Author Ian Hanigan

Ian Hanigan
Ian Hanigan serves as chief communications officer for the Orange County Department of Education, overseeing the Communications and Media Services unit. Along with producing stories and videos for the OCDE Newsroom, this team facilitates copywriting, video production, media relations, graphic design, web design and event support for OCDE. Prior to joining the department in 2015, Ian spent eight years as public information officer for the 30,000-student Irvine Unified School District. Before that, he was a local journalist, writing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram from 1999 to 2003 and the South Bay’s Daily Breeze newspaper from 2003 to 2006. His beats included education, city government, business and aerospace.
Adult handing student a starfish

Anaheim district is first to make OCDE’s Inside the Outdoors program available to all students (video)

Ian Hanigan
Marking a first for Orange County, the Anaheim City School District is giving every one of its students the opportunity to receive quality outdoor science education through OCDE’s long-running Inside the Outdoors program. You read that right -- every student at every grade level. For Anaheim City, that means approximately 20,000 kids in transitional kindergarten through grade six will receive hands-on lessons covering science and nature. [...]
Thermometer on the beach

With more scorching temperatures ahead, OC health officials offer tips for keeping your cool

Ian Hanigan
Here we go again. Temperatures in some Orange County communities are expected to approach triple-digits this week, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, particularly for more sensitive populations. “During extremely hot weather it is important to check on those who are at high risk to make sure they are staying cool,” says County Health Officer Dr. Eric Handler. “The people at highest risk during extreme heat include seniors who live alone, people with heart or lung disease, and young children.” [...]
Students using a computer

High School Inc. program leverages local businesses to promote college and career readiness

Ian Hanigan
The High School Inc. program at Valley High School in Santa Ana may have raised a few eyebrows when it announced that students who entered as sophomores had posted a near-perfect graduation rate of 98.5 percent in 2014. But graduation statistics only tell part of the story. What’s perhaps most unique is this school-within-a-school’s approach to blending college and career readiness. Click through to learn more.
California Department of Education Logo

Student standardized test scores to be released to schools in September

Ian Hanigan
This year, Orange County students in grades three through eight and 11 took the new computer-based Smarter Balanced assessments, which were designed to measure student knowledge of California’s English language arts and mathematics standards. While officials from the California Department of Education originally indicated that schools could expect their assessment results during the summer break, we’re told September is now the target. Click through for details.

Three-day Safe Schools Conference features 48 workshops focusing on trends and best practices

Ian Hanigan
More than local 500 educators, school workers and law enforcement representatives will gather in Costa Mesa this week to address critical school safety and security issues during the sixth annual Safe Schools Conference. Presented by former state Secretary of Education Dave Long in collaboration with the Orange County Department of Education and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the three-day conference will be held Wednesday through Friday at the Hilton Orange County. [...]
Students at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Students participating in summer JPL internship program featured on EdSource

Ian Hanigan
In June, we told you about eight young men and women from high schools in the Santa Ana Unified School District who were selected to be summer interns at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. It was an opportunity made possible through OCDE’s emerging OC Pathways project, along with generous community partners like OpTerra Energy Services, which contributed stipends for each student. [...]
Basketball coach talking to team

Student spotlight: OCDE alum goes from college basketball coach to tenure-track professor

Ian Hanigan
Brendan Stern, a former student of OCDE’s Regional Deaf and Hard of Hearing program and a graduate of University High School in Irvine, recently resigned as head basketball coach at Washington, D.C.-based Gallaudet University -- but for a very good reason: He’s accepted a tenure-track position with Gallaudet’s Department of Government and Public Affairs. We reached out to Stern, 32, to talk about his work at Gallaudet, as well as his early days as an OC student.