Class Notes 03.26.15

+ OCPS to induct first Hall-of-Famers

The inaugural class of the Orange County Public Schools Hall of Fame has been selected.

The Hall of Fame is a new tradition created by the Orange County School Board to honor people who have made a name for themselves and the district throughout the 145 years since the first School Board met in December 1869. The hall will feature inductees in six categories: distinguished educator, community champion and alumni in fields of athletics, arts, humanitarian work and distinguished professional careers.

From a lengthy and remarkable list of nominees, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee chose its first members to be inducted May 15, 2015, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

The inaugural inductees include:

John Young, Orlando High School Class of 1948. Young is a retired American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot and aeronautical engineer, who became the ninth person to walk on the moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

Dick Batchelor, Evans High School Class of 1966. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Batchelor is president of Dick Batchelor Management Group Inc., which specializes in business development, strategic governmental affairs and public-policy issues. He has championed two Change for Kids campaigns to support OCPS school construction.

Johnny Damon, Dr. Phillips High School Class of 1992. He has been a professional baseball outfielder who began playing in Major League Baseball in 1995 and has two World Series rings.

Erika Dunlap, Boone High School Class of 2000. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, Dunlap was named Miss Florida in 2003 and subsequently crowned Miss America in 2004.

In the Community Champion category, philanthropist Harris Rosen has been a dedicated OCPS business partner in education for more than 20 years. He helped transform a high-crime neighborhood of Tangelo Park into a thriving, self-sufficient community.

In the Distinguished educator category, James “Chief” Wilson taught in OCPS for 40 years at Jones and Evans high schools. With the exception of one semester at Evans High School, Wilson was a music teacher at Jones High School from 1950 until his retirement in 1990.

Information about sponsorship and tickets to the induction ceremony and dinner are available at HallofFame.ocps.net.

+ District changes end-of-year testing

Orange County Public Schools announced last week several changes to the district’s end-of-course exams.

The changes include:

• No formal EOC exam in social studies for grades K-5 (mastery of grade-level standards will be assessed through traditional teacher methods as done in the past).

• No formal EOC exam in science for grades K-4 (mastery of grade-level standards will be assessed through traditional teacher methods as done in the past). Fifth grade will take the current state exam as in the past.

• No formal EOC exams for art, music and physical education for grades K-4 (special area teachers for these subjects will assess student progress through traditional methods as in the past). Fifth grade will take the district-created EOC for these subject areas.

This decision means elementary students will take far fewer assessments in the 2014-15 school year, as formal adjustments to requirements are being considered.

+ MVA students volunteer with Habitat

Rachel Adams, head coach of the Lady Eagles Volleyball team and a Lower-school Learning Resource Support teacher, accompanied Montverde Academy students Chavisa Dechathipat, Mami Yamamoto, Karen Arimoto, Stepan Kolarik, Lucas Fagotti, Asafhe Lucas, Chun Yin Lee and Malcolm Hinds on volunteer-service trip Oakland to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

MVA never has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, so all the students were very excited to help. In fact, when given the chance to leave for the day because of inclement weather, the students chose to continue working in the rain.

“I was very thankful for the opportunity to take these kids on this trip,” Adams said. “I really enjoyed the entire experience. The entire group had such great attitudes.”

+ District to host next Parent Academy

Orange County Public Schools will host its next Parent Academy from 8:30 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Saturday, April 4, Windy Ridge K-8 School, 3900 Beech Tree Drive, Orlando.

Parent Academy is a district-wide initiative designed to enhance student achievement through the support of community and family involvement. Through the Parent Academy classes, the district provides parental development skill-building workshops, specialized parental support, educational events and activities for families throughout the school year.