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of the total student population) in OCS, and 1333 (or 11.7% of the total student population) <br />in CHCCS. It is interesting to note that the OCS Exceptional Children (EC) numbers of <br />17.6% are well above the national average which usually runs about 12% of the school <br />population. This finding invites further scrutiny in order to determine whether this larger <br />proportion of children identif led as having special needs reflects over - classifying or under - <br />serving these students. <br />The most striking achievement disparity that we have observed is the significantly <br />lower achievement of OCS students with disabilities compared to the achievement of <br />CHCCS students with disabilities. The percent of middle school special needs students at <br />or above grade level on EOG achievement tests in CHCCS is 63.1 %; in OCS it is 49.4 %. We <br />may assume that the number of exceptional children's teachers and assistants in CHCCS <br />working with these students as well as the personnel available to coordinate this work in the <br />schools and central office may play a factor in the achievement of these children. <br />Curriculum leadership is important for the continued development of instruction in <br />these districts. OCS schools have significantly fewer central office staff to guide text <br />book adoption, development of instruction, analysis of district data, and professional <br />development than CHCCS. This distinction in curriculum leadership is critical because of <br />the challenges facing these districts: the need to align curriculum across the district, and <br />to assure that it prepares students for proficiency examinations; the need to balance <br />instruction focused on proficiency with instruction for deep understanding and cognitive <br />fluency, the support of all students in heterogeneous and inclusive classes through <br />differentiated curricula; and access to and utilization of research that provides analysis of <br />extant materials and methods and proposes improved methods of instruction. <br />Recommendations <br />Increasing OCS Resources Pre K -12 <br />1. Increased Provision of Social Workers <br />Given the individualized instruction and support that children with special needs <br />require, OCS needs more specialists to work with students at every level of the system. <br />Acknowledging the difficulty of finding resources to increase the number of certified EC <br />teachers to work with students, we recommend that the county explore how to increase the <br />number of social workers for every Orange County school. Perhaps the County can use some <br />portion of social service funding to provide this support for students. <br />Z, Increased Resources for Exceptional Children (EC) Specialists in OCS <br />Social workers will alleviate some of the strain that OCS schools deal with as they <br />work to support students in crisis. But at every level of OCS this system needs to be <br />buttressed. Student Assistance Teams need training, crisis intervention counselors need to <br />