public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
. It is based in the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center in
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
. As of the 2021-22 school year, OCPS has an enrollment of 206,246 students, making it the 9th largest school district in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and the fourth largest in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
. The school district also employs over 24,576 instructional and classified employees, which make up more than 95% of the OCPS work force. It includes the entire county. Text list /ref>
School board
The superintendent of Orange County Public Schools is Maria Vazquez. The position of superintendent is appointed by the
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
. The district is overseen by the Orange County School Board, a body of seven elected officers, each board member sitting for a particular geographic district. School board districts are not analogous in any way with county commission districts. As of 2022, the current school board members, in order of district number, are Angie Gallo, Maria Salamanca, Alicia Farrant, Pam Gould, Vicki-Elaine Felder, Karen Castor Dentel, and Melissa Byrd.
Board members are elected every four years with 12-year
term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
s as of July 1st, 2022, with Districts 1 through 3 elected during midterm election cycles (next in 2026) and Districts 4 through 7 elected during presidential cycles (next in 2024). School board elections in Orange County are non-partisan.
A county-wide public vote in 2009 created the elected position of school board chairman. Bill Sublette was subsequently elected to this position in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Teresa Jacobs was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
Schools
OCPS has used an attendance model of
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
and grades 9–12 for
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
since July 1987. Before then, grade 6 was part of elementary school and grade 9 was part of middle school ("junior high" in OCPS prior to July 1987). As now required by Florida law, virtually all elementary schools have
pre-kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...
programs.
OCPS has 205 regular-attendance schools as of the 2021-22 school year: 128 elementary, nine K–8, 39 middle, 22 high, and seven exceptional student education centers. The district also has an
adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ral ...
system with six dedicated campuses and night classes at most high schools, four dedicated
special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
schools as well as a hospital/homebound program, and dozens of alternative education centers, including
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s. Six of the high schools in OCPS have separate ninth-grade centers, three of them off-site of the main campus, built after the shift from K–6/7–9/10–12 to K–5/6–8/9–12.
Some elementary middle and high schools include magnet programs that allow students to specialize in particular subject areas. Students must apply to magnet schools in order to take advantage of this specialization. Some magnet programs offered by OCPS are agriscience, aviation and aerospace, Cambridge AICE, criminal justice, culinary arts, digital media & gaming, education, entertainment production, entrepreneurship, finance, fine arts, first responders, foreign languages / dual languages, gifted academy,
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
, international studies, healthcare, hospitality, laser
photonics
Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...
, law, leadership, medicine, nursing, performing arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), veterinary animal science, and visual arts.
The schools of OCPS are divided into six areas called learning communities: North, East, West, Southeast, Southwest and School Transformation Office (STO). Southeast and Southwest were split from a larger South Learning Community in 2006. The School Transformation Office Learning Community, which was founded in 2013, includes schools throughout Orange County who have received failing grades and helps provide resources for students at these schools to succeed. Prior to the existence of STO, there was a Central Learning Community, which was known as the "Urban Cohort" until 2005.
The district is in an aggressive expansion and school improvement project being fueled by a 0.5%
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...
option passed by the voters of Orange County in 2002. Skyrocketing land and materials costs, however, have outpaced faster-than-expected sales tax revenue increases and slowed progress. Many projects had been pushed back, and some had been cancelled altogether. An extension of the half-penny sales tax was passed in 2014 for another ten years.
Most paperwork distributed to students and parents by OCPS is available in both
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, and Filipino due to the significant populations in Orange County that speak each language.
Elementary schools
* Aloma Elementary School
* Andover Elementary School
* Apopka Elementary School
* Avalon Elementary School
* Azalea Park Elementary School
* Baldwin Park Elementary School
* Bay Lake Elementary School
* Bay Meadows Elementary School
* Bonneville Elementary School
* Brookshire Elementary School
* Camelot Elementary School
* Castle Creek Elementary School
* Castleview Elementary School
* Catalina Elementary School
* Cheney Elementary School
* Chickasaw Elementary School
* Citrus Elementary School
* Clay Springs Elementary School
* Columbia Elementary School
* Conway Elementary School
* Cypress Park Elementary School
* Cypress Springs Elementary School
* Deerwood Elementary School
* Dillard Street Elementary School
* Dommerich Elementary School
* Dover Shores Elementary School
* Dr. Phillips Elementary School
* Dream Lake Elementary School
* Durrance Elementary School
* Eagle Creek Elementary School
* Eagles Nest Elementary School
* East Lake Elementary School
* Eccleston Elementary School
* Endeavor Elementary School
* Engelwood Elementary School
* Forsyth Woods Elementary School
* Frangus Elementary School
* Hamlin Elementary School (2022)
* Hiawassee Elementary School
* Hidden Oaks Elementary School
* Hillcrest Elementary School
* Hungerford Elementary School
* Hunters Creek Elementary School
* Independence Elementary School
* Ivey Lane Elementary School
* John Young Elementary School
* Keenes Crossing Elementary School
* Killarney Elementary School
* Lake Gem Elementary School
* Lake George Elementary School
* Lake Silver Elementary School
* Lake Sybelia Elementary School
* Lake Weston Elementary School
* Lake Whitney Elementary School
* Lakemont Elementary School
* Lakeville Elementary School
* Lancaster Elementary School
* Laureate Park Elementary School
* Lawton Chiles Elementary School
* Little River Elementary School
* Lockhart Elementary School
* Lovell Elementary School
* Maxey Elementary School
* McCoy Elementary School
* Meadow Woods Elementary School
* MetroWest Elementary School
* Millennia Elementary School
* Millennia Gardens Elementary School
* Mollie Ray Elementary School
* Moss Park Elementary School
* Northlake Park Community Elementary School
* Oak Hill Elementary School
* Oakshire Elementary School
* Ocoee Elementary School
* Orange Center Elementary School
* Orlo Vista Elementary School
* Palm Lake Elementary School
* Palmetto Elementary School
* Panther Lake Elementary School (2022)
* Pinar Elementary School
* Pine Hills Elementary School
* Pineloch Elementary School
* Pinewood Elementary School
* Prairie Lake Elementary School
* Princeton Elementary School
* Ridgewood Park Elementary School
* Riverdale Elementary School
* Riverside Elementary School
* Rock Lake Elementary School
* Rock Springs Elementary School
* Rolling Hills Elementary School
* Rosemont Elementary School
* Sadler Elementary School
* Sally Ride Elementary School
* Sand Lake Elementary School
* Shenandoah Elementary School
* Shingle Creek Elementary School
* Southwood Elementary School
* Spring Lake Elementary School
* Stone Lakes Elementary School
* Stonewyck Elementary School (2022)
* Summerlake Elementary School
* Sun Blaze Elementary School
* SunRidge Elementary School
* Sunrise Elementary School
* Sunset Park Elementary School
* Sunshine Elementary School
* Tangelo Park Elementary School
* Thornebrooke Elementary School
* Three Points Elementary School
* Tildenville Elementary School
* Timber Lakes Elementary School
* Union Park Elementary School
* Ventura Elementary School
* Village Park Elementary School
* Vista Lakes Elementary School
* Vista Pointe Elementary School
* Washington Shores Elementary School
* Washington Shores Primary Learning Center
* Water Spring Elementary School
* Waterbridge Elementary School
* Waterford Elementary School
* West Creek Elementary School
* West Oaks Elementary School
* Westbrooke Elementary School
* Westpointe Elementary School
* Wetherbee Elementary School
* Wheatley Elementary School
* Whispering Oak Elementary School
* Windermere Elementary School
* Winegard Elementary School
* Wolf Lake Elementary School
* Wyndham Lakes Elementary School
* Zellwood Elementary School
K-8 Schools
* Arbor Ridge K-8 School
* Audubon Park K-8 School
* Baldwin Park K-8 School
* Blankner K-8 School
* Kelly Park K-8 School (2022)
* Lake Como K-8 School
* OCPS Academic Center for Excellence (ACE)
* Orlando Gifted Academy
* Pershing K-8 School
* Wedgefield K-8 School
* Windy Ridge K-8 School
Middle schools
* Apopka Memorial Middle School
* Avalon Middle School
* Bridgewater Middle School
* Carver Middle School
* Chain Of Lakes Middle School
* College Park Middle School
* Conway Middle School
* Corner Lake Middle School
* Discovery Middle School
* Freedom Middle School
* Glenridge Middle School
* Gotha Middle School
* Hamlin Middle School (2022)
* Horizon West Middle School
* Howard Middle School
* Hunters Creek Middle School
* Innovation Middle School
* Judson B. Walker Middle School
* Lake Nona Middle School
* Lakeview Middle School
* Legacy Middle School
* Liberty Middle School
* Lockhart Middle School
* Maitland Middle School
* Meadow Woods Middle School
* Meadowbrook Middle School
* Memorial Middle School
* Ocoee Middle School
* Odyssey Middle School
* Piedmont Lakes Middle School
* Roberto Clemente Middle School
* Robinswood Middle School
* South Creek Middle School
* Southwest Middle School
* SunRidge Middle School
* Timber Springs Middle School
* Union Park Middle School
* Water Spring Middle School
* Westridge Middle School
* Wolf Lake Middle School
High schools
Prior to 1952, there were only two high schools in the City of Orlando: Orlando High School and Jones High School, which was a segregation-era Black-only high school until integration was enforced. Other municipalities in the county had high schools: Apopka, Florida;
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winter Park was f ...
Eatonville, Florida
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando– Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black ...
(Hungerford H.S.).
In 1952, Orlando High was split into what became Edgewater High School and
William R. Boone High School
William Rennick Boone High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida. Built in 1952, the school is one of twenty high schools in the Orange County Public Schools system, created to accommodate the growing number of students at Orlando Hi ...
. Originally to be named "Orlando North" and "Orlando South", respectively, Orlando South took its modern name after its principal, William R. Boone, died before it opened. Orlando North took the name of the road it was built on, Edgewater Drive. The former Orlando High campus became Howard Middle School. Jones High moved to its present location in 1952, which was reconstructed in 2004.
In 1975, Ocoee High School and Lakeview High School were closed (their old campuses then housed Junior High schools of the same names) and their students went to the new West Orange High School. 30 years later, a new Ocoee High School was built and opened in 2005.
Robert F. Hungerford High School, founded in 1897 in the historically black community of Eatonville, was renamed Wymore Tech and Wymore Career Education Center in the 1960's until it became the Hungerford Preparatory School in the late 1990's and operated as a district-wide magnet school without a specific geographic attendance zone. OCPS closed Hungerford Prep in 2009.
Twelve of the district's high schools were opened after 1990, not including reconstructed campuses for existing schools.
* Apopka High School (1931)
*
William R. Boone High School
William Rennick Boone High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida. Built in 1952, the school is one of twenty high schools in the Orange County Public Schools system, created to accommodate the growing number of students at Orlando Hi ...
(1952)
*
Colonial High School
Colonial High School is a public high school located in Orlando, Florida, United States.
Colonial serves grades 9–12 within the neighborhoods of Azalea Park, Engelwood Park, Rio Pinar, Lake Fredrica, Ventura, Pershing, Vista East, Vista Park ...
Dr. Phillips High School
Dr. Phillips High School is a public high school in Dr. Phillips, Florida, United States, near Orlando.
It serves the Dr. Phillips census-designated place (CDP), the Bay Hill CDP, and the residential portion of Lake Buena Vista.
History
Dr ...
(1987)
*
East River High School
East River High School is a high school located in east Orange County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Bithlo area. East River High School was built in 2009 as a relief school to reduce overcrowding in nearby high schools Timber Cre ...
Maynard Evans High School
Maynard Evans High School is a high school located in Orlando, Florida, United States, served by Orange County Public Schools. The school's name is often shortened to "Evans High School" or "E-HIGH", and the mascot for the school are the Trojans.
...
Lake Buena Vista High School
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
(2021)
*
Lake Nona High School
Lake Nona High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida, United States. It was a relief school for Odyssey Middle School, Cypress Creek High School, and Oak Ridge High. Lake Nona High School stands as one of the more challenging schoo ...
Ocoee High School
Ocoee High School is a public secondary school located in Ocoee, Florida, 12.5 miles west of Orlando. Built in 2005, Ocoee High School operates as apart of Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) and serves students from the cities of Ocoee, Apopka, W ...
Wekiva High School
Wekiva High School is a high school located in Apopka, Florida, United States. The school mascot is the mustang. The school colors are maroon, navy and gold. It was established in 2007 as a relief school for Apopka High School and Ocoee High Schoo ...
Windermere High School
Windermere High School is a high school in Lake Butler, an unincorporated area located in the southwest portion of Orange County, Florida, USA, within the Orlando metropolitan area.Winter Park High School (1927)
Exceptional Education Schools
* ESE Transition
* Esteem Academy
* Hospital Homebound
* La Amistad
* Magnolia
* Silver Pines Academy
Alternative Education Schools
* Acceleration East
* Acceleration West
* AMIKids Orlando
* Beta
* Devereux Treatment Program
* Juvenile Detention
* Juvenile Offenders Program
* OCVS Digital Academy
* OCVS Virtual Franchise
* OOCVS Virtual Instruction Program
* Orange Youth Academy
* Pace Center For Girls
* Positive Pathways Transition Center
* Project Compass
* Randall Academy
* Simon Youth Foundation Academy
* Universal Education Center
* Village
Charter Schools
* Access
* Aloma High
* Aspire Academy
* Bridgeprep Academy
* Central Florida Leadership Academy
* Chancery High
* Cornerstone Academy
* Cornerstone Charter Academy High School
* Econ River High
* Hope Charter
* Innovation Montessori High School
* Innovation Montessori Ocoee
* Innovations Middle
* Lake Eola
* Legacy High
* Legends Academy
* Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy
* Mater Academy Narcoossee
* Oakland Avenue
* Orange County Preparatory Academy
* Orlando Science Schools
* Passport
* Pinecrest Academy Avalon
* Pinecrest Collegiate Academy
* Pinecrest Creek
* Pinecrest Preparatory
* Princeton House
* Prosperitas Leadership Academy
* Renaissance Charter at Crown Point
* Renaissance Charter at Chickasaw
* Renaissance Charter at Goldenrod
* Renaissance Charter at Hunter's Creek
* Sheeler High
* Sunshine High
* UCP Bailes Community Academy
* UCP East Orange
* UCP Orange
* UCP Pine Hills
* UCP Transitional Learning Academy
* UCP West Orange
* Workforce Advantage Academy