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.
A photo of Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Mijares

Mijares: NBA star Stephen Curry demonstrates how to rebound from life’s setbacks

Ian Hanigan
"Suffice to say, most young people will not play college basketball or pursue careers in the NBA," writes Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County superintendent of schools. "Yet there are lessons to be learned from those who have nurtured their natural abilities and shattered perceived limitations by way of an extraordinary work ethic." Click through to read the superintendent’s latest column.
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OC Pathways partners with OpTerra Energy Services, which will sponsor 10 paid STEM internships

Ian Hanigan
We’ve received word this week that OC Pathways, the countywide initiative that’s working to expand career pathways for students from kindergarten through college, has a new partner. OpTerra Energy Services, a national leader in alternative energy solutions, is joining the effort by sponsoring 10 paid summer STEM internships for high school students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. It’s part of the company’s continued focus on building educational opportunities and workforce development strategies. [...]

Graduation rates for Orange County and the rest of the state climb for the fifth straight year

Ian Hanigan
High school graduation rates for California and Orange County have increased for the fifth year in a row, with English-learners accounting for the biggest overall spikes in 2014, according to data released this week. In Orange County, students who started high school in 2010-11 posted a graduation rate of 88.6 percent in 2014 -- up from 87.5 percent in 2013. That number has been climbing steadily. [...]