The Foundation for Orange County Public Schools enlists the support of individuals, corporations and foundations to make a difference in the success of Orange County’s teachers and students. Here are some of examples of how community investments have impacted Orange County’s students:
Teacher Grant Program
Teacher Grant Program
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Progress Energy Math, Science and Energy Education Grant - Students at Jackson Middle School used critical thinking and problem-solving skills to program robots to navigate through biomedical engineering missions. The "Super Sensors Robotics & Engineering Program” helped students learn concepts in mechanics, force and motion, gear ratios, friction, potential energy, kinetic energy and oscillations as they built and programmed the robots to perform certain operations. The teacher reported that 95% of students achieved meaningful learning gains with 75% improving at least one letter grade. Low performing students achieved 20% learning gains in their mathematics assessments, and 28% learning gains in science assessments.
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University of Phoenix Read2Succeed Literacy Grant - At Rosemont Elementary, a low-performing elementary school, second grade students participated in the "Reading Challenge Book-Study” project. As the teacher’s classroom library lacked the appropriate leveled books for the students, funds were used to purchase quality books that were challenging and accommodated the various reading levels of the students. The teacher reported that there was a 202% increase in the number of books read between the 1st and 3rd marking period. Additionally, classroom participation increased by 100% and the percent of at-risk readers decreased. During the 1st marking period, 68.8% of students were determined to be at-risk, but by the 4th marking period that percentage had shrunk to 18.8%.
Homeless Student Support
- More than 3,000 homeless students are attending Orange County Public Schools. To support these students and their families, the Foundation partnered with the district’s Homeless Education Liaisons to meet the physical and emotional needs of the homeless student population. The Foundation solicited community support and has raised more than $54,000 that is being accessed by school social workers throughout the year to provide clothing, hygiene kits, bus passes and cover fees associated with field trips, sports and extra-curricular events such as prom for students in grades K – 12.
