College Park Elementary in Costa Mesa was buzzing with excitement last Friday as students and staff rolled out a warm welcome for Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto and sports radio host Roger Lodge last Friday as part of the annual Adopt-A-School program.
Chosen for its commitment to green initiatives and waste-diversion education, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District campus was one of five in Orange County “adopted” this year through the initiative, which is coordinated by the Angels Baseball Foundation in partnership with OCDE and Orange County Waste and Recycling.
The special visit included a spirited school-wide assembly where students got to ask questions, hear about the Angels organization from Lodge and receive advice from Neto on the importance of attending school every day and chasing your dreams. About 25 lucky students also scored autographs from the professional baseball player during a meet-and-greet session.
As a bonus, representatives from the Angels gifted tickets for the entire school to attend the team’s May 25 home game and unveiled a custom-made banner to display outside the campus.
The remaining schools selected this year include Horace Mann Elementary in the Anaheim Elementary School District, Community Roots Academy in the Capistrano Unified School District, Eisenhower Elementary in the Garden Grove Unified School District and Sycamore Magnet Academy in the Tustin Unified School District.
In addition to awarding each school a $2,000 grant to support participation in the EcoChallenge curriculum, the Adopt-a-School program will also promote growth in literacy, STEM programs, bullying prevention and other school initiatives.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Ten school districts in Orange County were recently selected as the best communities for music education by the NAMM — or National Association of Music Merchants — Foundation for their exceptional commitment to making music part of their curriculum.
- At the U.S. Academic Pentathlon National Finals this weekend, five middle school teams will compete on behalf of Orange County after succeeding in the regional scholastic event that tested their knowledge across five subject areas.
- More than 50 local high school seniors were recognized for standout status for their academic achievements, leadership and determination in the AVID program at an awards ceremony hosted by OCDE.
- On Wednesday, the governor’s office released the latest budget plan for 2025-26, which is expected to preserve funding for key educational priorities.
- OCDE’s Connections program has teamed up with Head Start to expand its learning programs for preschoolers with and without disabilities while meeting the unique needs of all young learners.
- Orange County students were recently honored for using the power of film to promote mental health awareness as part of the statewide Directing Change program. Through short videos, these young filmmakers shared messages of hope and support to help break stigmas and spark conversations.
- For more than 50 years, Ken Kafton has supported the Irvine Unified School District’s printing needs as the lead press operator — and he’s still going strong after receiving the Classified Employee of the Year recognition earlier this week.
- OCDE’s Crisis Response Network has played a critical role in offering real-time support to students and staff in Orange County and beyond during moments of tragedy and uncertainty. Their efforts were recently highlighted by the California School Boards Association blog.
- To improve support for parents working in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the school board passed a resolution this week to increase paid family leave options for teachers and education professionals.
- In more than a dozen states, early learning educators are moving to adopt a new approach to teach the “science of reading” that relies heavily on the use of phonics.
- Santa Ana Unified School District officials said they are reviewing safety protocols and considering measures to enhance campus security after families raised concerns about the fatal stabbing of a student outside the Santa Ana High campus last week, according to the Orange County Register.
- Swim teams from Fountain Valley and Newport Harbor high schools made waves last weekend at the CIF Division 1 swim finals, each earning top-five finishes among California’s elite competitors.
- The Ocean View School District plans to pursue disciplinary action after a student was found to have been in possession of a gun shortly before dismissal on the campus of Vista View Middle School.
- EdSource reported that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was honored with a community hero award for his arts education advocacy at the 2025 Conga Kids Year-End Finale Gala.
- In-N-Out Burger has donated $900,000 to Vanguard University to support programs for youth formerly in foster care with scholarships and additional resources to help them succeed in higher education.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.