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.
Attendees of the STEM Communities Convening event

Local leaders share strategies for building ‘STEM ecosystems’ at national conference

Ian Hanigan
Leaders from 27 education groups that focus on the advancement of science, technology, engineering and math have gathered in Washington, D.C. this week to exchange strategies for building STEM education. Specifically, they’re exploring ways to increase the number of STEM networks or ecosystems, which promote learning in these fields by fostering collaboration among schools, businesses and community organizations. [...]
#DRIVE 2N2 logo

Two OC high schools compete for $100,000 prize in national State Farm video contest 

Ian Hanigan
Voting is now open for the State Farm Celebrate My Drive video contest, which has a pair of Orange County high schools in the running for its $100,000 grant prize. Canyon High School and El Modena High School in the Orange Unified School District are both in the final 100 after producing safe driving videos promoting "2N2" – short for two eyes on the road and two hands on the wheel. [...]
Santa Ana Superintendent Rick Miller

A call for ‘purveyors of hope, champions of change’ at Santa Ana’s State of the District breakfast

Ian Hanigan
The Santa Ana Unified School District continues to create new learning opportunities and educational options in alignment with the interests and aptitudes of its students. That was among the key takeaways from the Superintendent’s State of the District and Partners Breakfast, which was hosted Friday morning by the district’s Board of Education and the Santa Ana Public Schools Foundation. [...]
Teacher with students in a classroom

Chevron’s Fuel Your School program looks to fund education projects in Orange County

Ian Hanigan
If you’re a local teacher in need of funds to buy classroom supplies and materials for hands-on activities and project-based lessons, Chevron’s Fuel Your School program wants to help. For every eight gallons of gas purchased at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in Orange County in October, the Fuel Your School program donated $1 to help fund eligible classroom projects ─ and those dollars have added up. [...]
School opening photo

Irvine Unified School District formally dedicates its newest elementary campus

Ian Hanigan
The Irvine Unified School District hosted a pair of dedication ceremonies for its newest campus this week. Parents and community members got a chance to tour the brand new facilities of Portola Springs Elementary School, which features a design and science lab, flexible-design classrooms, music and performing arts spaces, collaborative work environments, an innovation lab and more. [...]
Students watching traffic

Orange County students keep their eyes on the road to document distracted driving

Ian Hanigan
This week, Orange County youth involved in the Friday Night Live and Club Live programs took part in a statewide Roadwatch campaign to document distracted driving in their communities. And there was plenty to document. In all, they observed more than 1,400 local distractions, including the use of hand-held devices, eating, drinking, personal grooming, animals on drivers' laps, reaching for items and reading. Click through to read more.