Message from the Superintendent

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In this Message:

• Schools Continue to Offer In-Person Instruction
• Facilities Master Plan Town Hall Meetings
• C-STEM Administrator of the Year
• CIF Athletics Suspended
• Employment Opportunities Available

• December 15: Board of Education Meeting

• December 17: Minimum Day (High Schools)
• December 18: Minimum Day (High Schools)
• December 21 - January 8: Winter Break
• January 12: Facilities Master Plan Virtual Town Hall, Canyon HS Feeder Schools
• January 13: Facilities Master Plan Virtual Town Hall, El Modena HS Feeder Schools
• January 14: Facilities Master Plan Virtual Town Hall, Orange HS Feeder Schools
• January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 20: Facilities Master Plan Virtual Town Hall, Villa Park HS Feeder Schools
• January 20: El Modena High School Open House

Dear OUSD Community,

Governor Newsom announced yesterday that a Regional Stay Home Order would go into effect where hospitals are in danger of exceeding capacity will be subject to a new stay-at-home order. The new order will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15 percent availability in their intensive care units, or ICUs. Orange County, part of the Southern California region, could expect to face stay-at-home orders as soon as the end of this week, according to the Governor’s office. The order will last at least three weeks from the date it goes into effect in a given area.

The new order does not apply to school districts and campuses that are already open for in-person learning, according to County Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau. Specifically, the Governor stated that schools should remain open with the necessary precautions in place. In alignment with the Governor’s order and with guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Care Agency, OUSD schools will continue to offer in-person instruction. For additional information about the Regional Stay at Home Order, please visit covid19.ca.gov.

While cases of COVID-19 in Orange County have increased dramatically, the California Department of Public Health and Dr. Ghaly, secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency, have found that schools are not the source of the recent COVID-19 surges. Schools have very low transmission rates due to effective health and safety mitigation strategies that schools have in place, including physical distancing, masks, and enhanced disinfecting protocols. Additionally, the Orange County Department of Education has confirmed that all 27 OC public school districts have a “low percentage of positive cases,” and the Orange County Register found that COVID-19 cases in Orange County schools (including K-12 and colleges) “appears well shy of 1% of the county’s student enrollment figures from last year.”

As has been our practice during this unprecedented time, District staff will continue to work closely with the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Care Agency and will keep our community informed as we have new information.

We will continue to follow state and local health guidelines and thank our students, staff and families for their diligent efforts to help keep our schools safe.

Warmest Regards,

Gunn Marie Hansen, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Orange Unified School District

Orange Unified School District has embarked upon a District-wide Facilities Master Plan process to identify long-term demographic trends, assess current facilities conditions, and envision educational program opportunities to develop strategies that address these needs, and their impact on facilities, in a comprehensive and thoughtful manner.

As a District, we value our stakeholders and understand that an effective Facilities Master Plan must be informed by community input. We encourage our OUSD families, staff, and residents to join our Virtual Town Hall Meetings to provide invaluable feedback on the long-range conceptual school site master plans and prioritization of proposed projects to bring forward to the Board of Trustees as a recommendation.

Though each meeting is organized by attendance area to collect information about future site improvements desired in each of the four high school residency areas, community members are welcome to attend any meeting(s) of interest.

Please join the conversation to make your voice heard.

PUBLIC VIRTUAL MEETING REGISTRATION LINKS:

ANAHEIM HILLS

CANYON HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA

JANUARY 12, 2021, 6:00-7:30 PM

REGISTER: www.orangeusd.org/fmp/chs

EAST ORANGE

EL MODENA HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA

JANUARY 13, 2021, 6:00-7:30 PM

REGISTER: www.orangeusd.org/fmp/emhs

WEST & CENTRAL ORANGE

ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA

JANUARY 14, 2021, 6:00-7:30 PM

REGISTER: www.orangeusd.org/fmp/ohs

VILLA PARK & NORTH ORANGE

VILLA PARK HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA

JANUARY 20, 2021, 6:00-7:30 PM

REGISTER: www.orangeusd.org/fmp/vphs

Congratulations to Joe Erven, executive director of innovation and excellence (and former McPherson Magnet Principal), on being recognized as one of three California State C-STEM Robotics Administrators of the Year! He will be awarded this distinction by UC Davis on December 7.

The C-STEM Administrator of the Year Awards recognize C-STEM leaders for their exceptional contributions in the creation and maintaining of programs that highlight computing, integrating computing into STEM subjects, and inspiring students to pursue careers and post-secondary study in STEM fields.

More information about Mr. Erven and his award can be found on our website.

The CIF State Office has canceled all Regional and State Championship events from the Season 1 Sports calendar. According to their announcement, this decision was made to allow more student-athletes to have the opportunity to participate in a longer season rather than a truncated season with Regional and State post-season play for a limited number of schools. Their press release is online at https://cifstate.org/covid-19/12.1.20_release

Orange Unified is an organization full of passionate individuals who care about our students and community. Not only are we currently hiring teachers and substitutes, we are also looking to fill positions in multiple departments, including transportation, technology, nutrition, maintenance and more! Check out our openings at https://www.orangeusd.org/jobs

Email: communications@orangeusd.org
Website: www.orangeusd.org
Location: 1401 North Handy Street, Orange, CA, USA
Phone: 714-628-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrangeUnifiedSchoolDistrictCA
Twitter: @orangeunifiedCA

We invite you to take a moment to follow Orange Unified on social media to receive the District’s latest news and announcements. Social media may also be a critical line of communication during emergencies and will be an excellent place for you to get up to date information: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube