Sustainability and Education

Orange County has built an outstanding education environment for our children, college students, and adults of all ages. Access to high quality education and lifelong learning provides people with opportunities to develop their social, intellectual, economic, cultural and physical potential.

Involvement Opportunities

Progress on our goals & strategies

Goal 26: Children Enter School Ready To Learn

Table for Goal 26: Children Enter School Ready to Learn
Number	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019
1.	Establish a Children's Services Council (CSC) to administer programs funded by a special assessment	Long	Additional budget funding was provided for children's services.
2.	Develop a parent engagement strategy	Medium	Head Start continues to offer monthly parent meetings and opportunities to engage families. Enrichment activities are also offered to help parents extend their child's learning at home. OCPS offers 5 parent academies each year with a variety of 45-minutes sessions offered to parents. Special mini-sessions are offered by the Early Childhood team for parents of children - birth to ages 4/5. On-going effort.
3.	Promote Healthy Families Orange, Nurse-Family Partnerships, and voluntary pre-kindergarten programs	Medium	Healthy eating is part of the curriculum for Head Start students. On-going effort.

Goal 27: Learners Value The Environment

Education Progress Table, Goal 27
	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019	Progress
1.	Enhance student science curriculum by bringing in living laboratories and setting up gardens in schools	Long	Cooperative Extension put on a week long STEM camp for youth. Our 4-H Youth Develpoment program supports 6 robotics clubs, one of which won state, regional and national competition honors in 2019. 37 school gardens are supported. School gardens are not required by OCPS.	75% complete
2.	Promote field trips and hands-on activities that enhance student appreciation for the environment	Medium	New STEM curriculum was added to the current strategies at all summer camp locations serving approximately 1000 children. Additionally, environmental education stations at Moss Park field day were provided to 650 K-3 students. Tibet-Butler Preserve and the Vera Carter Environmental Center reached a total of 3,315 K-3 students. Shadow Bay Park provided a new interpretive trail and guide through their endangered Scrub ecosystem. On-going effort.	100% complete

Goal 28: Schools Embrace Stem/Steam

Table for Goal 28: Schools Embrace STEM/STEAM
	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019	Progress
1.	Engage students in math and science from a play and project-based perspective	Long	A new project-based learning unit was created in OCPS; the garden-themed unit integrating math, science, and ELA standards. Science instruction emphasizes a hands-on, engaging approach to increase student interest and understanding of science concepts. In VPK (PreK), students use Beebots, child-friendly programmable robots, to explore math and ELA concepts.
2.	Identify partners for immersive learning before high school	Long	OCPS partners with the Orlando Science Center to promote immersive science experiences for students. The partnership with Universal Orlando continues to be a strong career awareness program for our visual and performing arts students. Students have the opportunity for paid internship posts at Universal and scholarships to Valencia.
3.	Engage industry clusters of STEAM professionals in creating student learning experiences	Long	Through the Florida Simulation Summit, we have engaged Orlando Tech and UCF to have students attend and participate.

Goal 29: Students Graduate Prepared For Life

Table for Goal 29: Students Graduate Prepared for Life
Number	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019
1.	Increase funding and support for nurse, counseling, and mental health services in schools	Long	No progress provided from OCPS in this reporting period.
2.	Provide internship and mentorship programs early on	Long	On-going efforts within Head Start, Community Action, EPD and other OC departments continue to provide opportunities for internship and mentorship programs.
3.	Evaluate previously successful programs for potential restoration and funding	Medium	Orange County Family Services Department has hired a consultant to evaluate children and youth programs throughout Orange County. On-going effort.

Goal 30: Quality Learning Opportunities Are Available For All Ages

Table for Goal 30: Quality Learning Opportunities Are Available For All Ages
Number	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019
1.	Create opportunities for sustainability education, green job training, and retraining for occupations of the future	Long	Partner with Orange Technical College and promote their efforts at the annual Florida Simulation Summit.
2.	Strengthen ties with colleges and universities	Medium	Work closely with Orange Technical College, UCF and Valencia on economic development initiatives throughout Orange County and the region.

Goal 31: Schools Are Community Centers

Table for Goal 31: Schools Are Community Centers
Number	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019
1.	Reinforce and standardize community school model	Long	OCPS is using school building prototypes to standardize community school models. Task complete.
2.	Locate schools in central community locations with compatible design	Medium	School siting ordinance developed. Task complete.
3.	Use schools as joint-use facilities	Long	OCPS facilitates joint use opportunities when and where they are possible. Task complete.

Goal 32: Schools Operate Sustainably

Table for Goal 32: Schools Operate Sustainably
Number	Strategy	Time Frame	Strategy Progress Information for 2019
1.	Locate and build schools sustainably	Long	OCPS attempts to locate schools in areas which foster walking and biking to campus. Task complete.
2.	Operate schools sustainably	Medium	OCPS has an Environmental Compliance Program with a commitment to sustainability in several specific areas; Recycling/Solid Waste, Reuse, Energy, Water, and Transportation. A Sustainability Report is released annually and available on the ocps.net website. Task complete.
3.	Create sustainable and healthy options for getting to and from school	Medium	The Orange County Student Pedestrian Safety Committee meets monthly to discuss safety improvement projects, sidewalks , ADA ramps, and traffic control devices. New 5 mast arm overhead school zone assemblies are in design. New school zones are regularly evaluated and 300 crossing guards were trained. Pedestrian Safety continues to be messaged with 201 pedestrian crossing evaluations, 24 Walk-Ride-Thrive! safety events, 5 Traffic Signal Boxes, 7 billboards, I-Trolley and LYNX buses, and at UCF and Full Sail.
4.	Sustainability-specific education tailored to student learning	Long	OCPS has a Green Schools Recognition Program to incentivize and reward sustainable behavior within schools through specific initiatives.

Our Target Measurements

This table describes how Orange County measures progress on our Sustainability goals.
Education Indicators	Baseline	Last Reported	Current	Assessment	Target 2020
Kindergarten Readiness Rates	2010 - 2011 67% ready	2016-2017 91% ready Based on FLKRS data	2017 - 2018 FLKRS data not yet available	No Progress	100% ready
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program assessment rates (OCPS VPK programs only)	2015 - 2016 Print Knowledge: 93% meet/exceed Phonological Awareness: 88% meet/exceed Oral Language / Vocabulary: 88% meet/exceed Mathematics 89% meet/exceed	2016 - 2017 Print Knowledge: 92% meet/exceed Phonological Awareness: 90% meet/exceed Oral Language / Vocabulary: 89% meet/exceed Mathematics 90% meet/exceed	2017 - 2018 Print Knowledge: 91% meet/exceed Phonological Awareness: 88% meet/exceed Oral Language / Vocabulary: 86% meet/exceed Mathematics 89% meet/exceed	Needs Improvement	100% meet or exceed
Nature-related field trips for grades K-6	2015 - 2016 370	2016 - 2017 441	2017 - 2018 325	Needs Improvement	Increase Target needed
Diversity in enrollment in a broad array of arts education	2015 - 2016 White: 40,229 Hispanic: 53,263 Black: 35,033	2016 - 2017 White: 39,549 Hispanic: 56,430 Black: 35,360	2017 - 2018 New data not yet available	No Progress	Increase Target needed
Enrollment in secondary fine arts courses	2010 52%	2016 - 2017 45.5%	2017 - 2018 New data not yet available	No Progress	60% by 2018
Achievement gap in English/Language Arts proficiency for targeted subgroups (Black, White, Hispanic, Exceptional Student Education (ESE), English Language Learners (ELL), Free & Reduced Lunch (FRL))	2014 - 2015 Black to White: -33% Hispanic to White: -22% ESE to Non -ESE: -36% ELL to Non -ELL: -38% FRL to Non -FRE: -24%	2016 - 2017 Black to White: -34% Hispanic to White: -24% ESE to Non-ESE: -43% ELL to Non-ELL: -36% FRL to Non-FRL: -29%	2017 - 2018 Black to White: -33% Hispanic to White: -22% ESE to Non -ESE: -40% ELL to Non -ELL: -40% FRL to Non -FRE: -27%	No Progress	Decrease 10%
Achievement gap in Mathematics proficiency for targeted subgroups (Black, White, Hispanic, Exceptional Student Education (ESE), English Language Learners (ELL), Free & Reduced Lunch (FRL))	2014 - 2015 Black to White: -33% Hispanic to White: -22% ESE to Non -ESE: -30% ELL to Non -ELL: -28% FRL to Non -FRE: -22%	2016 - 2017 Black to White: -33% Hispanic to White: -22% ESE to Non -ESE: -37% ELL to Non -ELL: -21% FRL to Non -FRE: -27%	2017 - 2018 Black to White: -32% Hispanic to White: -20% ESE to Non -ESE: -37% ELL to Non -ELL: -28% FRL to Non -FRE: -26%	No Progress	Decrease 10%
Participation in College & Career Acceleration experiences (AP, IB, AICE, DE, or CTE coursework)	2013 - 2014 88.6%	2015 - 2016 89.9%	2016 - 2017 89.6%	No Progress	Increase 10% (OCPS target)
Percentage of students entering the workforce in skilled jobs	2010 Placement rate: 82%	2016 Placement rate: 85%	2017* *data available in early 2019	Good Progress	Increase Target needed
Percentage of students to attain high school graduate level or higher	2010 Educational attainment: 86.7%	2016 Educational attainment: 98%	2017* *data available in early 2019	Good Progress	Increase Target needed
Number of career-themed courses	2015 - 2016 429	2016 - 2017 749	2017 - 2018 849	Good Progress	Increase Target needed
Job Placement Rate for Career and Technical Education Centers	2012 82%	2016 85%	2017 *data available in early 2019	Good Progress	Maintain or exceed 85%
Energy consumption for OCPS district (kWh/sq.ft.)	2011 - 2012 14.20	2016 - 2017* 13.50	2017 - 2018 13.41	Good Progress	Decrease
Recycling rate for OCPS district	2012 - 2013 28%	2016 - 2017 56%	2017 - 2018 61%	Good Progress	75%
Water consumption for OCPS district (gal/sq.ft.)	2014 - 2015 23.38	2016 - 2017 25.18	2017 - 2018 23.28	Good Progress	Decrease
Total idling hours for daily bus routes (hrs/day)	2012 - 2013 520.7	2016 - 2017 403.56	2017 - 2018 397.11	Good Progress	Decrease
Annual consumption avoidance of diesel fuel (gal.)	2015 - 2016 98,678	2016 - 2017 143,846	2017 - 2018 155,121	Good Progress	Increase
Alternative fuel use for OCPS district		2016 - 2017 All district school buses use B20 biofuel	2017 - 2018 All district school buses use B20 biofuel	Good Progress	Increase
Sustainability education through Green Schools Recognition program involvement	2014 - 2015 9 schools	2015 - 2016 12 schools 2016 - 2017 9 schools	2017 - 2018 12 schools	No Progress	Increase

Want to get involved?

Orange County has an outstanding education environment. Learning is something we never outgrow and lifelong learning is important for every individual to flourish. There are quality learning opportunities for all ages.

Volunteer at a Head Start Location Near You

A woman is reading a picture book to young children sitting on the floor of a classroom.

Make a difference in a child’s life. Orange County has an amazing Head Start program, and is always looking for citizens who can volunteer to help these children develop critical language and learning skills.

Get Educated About Your Community

Orange County has great programs for adults who want to learn more about sustainable community development. The Citizen Planner Academy has a monthly course that teaches a variety of planning disciplines.

Join Your School PTA

Get involved in your local PTA. Studies show that parent involvement increases student success. Giving even a few hours a month of your talents and time to your school through PTA programs can make a difference for your child and your community. PTA is about opportunities for every child and you can be a part of that effort just by becoming a member.

Teach Sustainability in Your Home

Your children will follow your lead. Effectively modeling how to live a more sustainable lifestyle begins with you! Visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greener Living website and look for tips and information that you can use and share.