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Orange County Public Schools

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Orange County Public Schools
Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, the district headquarters
Address
445 West Amelia Street[1]
Orlando
, Florida, 32801-1129
United States
District information
TypePublic school district
SuperintendentMaria F. Vazquez
Deputy superintendent(s)Michael Armbruster, Bridget Williams
Chair of the boardTeresa Jacobs
Other information
Websitewww.ocps.net

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is the public school district for Orange County, Florida. It is based in the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center in downtown Orlando.[2] OCPS is the eighth-largest school district in the United States and the fourth-largest in Florida.[3] The district serves about 209,000 students at 210 schools and is one of the largest employers in Central Florida with more than 25,000 team members.[3] For 2024, the Florida Department of Education awarded OCPS with a district grade of A, previously earned in 2019 and in 2010.[4]

School board

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The superintendent of Orange County Public Schools is Maria Vazquez. The position of superintendent is appointed by the school board. 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 city or 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.[5]

Board members are elected every four years with 8-year term limits [6] as of July 1, 2023, 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). All school board elections in Florida are currently non-partisan.[5]

A county-wide public vote in 2009 created the elected position of school board chair. 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.[7]

Schools

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OCPS has used an attendance model of kindergarten through grade 5 for elementary schools, grades 6–8 for middle schools, and grades 9–12 for high schools since July 1987.[8] 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 programs.

OCPS has 210 regular-attendance schools as of the 2023-24 school year: 132 elementary, 10 K–8, 40 middle, 22 high, and six exceptional student education centers. The district also has an adult education system with six dedicated campuses and night classes at most high schools, four dedicated special education schools as well as a hospital/homebound program, and dozens of alternative education centers, including charter schools.[9] 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, international studies, healthcare, hospitality, laser photonics, law, leadership, medicine, nursing, performing arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), veterinary animal science, and visual arts.

As of July 2023, the schools of OCPS are divided into seven groups called school cadres: Elementary, Middle/K-8, High, School Transformation, Exceptional Student Education, Career and Technical Education, and School Choice.[10] In order to provide more direct support to schools from the district, schools are now grouped primarily by grade level instead of by geographic learning communities which were in place for over 20 years.[10]

The district is in an aggressive expansion and school improvement project being fueled by a 0.5% sales tax option passed by the voters of Orange County in 2002.[11] 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. Since 2003, OCPS has opened 64 new schools and renovated or replaced 132 schools.[3]

Most paperwork distributed to students and parents by OCPS is available in both English and Spanish. Many such documents are also available in Portuguese, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, and Filipino due to the significant populations in Orange County that speak each language.

Elementary schools

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  • Aloma Elementary School
  • Andover Elementary School
  • Apopka Elementary School
  • Atwater Bay 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 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[a]
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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  • Arbor Ridge K-8 School
  • Audubon Park K-8 School
  • Blankner K-8 School
  • Kelly Park K-8 School
  • 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

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  • 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
  • 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
  • Luminary 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

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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; Ocoee, Florida; Winter Garden, Florida (Lakeview H.S.), and Eatonville, Florida (Hungerford H.S.).

In 1952, Orlando High was split into what became Edgewater High School and William R. Boone High School. 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 as the Robert F. Hungerford Normal and Industrial School 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.

Exceptional Education Schools

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  • ESE Transition
  • Esteem Academy
  • Hospital Homebound
  • La Amistad
  • Magnolia
  • Silver Pines Academy

Alternative Education Schools

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  • Acceleration East
  • Acceleration West
  • AMIKids Orlando
  • Beta
  • Devereux Treatment Program
  • Juvenile Detention
  • Juvenile Offenders Program
  • OCVS Virtual Franchise
  • OCVS Virtual Instruction
  • Orange Youth Academy
  • Pace Center For Girls
  • Positive Pathways Transition Center
  • Randall Academy
  • Simon Youth Foundation Academy
  • Universal Education Center
  • Village

Charter Schools

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  • 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 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

Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Orange County Public Schools". OCPS. Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  2. ^ "Map of OCPS Educational Leadership Center". Google Maps.
  3. ^ a b c "About Us". Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "School Grades". Florida Department of Education. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "OCPS School Board". Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "House Bill 477". The Florida Senate. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "OCPS School Board Chair". Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "Orange Middle Schools Debuting With New Way Of Life For Students". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  9. ^ "About Florida's Charter Schools". FLDOE. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Find My School Cadre". Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Half Penny Sales Tax" (PDF). OCPS. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  12. ^ "Durrance ES.pdf" (PDF). Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cypress Park ES.pdf" (PDF). Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sally Ride ES.pdf" (PDF). Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "Orange County Public School District Food & Nutrition Services - Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  1. ^ Durrance ES [12] was permanently closed after the 2017-2018 school year and merged into Cypress Park ES as a combined campus known as Sally Ride ES, opening in August 2018.[13][14] The former Durrance ES campus has now been repurposed as the Orange County Public School District Food & Nutrition Services building as of the 2021-22 school year.[15]
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