OCS Strategic Plan 2021-2026

Strategies:

• Establish process for continuous progress monitoring
• Implementation of district benchmarks and common formative assessments (CFA)
• Thorough program evaluation
• Increase visibility to support student-centered learning environments
• Aligned professional development plan for SY24-25
• Development of family-friendly resources 
• Increase participation in Panorama
• District level walkthroughs
• Concentrate resources to strengthen 5th/6th Grade performance and HS Math 1
• Common planning times in middle and high schools

Strategies:

• Monitoring the implementation of LETRS 
• Implementation of district benchmarks and common formative assessments
• Implementation of district Improvement and Support Team
• Establish a process for goal setting at the student level
• Continuous professional development aligned with district priorities 
• Monitoring and perfecting the PLC planning process

Strategies:

• Establish meaningful Family Academy sessions 

• Train and support schools in restorative practices 
• Utilize data to identify barriers to graduation 
• On-going training on Student Code of Conduct
• Increase experiences (CTE, dual enrollment, apprenticeships and internships)
• Develop a streamlined process for 4-year graduation plans
• Develop graduation tracking tools at the school level
• Regular discipline data review by subgroups weekly/quarterly (school/district)
• Training on culturally responsive instruction

Strategies:

• Continue to monitor surveys and projects related to student and staff safety
• Regularly update safety protocols and conduct training.
• Ensure that all OCS facilities meet or exceed national and local safety regulations.
• Reduce the carbon footprint by adopting sustainable practices, such as waste reduction, recycling, and energy conservation.
• Implement a continuous technology review process to keep OCS at the forefront of innovation.
• Maximize business efficiencies by streamlining internal processes and workflows to improve productivity and reduce operational costs by internal financial review of all budgets.
• Provide comprehensive financial training programs to all employees who handle budgetary processes.
• Ensure response time to all work requests within 1-2 business days. 
• Annually update Capital Improvement Plan to ensure accurate allocation and reporting of 2024 bond.
• Efficiency and Customer Service: Address staff concerns in a timely manner (i.e. respond and close work orders, meet with staff to discuss best practices)

Strategies:

• Regularly review and adjust bus routes to minimize travel time, reduce delays, and ensure buses follow the most efficient paths.
• Ensure all buses are regularly inspected and maintained to reduce mechanical issues that could cause delays or safety concerns.
• Utilize advanced routing and scheduling software to improve the efficiency of bus dispatching and reduce delays caused by inefficient planning.

Strategies:

• Perform annual assessments of building occupancy rates and usage patterns to identify underutilized spaces and make data-driven decisions for optimization.
• Adjust school boundaries as needed to balance enrollment across the district and ensure efficient use of school buildings.
• Create and implement a strategic master plan to guide future facility needs, including building expansions, upgrades, or consolidations based on student population trends.

Strategies:

• Continue support for all teachers and staff
• NBCT and EdTPA reimbursement and support
• Teacher Licensure Renewal Reimbursements
• HR - EC collaborations to support beginning EC teachers.
• Free Pearson & Praxis Test classes and paid fees for licensure tests
• Tuition Reimbursements for Alternatively Licensed employees
• Increase HR accessibility
• Increase Teacher Recognitions via Teacher of the Month Program
• Investigate viability of Advanced Teacher Roles in OCS
• Teaching Fellows District Grant - Professional Development for beginning teachers, and opportunities for state and/or national conferences

Strategies:

• Employee Onboarding Process improvements
• Begin Classified Employee of the Month Award
• Reinvigorating TOY and Retiree Celebrations
• Continue support for all teachers and staff
• Increase HR Accessibility 
• Onboarding modules/training for specific OCS positions
• Increase HR PD offerings and collaborations (AP Academy, Operations, Finance, etc.)
• Constant monitoring and updating of BT support and processes
• Reimbursements for Spanish classes at Durham Tech

Strategies:

• Continue best practices by HR staffing team and OCS leaders to create and maintain pipeline and contact with OCS applicants
• Increased emphasis on bus driver vacancies and substitute fill rates
• Increase pool of OCS employees with CDLs
• Outreach and Collaboration with OCDSS
• Continue partnerships with local universities such as UNC-CH, NCSU, and Durham Tech to increase numbers of student teachers, interns, and cohorts at OCS schools
• Use OCS properties and staff to help recruit locally

Strategies:

• Utilize fair and consistent practices in order to hire high quality employees in all positions
• HR staffing team and OCS leaders will continue to create and maintain partnerships with organizations that can provide applicants who can be successful OCS employees
• Encourage a culture that values continuous learning and development
• Recognize candidates from non-traditional career paths
• Establish a clear onboarding process
• Expand recruitment efforts

Strategies:

• Monitor and perfect the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) planning process to ensure the development and implementation of a robust, rigorous instructional framework such that daily lesson/unit plans and instruction is representative of all students.
• Monitor and perfect the implementation of instructional strategies for all students to explore real-world examples, explore their individual interests, share their unique stories and experiences, and be supported on their personal pathways to academic success.
• Provide ongoing professional learning to principals, assistant principals, and educators on the interpretation and use of the Code of Student Conduct, Board policy, and the distinction between minor and major office referrals.
• Adopt objective criteria for office referrals to reduce the risk of bias leading to disproportionately punitive consequences for student behavior.
• District staff and school administration will collect and analyze discipline data using the Educator's Handbook.  This data should be disaggregated and would include the following:
  • Location of incidents (including buses)
  • Time of incidents
  • Staff members
  • Disciplinary action taken
  • Incidents (disrespect, disruption, discretionary, etc.)
  • Risk ratio
  • Bullying and harassment reports
• District and school-based administration will review data monthly to examine disproportionate discipline practices and implement research and evidence-based wraparound services to reduce disproportionality.
• Provide and institutionalize restorative practice training districtwide/schoolwide; document and evaluate the implementation and outcome(s) of restorative practices.

Goal II: By June 2026, Orange County Schools will address attendance by reducing the district chronic absenteeism rate from 21.83% to 19% as a way to improve student readiness, engagement, and academic outcomes by resolving a significant barrier to student learning.

Strategies:

• Build the capacity of families by providing annual training regarding attendance and the impact on student achievement (academic, social-emotional, on-time graduation, grade-level proficiency). 
• Monitor the effectiveness of wraparound services, interventions, and programing through continued examination of monthly school discipline data and quarterly district discipline data.
• Systematically track and analyze data while utilizing a three-tiered system of support to provide differentiated strategies for students to improve attendance at all levels.
• OCS students will participate in the annual Panorama survey with a minimum completion rate of 95% or higher.
• District and school-based administration will analyze student climate survey data and will facilitate reflective and critical conversations about the ways in which school processes, procedures, policies, adult actions, and adult interactions with students may contribute to disparities.
• Expand the number of questions in the “sense of belonging” section of the Panorama survey to be able to get a clearer understanding of the student perspective on identifying their school community as “a good place to attend and learn” and that they “feel like they belong.”

Strategies:

• Implement a clear process for identifying and approving community organizations as district partners.
• Communicate with families in multiple languages and modes to best meet their needs.
• Strengthen two-way communication between school, home, and the community by establishing a “School Champion Program” to provide key information necessary to positively impact students’ educational experiences and academic achievement.
• Provide ongoing training for school and district staff on meaningful family and community engagement.
• Strengthen district customer service at all “touch points,” and establish clear ways to measure effectiveness and inform improvement.