More than 450 backpacks filled with classroom supplies were recently hand-delivered to school campuses throughout Orange County ahead of the back-to-school season.
For the third year in a row, the Orange County Department of Education has partnered with SchoolsFirst FCU to distribute donations of school supplies. Liaisons from four local districts worked with OCDE’s HOPES Collaborative team to identify which campuses could utilize the supplies while ensuring students and families in need receive ample support this time of year.
Along with backpacks, young learners from the Garden Grove Unified School District, the Westminster School District, and the Anaheim and Fullerton Joint union high school districts will be given items like 70-page notebooks, pencil cases, crayons and more.
The Homeless Outreach Promoting Educational Success, or HOPES, Collaborative, works under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to identify and enroll students experiencing homelessness through community outreach efforts. The team also works with local partners and schools to let parents know these resources are available.
“These efforts really show the power of the community,” said Jeanne Awrey, coordinator of the HOPES Collaborative. “It’s all about giving back and that’s part of our partnerships as the HOPES Collaborative in the work we do with our districts.”
In order to connect families with agencies, the HOPES Collaborative team will promote its services at the annual Health and Wellness Fair hosted by CalOptima and OCDE on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Columbus Tustin Park.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Through Aug. 30, the 2024 Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach will showcase more than 200 student artworks created by Orange County’s young artists.
- Troy High School student Anisha Aluwihare designed a fifth-grade curriculum on ocean acidification, teaching it at 12 local schools as part of completing her journey as a Girl Scout.
- This summer, Bank of America chose four of the brightest high school students in the county to gain invaluable work experience through its Student Leaders program.
- Local high school students recently showcased and auctioned their animals at the OC Fair’s annual Junior Livestock Auction, thanks to their involvement with the FFA program.
- About 200 students recently attended the IgniteHER Girls Summit, hosted by Girls Inc. of Orange County, hearing from leading women in various industries.
- More than 20 local elementary school teachers learned how to infuse data science into classroom curriculum at a workshop hosted by Cal State Fullerton faculty.
- The Orange County Register reported that State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced a plan to construct up to 2.3 million housing units for teachers on surplus land owned by school districts.
- On Tuesday, more than 100 friends, family and community members gathered to commemorate a 15-year-old Huntington Beach High School student who went missing while swimming in the ocean over the weekend.
- Nine Orange County school districts are seeking to improve campus facilities by placing bond measures on the November ballot.
- Starting in the fall, two California State University campuses plan to offer a new preparation program for teachers looking to earn their PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential.
- EdSource reported that of the state’s 30 largest school districts, 21 of them will resume classes by Aug. 15 as earlier start dates become more common throughout California.
- For the upcoming fall term, the University of California system announced that it admitted a record number of first-year students who are state locals.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.