Quick look: Four schools were named 2026-27 Orange County Impact Schools for practices supporting family partnerships, student leadership, literacy and multilingual learning. County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean and OCDE staff visited each campus on Oct. 29 to celebrate the school communities and highlight approaches that educators can learn from across the county.
Only four of Orange County’s more than 600 schools were selected for the 2026-27 Orange County Impact Schools cohort. On October. 29, Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean and Orange County Department of Education staff visited each campus to share the news and celebrate with students, educators and district leaders.
The designation recognizes effective school practices and creates opportunities for educators to learn from another. Through collaborative visits, OCDE teams observe and discuss approaches that support students and can be shared across the county.
At each stop, Bean met with the principal and district leaders before joining students and staff for an assembly. He congratulated each school community and thanked educators for guiding students.
Four schools, four approaches
At Robert Heideman Elementary School in Tustin Unified School District, students and staff and staff wore Halloween costumes ahead of a non-student day scheduled for Oct. 30. The school gathered for an impromptu playground assembly. Dr. Bean told students, “Never forget that who you are is the greatest strength. Keep learning, keep growing and keep building bridges.”
Heideman’s Authentic Family-School Partnerships initiative connects family engagement directly to classroom learning. The school uses classroom visits, student-led conferences and curriculum-based family events to help parents understand grade-level expectations and practice strategies they can use at home. The school reports that state assessment results rose by 13 percentage points in math and 9 points in English language arts over three years.
Heideman students and staff, dressed in Halloween costumes, celebrate the school’s Impact School recognition with Dr. Bean. 
Dr. Bean addresses students during the Heideman assembly. 
Principal Deanna Parks and Dr. Bean pose with Heideman’s proclamation. 
Principal Dr. Tracy Gyurina and Dr. Bean pose with Sunset Lane’s proclamation. 
Sunset Lane students and staff gather to celebrate the school’s recognition. 
Dr. Bean interacts with a student after the Sunset Lane assembly. 
Magnolia School District Superintendent Dr. Frank Donovan, Principal Sandra Kim, students and staff join Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean to celebrate Schweitzer’s 2026-27 Impact School recognition. 
Dr. Bean and Principal Sandra Kim pose with the school’s Impact School proclamation. 
Dr. Bean addresses students during the celebration at Schweitzer. 
Dr. Bean poses with Warner students, including members of Ballet Folklórico and the Vietnamese American Culture Club. 
Warner Middle School’s digital marquee welcomes OCDE and recognizes the school’s Impact School selection. 
Members of the OCDE team join Dr. Bean during the Warner visit. 
A Warner student sings during a Vietnamese American Culture Club performance.
At Sunset Lane Elementary in Fullerton School District, students wore school spirit gear as they celebrated Red Ribbon Week. The school’s Rooted in Purpose: A Schoolwide Journey in Reading Instruction initiative grew from teachers’ shared work to develop nine commitments for consistency, research-based literacy instruction. The school reports that its English language arts rating on the 2025 California School Dashboard moved from green to blue after the framework was implemented.
Students and staff at Dr. Albert Schweitzer Leadership Academy in Magnolia School District wore their favorite team jerseys for a Red Ribbon Week “Team Up Against Drugs” theme. Dr. Bean joined the crowd in cheering, “Go, Bulldogs!” The campus’ Student Leadership Program: Leader in Me builds leadership into daily instruction, with students setting goals, tracking progress, taking in student-led conferences and serving in campus leadership roles. The school reports an 11.2 percent decrease in chronic absenteeism.
The final stop was Willis Warner Middle School in Westminster School District, where students welcomed the county superintendent and OCDE staff with performances by the campus’ ballet folklórico and Vietnamese American Culture Club. Dancers in blue dresses and flowers in their hair performed alongside students in yellow áo dài, who sang and danced to a traditional song while carrying large fans.
Warner’s Vietnamese Dual Language and Schoolwide Multilingual Excellence initiative pairs Vietnamese-language instruction with leveled English language development across the campus. In 2024-25, 39 of the program’s 41 eighth-grade students earned California Pathway to Biliteracy recognition, according to the school’s application.
This is the second year of the Orange County Impact Schools program. The 2026-27 honorees join the inaugural cohort of 12 schools announced in 2025. OCDE will continue working with schools to share practices that may help strengthen student learning and well-being across the county.
For more information about the program, visit ocde.us/impactschools.