Instruction and curriculum

parent and girl walking into school

Five tips for a successful parent-teacher conference

Staff reports
It’s mid-September, and many of our schools are either in the thick of parent-teacher conferences or preparing for them. This is a great opportunity for schools and families to work together to ensure the best educational experience possible for your child. Here are five tips to help you make the most out of parent-teacher conference time. [...]
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.
tablet in front of textbooks

Digital instructional materials are here, but classroom equity rules still apply

Staff reports
As school districts in California continue their transition to new educational standards, they may be purchasing new instructional materials for students, and many are looking at digital materials. While the way instructional materials are delivered may change, what hasn’t changed are the laws that require those materials be distributed equitably – along with the California Constitution’s guarantee of a free public education.[...]
An image of Orange County Superintendent Al Mijares

Mijares: JPL internship exemplifies collaborative efforts to create college and career pathways

Al Mijares
A paid summer internship that has eight talented Santa Ana students working with JPL scientists and engineers is "precisely the type of experience that was envisioned when the state Department of Education awarded our own OC Pathways initiative a $15 million grant to expand career pathways for students from kindergarten through college," writes Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County superintendent of schools. Click through to read the superintendent’s latest column.