OCPS: ‘We are more than just a letter grade’

ORANGE COUNTY –  Conducting school research for your child just became a lot easier with the introduction of Orange County Public Schools new school report cards.  

The website is akin to a Yelp for Orange County Public Schools, but instead of displaying rants and reviews of local businesses from customers, the site outlines school data gathered from annual district surveys taken by the students and staff.

The purpose of the site, which went live in June, is meant to provide families a complete picture of what a particular school is like beyond the school’s state-assigned letter grade, said OCPS spokeswoman Kathy Marsh. 

“We just want to make sure parents know everything they can about a school other than just a letter grade that would be assigned to the school,” Marsh said.

Displayed on the school report cards are a variety of facts and details pertaining to the school, such as the school’s principal, the number of students, student demographics, attendance rates, list of advanced placement courses, athletic programs, magnet programs, visual and performing arts programs, extracurricular activities and clubs and more.

The report cards also include the percentage of students who received in-school or out-of-school suspension in a given year, the percentage of students who get free or reduced lunch, speak another language other than English as their first language, and the percentage of students who are in the Exceptional Student Education Program, which helps students with learning disabilities.

For the high school reports cards, charts titled “College and Career Readiness” are included. These charts depict graduation rates, the percentage of four-year high school graduates who enroll in a two-year or four-year college or university in the semester following their high school graduation, and the percentage of students who score a level 3 or higher on statewide assessments. Students who score at Levels three, four or five are considered to have satisfactory or higher demonstrated knowledge of the material instructed.

Marsh said the push to construct the website originated from the OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Barbara Jenkins.

“The idea came from Dr. Jenkins,” Marsh said. “She felt strongly that we are more than just a letter grade given to us by the state and she wants parents to have that information.”

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]