Featuring more than 350 pieces by transitional kindergarten through 12th-grade students, the 2025 Junior Art Exhibit at the Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach opens July 2 in Partnership with OCDE and Arts Orange County. Selected from nearly 1,800 submissions, the display includes works by students with disabilities and 13 student-created films, showcasing creativity, inclusion and the importance of arts education.
Through original lyrics and a familiar tune, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School fifth-grade students used music to share what they learned about saying no to drugs and making healthy choices as part of OCDE’s Youth Substance Use Prevention program.
OCDE hosted its first State of the Student Forum on June 12 to review the latest data on student outcomes with educational and community partners. The report highlights key successes and areas for growth, with the goal of driving positive, data-informed change.
OC student Sydney Tran’s spelling journey took her from El Rancho Charter School in Anaheim to the national stage in Maryland, where the seventh-grader competed among the top young spellers in the country during the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Anaheim High School has earned a Civic Learning Award of Distinction for its campuswide commitment to civic education, while five other Orange County schools received honorable mention for promoting student voice and engagement.
