Every day across Orange County, educators are innovating on behalf of students.
They adapt lessons to meet individual needs. They reshape learning environments to spark curiosity. They try new approaches when old systems fall short.
At its heart, innovation is our profession’s ongoing commitment to doing better for the young people we serve. And today, I’m proud to share that the Orange County Department of Education is taking an important step to elevate and expand this work through the launch of our Innovation Funding Initiative.
As a key component of our 5-3-1 Strategic Plan, this initiative is designed to help districts move promising ideas from concept to practice. Starting this month, Orange County school districts serving students in grades TK–12 can apply for awards of up to $525,000 to support three-year projects that address unmet needs and strengthen student engagement and achievement.
Up to six districts will be selected in this first round, with funded work beginning in July 2026.
Innovation doesn’t always require reinventing the wheel. Sometimes it means taking a strategy we already know and applying it in a new way — one that reaches more students, builds stronger connections or improves efficiency.
It may mean testing a creative model for teaching literacy, offering real-world learning experiences that better prepare students for careers, or implementing new systems that support wellness and belonging. What matters most is that these ideas are grounded in strong educational theory, responsive to local needs and positioned to make a lasting, scalable impact.
Through this initiative, districts will have the opportunity not only to implement effective practices but to learn from one another. Our goal is to build a countywide network where educators can share strategies, explore what works and strengthen outcomes together.
That collaborative spirit is central to our 5-3-1 Strategic Plan, which also calls for expanding inclusive career technical education, fostering emotional intelligence, making schools safer, thoughtfully integrating artificial intelligence, and strengthening instruction and literacy.
Orange County is rich with talent and creativity, and when we align those strengths, we accelerate progress for all students. That’s why I’m excited to see the proposals that emerge, and I’m even more excited to see how they will shape the future of teaching and learning.
This initiative is an investment in students, in educators and in the belief that bold ideas can lead to extraordinary outcomes. In many ways, it also reflects the innovative mindset we hope to cultivate — a fresh approach to supporting districts as they design, test and expand what works for students.
For more information or to explore eligibility, visit ocde.us/InnovationFunding.