OCDE Newsroom

A high school student wearing headphones and holding an acoustic guitar sits at a microphone in a recording studio during the Fender Play songwriting workshop.

USA 250-OC songwriting competition adds new partners, $500 cash prizes for winners

Vicky Nguyen November 12, 2025

Orange County high school students can submit original songs for the USA 250-OC Theme Song Competition, with top entries earning $500 cash prizes. Supported by Fender, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine, winning songs will be performed at a countywide July 4, 2026 celebration.

Dr. Bean: What do you get a country turning 250?

Stefan Bean October 6, 2025

What do you get a country turning 250 years old? It’s not a question we ask often — or even...

A sound engineer adjusts equipment while a high school student sits with an acoustic guitar in a recording studio.

Orange County high school students invited to submit original songs for USA 250-OC competition

Vicky Nguyen September 29, 2025

Orange County high school students can enter the USA 250-OC Theme Song Competition by submitting an original song of 250 seconds or less in one of eight genres. Top entries will earn cash prizes and be performed at a countywide July 4 celebration.

Weekly roundup: Corona del Mar eighth-grader named Junior Innovators finalist, Brea student to mark TEDx talk milestone, and more

Madeline Gray September 26, 2025

Thirty middle school students nationwide were selected as finalists in the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge — including...

Acaciawood Preparatory Academy students Lucas Menendez, left, and Poiema Bernier at school. The pair earned the $2,000 Outstanding Middle School Project Award in the 2025 Discovery Award competition.

Orange County students earn national award for documentary on housing desegregation

Vicky Nguyen September 23, 2025

Two Acaciawood Preparatory Academy students received the $2,000 Outstanding Middle School Project Award in the 2025 Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award competition for their documentary on Doss v. Bernal, an early Orange County case that challenged housing segregation.