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School Board meeting highlights (April 27, 2021)
Posted on 04/27/2021
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The School Board of Orange County held its regularly-scheduled board meeting at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. These are the highlights of the meeting:

School Board statement regarding Bright Futures 

Board members by consensus agreed to issue the following statement regarding the Bright Futures program and any potential legislative changes. 

“The mission of the School Board of Orange County is to create enriching and diverse pathways to lead our students to success. The Bright Futures program has become an important part of many students' post-secondary planning, and the key to their success beyond high school. Predictability of funding for our families is important as they plan out the post-secondary future of their children. We are deeply concerned that the recent proposed legislative changes to the Bright Futures program will jeopardize the hard work and planning of our students and will disproportionately impact children experiencing poverty and middle class families.”

 

April and May proclamations for Orange County Public Schools

National Arab American Heritage Month

Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-8

National School Nurse Day May  12

Mental Health Awareness Month and National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Better Hearing and Speech Month

National Foster Care Month

Building Safety Month

Internal Audit Awareness Month

School Lunch Hero Day May 7


School Board reviews 2021 Summer School plans

The school board heard from district leadership representing the Curriculum and Digital Learning Office on proposed plans for the 2021 summer school programs and funding. 

Summer School programs include:

  • Elementary and Secondary Acceleration Enrichment Camps
  • Elementary and Secondary Social Emotional Learning
  • ESE: Extended School Year
  • Multilingual Services Summer Programs
  • Advanced Studies Summer Programs
  • Early Childhood Programs 

View the Summer Programs 2021 presentation to the school board.  


School Board approves electrocardiogram screenings for high school athletes 

School Board members approved high schools to require electrocardiogram (ECG) screenings for students wishing to participate in athletic programs. Electrocardiogram (ECG) screenings help identify athletes who are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest which is the leading cause of death in athletics. ECGs will be required of all high school student-athletes prior to the start of their 2021-2022 FHSAA season. Through local medical providers and organizations, ECGs will be offered on high school campuses. 

 For additional information, please see the PowerPoint presentation.  

 

School Board approves school rezonings  

The board approved two targeted rezonings to take effect in August 2021 and five relief rezonings for August 2022. All of the proposed options made by the Student Enrollment Office take numerous factors into consideration including: enrollment projections, demographics, free and reduced meals, English-Language Learners (ELL), and Exceptional Student Education (ESE). The options presented to the school board came after staff from the Student Enrollment Office held community meetings with residents.   

 Those rezoning areas include:

  • Hamilton Gardens: targeted rezoning for August of 2021 affecting Horizon and West Orange High Schools 
  • Sanctuary at Lakes of Windermere: targeted rezoning for August of 2021 affecting Independence and Sunset Park Elementary Schools, and Bridgewater and Horizon West Middle Schools 
  • Relief school 30-E-SE-3: relief rezoning impacts Meadow Woods, Wetherbee and Wyndham Lakes Elementary Schools when it opens in August of 2022 
  • Relief school 90-K8-N-7relief rezoning impacts Wolf Lake and Zellwood Elementary Schools; Apopka & Wolf Lake Middle Schools when it opens in August of 2022 
  • Relief school 132-M-W-4relief rezoning impacts Bridgewater, Horizon West & Sun Ridge Middle Schools when it opens in August of 2022 
  • Relief schools 89-E-W-4 and 114-E-W-4relief rezoning impacts Castleview, Summer Lake, Water Spring, Whispering Oak, Independence & Keene’s Crossing Elementary Schools when they open in August of 2022 

View the PowerPoint presented to the Board.

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