Big changes are coming to the La Habra City School District in 2018-19.
As the Orange County Register reports, the 5,000-student district is reconfiguring its schools so they all serve students from transitional kindergarten through the sixth grade — or through fifth grade in the case of Las Positas Elementary. Up until now, campuses covered either grades K through two or three through five.
Come fall, each of La Habra’s nine schools will also have its own special focus area, such as coding or visual and performing arts.
Rosamaria Murillo, the principal of Arbolita Elementary School, told the Register that the reconfigured grade spans will help deepen relationships with students.
“Being able to provide K-6 for kids allows us to get to know them better, provide resources and extend those resources for what they need,” Murillo said. “We get a chance to know families and grow families together.”
La Habra school officials recently held a pair of rallies to explain the changes to parents and community members, drawing about 800 attendees. Again, the Orange County Register has the full story.
And here are some other education news stories from the week ending Feb. 2:
- The new Orange County High School Esports League, featuring 37 teams from 25 local high schools, kicked off its inaugural season this week. Organizers say students will compete in weekly matchups for eight weeks, leading up to the championships in April.
- Governor Jerry Brown recently delivered his final State of the State address, and, as you might imagine, schools came up a few times. EdSource compiled the governor’s remarks on education.
- Looking beyond its borders to boost enrollment, Tustin Unified has launched a new marketing campaign that includes advertising and a website to promote its schools and programs.
- Forensics students from Aliso Niguel, Dana Hills and San Juan Hills high schools were tasked with solving a staged homicide during the inaugural Forensic Forum, which featured appearances by detectives, crime scene investigators, first responders and officials from the District Attorney’s office.
- Three local schools were among 22 campuses recognized through California’s 2017-18 Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program, which spotlights model middle schools.
The Irvine Unified School District has announced the name of its 24th elementary school. It will be called Loma Ridge Elementary School, and it will serve the expanding Portola Springs community when it opens in 2019.
- Speaking of Irvine, more than two dozen IUSD nurses and athletic trainers took part this week in a training exercise that taught participants how to stop victims from bleeding following a shooting or other mass-casualty event.
- A former Orange County Teacher of the Year is among a group of educators from California promoting Global School Play Day, which will highlight the importance of unstructured playtime on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
- The Orange Unified School District approved $3.8 million in facilities improvements to upgrade flooring, paint, bell systems, paving, restrooms, roofing and plumbing at campuses in Anaheim, Orange and Villa Park.
- All California schools constructed before 2010 will have to have their water supplies tested for lead, according to State Superintendent Tom Torlakson, citing new legislation.
- Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials are exploring ways to provide free Wi-Fi service to students who don’t have Internet access at home.
- A new bill would allow high school juniors to take college entrance exams like the SAT or ACT in place of the 11th-grade standards-based assessment.
That’s all for now. Keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking newsroom.ocde.us or subscribing for emailed updates. You can also follow us on the big three social media platforms.