Engage Orange! OCS Strategic Plan 2026-2031

Your Voice Matters!

In collaboration with our whole community, OCS has developed a new five-year strategic plan to serve as a roadmap that ensures improved outcomes for the students we serve.

Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback to help create “Engage Orange,” the OCS Strategic Plan for 2026-2031 approved by the Orange County Board of Education on June 15, 2026!

Two young girls are enjoying learning about health professions with a stethoscope. Two young boys are smiling at each other in a classroom with a whiteboard behind them. A young woman walks across the stage in her cap and gown.

Many Voices, One Plan!

Engage Orange OCS 2026-2031 Strategic Plan DRAFT May 18 2026 Board of Education Meeting - Our Strategic Planning Process from Survey to Student Advisors, Community Convenings, and Neighborhood Sessions, capped by Focus Groups, Board Feedback, and a final Survey

Engage Orange! Timeline to Launch

A timeline showing that June 2026 is the window for adoption and July 2026 the moment to launch the new Strategic Plan developed throughout the whole 2025-2026 school year among all stakeholders.

Summary of Plan Development, 2025-2026 School Year

How Did We Get Here?

Help Shape the Future of Orange County Schools

Our mission is educating students in a safe, inclusive environment where we engage, challenge, and inspire them to reach their maximum potential.

We Engage

We start by listening, engaged in dialogue with you.

Your voice matters. Thank you for taking our Community Input Survey!

Hundreds of students, families, staff, and community members shared feedback on your experience with Orange County Schools and your priorities for the future.

Next, OCS is hosting Community and Neighborhood Listening Sessions in the fall and winter of 2025-2026 (see schedule above).

Help us understand what matters most to you. We are committed to making sure every voice is part of shaping the future of Orange County Schools.

We Challenge

Next, we challenge ourselves to build a plan for student success.

With input from our whole community and Priority Area Focus Groups*, we will develop a strategic plan that ensures we are improving outcomes for the students we serve. Using feedback, data, and insights gathered from surveys and meetings throughout our community, leaders will create a plan with clear goals and actionable steps to advance student success.This plan will serve as the roadmap to guarantee that every single student can be successful—no exceptions.

*Priority Area Focus Group information will be published to this web page on January 6, 2026.

We Inspire

Finally, we launch our plan—inspiring a future where every student has the opportunity to thrive.

The new strategic plan designed with our community's input will be presented to our Board of Education for approval in spring 2026. The five-year plan will not only guide how we support students in reaching their goals; it will also strengthen our schools as great places to learn, work, and grow for students, educators, families, and our whole community.

This shared vision for the future will align our work to ensure that everyone in our schools feels safe, seen, and supported—and every student enjoys the opportunity to thrive.The strategic plan we build together will guide the priorities and goals of Orange County Schools from 2026 to 2031.

Building a New Plan Together

Here is our three-step process to build the new strategic plan with input from our entire community during the 2025-2026 school year:

First-year teacher Hunter Roberts fist bumps a 4th-grade student on the First Day of School at Hillsborough Elementary School in the 2025-2026 school year

Your Voice Matters!

The strategic plan is a roadmap that helps guide and align our work to improve outcomes for the students we serve. We are excited to build the next version of that roadmap together with you to ensure a bright future for every child.

A student at New Hope Elementary is showing a journal to her parent to celebrate learning

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, students and teachers working together to strengthen students' resiliency and purpose

Students Showcase Their Learning at Gravelly Hill Middle School with Superintendent Dr. Danielle Jones

Data Review and Draft Creation

From November 2025 to February 2026, Orange County Schools district leaders gathered feedback from our students, staff, and community members at several listening sessions, including:

Two Community Listening Sessions at Cedar Ridge and Orange High School
Five Neighborhood Listening Sessions, including one fully Spanish-Speaking session at New Hope Elementary School
Student Advisory Groups hosted at all 13 schools

Thanks to the feedback of our valued stakeholders, we are now moving forward to phase three of our Strategic Plan Development — Data Review and Draft Creation!

During this phase, focus groups will sort through the data based on the feedback of our stakeholders. With that, we'll identify stakeholder priorities, and create a draft version of the 2026-2031 Orange County Schools Strategic Plan!

Three Kindergarten students in a classroom smiling

Catherine Stanley's AVID students at Gravelly Hill Middle School work together, two in dialogue to the left and one working on a worksheet to the right

Jim Janish teaching engineering to students at Orange High School, students to the left observe as the teacher models a mechanical device to the right

Priorities in Our Current Plan

During the 2024-2025 school year, the Orange County Schools' strategic priorities have been updated to align our work in service to students. Learn more about our community's priorities for the OCS 2021-2026 Strategic Plan by clicking the image or the priorities below.

Priority 1: Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders
Priority 2: Excellence and Efficiency
Priority 3: Exemplary Staff
Priority 4: Empowering Culture