the resources they need to help students succeed.

Foundation’s 2021-2022 list of board members and leadership.

Mental Health Assistance Allocation Plan renewed for the 2021-2022 school year

School board members voted to approve the renewal of the Orange County Public Schools Mental Health Allocation Plan for the upcoming school year. The funding allows for the continuum of services to meet the social, emotional, physical and mental health needs of students

Changes regarding administrative personnel

Superintendent Barbara Jenkins introduced the following new administrators:

Cara Backherms, assistant principal, OCPS Academic Center for Excellence

Francella Lewis, assistant principal, East River High

Taylierre Mack, assistant principal, College Park Middle

Rachel Mott, assistant principal, Sadler Elementary 

Susan Shaw, assistant principal, Westpointe Elementary

Bradley Shreffler, assistant principal, Evans High

Amanda Stewart, assistant principal, Lakemont Elementary

Korey Bawden, principal, Thornebrooke Elementary

Joshua Bing, principal, Conway Middle

Aski Derome Brown, principal, Maitland Middle

Jessica Camara, assistant principal, Rolling Hills Elementary

Angela Feliciano, principal, Eccleston Elementary

Jason Jimenez, principal, Legacy Middle

Randall Longhouse, principal, Wedgefield K-8

Natasha Pender, principal, Lancaster Elementary

Melanie Simmons, principal, Rock Lake Elementary

Eric Unger, principal, McCoy Elementary

Rebecca Yedvobnick, principal, Ridgewood Park Elementary  

*Reminder* School Board meetings are live-streamed on the School Board’s YouTube channel and will be accessible from web browsers on computers or mobile devices.