Search
OCDE Newsroom logo
  • Home
  • OCDE.us
  • About OCDE
  • About the OCDE Newsroom
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe for updates

Author Fermin Leal

Fermin Leal

Fermin Leal serves as a communications specialist for Orange County Department of Education's Communications and Media Services Department where he works to highlight news and successful education initiatives at OCDE and at public schools across Orange County. Before joining OCDE, Fermin worked as an education journalist for 15 years, most recently at the nonprofit education news site EdSource. Prior to that, he worked for the Orange County Register. In this role, he wrote features and news articles about career and college readiness, the state’s implementation of the Common Core and Smarter Balanced exams and challenges facing students in higher education.

al mijares speaks at a podium

VIDEO: OC Pathways Showcase promotes business, education partnerships

Fermin Leal
December 4, 2019
Orange County businesses learned how they can help equip students for careers transformed by automation, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies at the fifth annual OC Pathways Showcase held Tue... Read More
oxford university arial photo

Troy High School grad named a Rhodes Scholar

Fermin Leal
December 2, 2019
Leanne K.M. Ho, a graduate of Troy High School in Fullerton, was recently named a Rhodes Scholar, one of the most prestigious honors in higher education. Leanne, currently a senior at the University of Oklah... Read More
families line up for turkey give-a-way at school

Santa Ana families receive 1,000 free turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving holiday

Fermin Leal
November 25, 2019
One-thousand Santa Ana Unified School District families received free turkeys and other food items Saturday during the fourth annual Operation Gobble turkey giveaway, held at the District Wellness Center at Lat... Read More
Education News title card

Weekly roundup: Student uses engineering skills to build prosthetics, high school to offer healthcare curriculum, and more

Fermin Leal
November 22, 2019
At San Juan Hills High School, senior Ashlynn Mathews isn’t using her new engineering skills learned at her building trades class to design a building. Instead, she's designing and printing prosthetic hands and... Read More
superintendent Jerry Almendarez standing on stage

Santa Ana Unified names new superintendent

Fermin Leal
November 20, 2019
The Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education has appointed Jerry Almendarez as the 47,000-student district's new superintendent. Jerry Almendarez During the three-month selection and intervie... Read More
boy holds up hand in photo illustration about census

2020 Census: OCDE kicks off countywide awareness campaign

Fermin Leal
November 14, 2019
OCDE is launching a new social media campaign to raise awareness about the upcoming U.S. Census count for local communities. The department will use its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms to share one... Read More
Teacher receives award from county superintendent

OC Supt. Mijares honored for role in promoting college attainment

Fermin Leal
November 12, 2019
Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Mijares was among a group of educators and philanthropists honored by the Orange County Hispanic Education Endowment Fund for helping increase the number of studen... Read More
A news graphic

Weekly roundup: Irvine students launch nonprofit musician program, top teachers honored, and more

Fermin Leal
November 8, 2019
Two Portola High School students wanted to start a club for musicians at their Irvine campus. But they also wanted to contribute more to their community. The Daily Pilot this week featured how Justin Pai, no... Read More
students and adult pet a turtle

Refurbished school farm offers hands-on learning

Fermin Leal
November 6, 2019
The Ocean View School District hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at Golden View Environmental Science School for the re-opening of its refurbished farm, which sits on a 2.5-acre site in Huntington Beach.... Read More
students eating lunch in school cafeteria

Anonymous donor pays off $7,813 school lunch debt of Ocean View School District students

Fermin Leal
November 5, 2019
More than 200 families who had outstanding bills for their children's school lunches in the Ocean View School District received an unexpected surprise recently when an anonymous donor paid off each and every ba... Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 27

Credits

Orange County Department of Education
Al Mijares, Ph.D.
County Superintendent of Schools

Contact

Thanks for visiting the OCDE Newsroom. Questions and story suggestions should be sent to communications@ocde.us.

And if you’re a member of the media in need of information about the Orange County Department of Education, you can contact Communications Officer Ian Hanigan at ihanigan@ocde.us or 714-966-4008.

Tags

academic competition ACCESS acts of kindness Al Mijares career exploration college and career readiness education contest education in the news education news in the news kindness kindness1billion OCDE ocde weekly roundup one billion acts of kindness Orange County Department of Education project based learning STEM top stories Weekly Roundup