Agenda 04-28-20 Attachment C - Orange County Schools Board of Education FY2020-21 Operating Budget Request

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Agenda Item #1 Attachment C OCS Board of Education Approved 2020-2021 Local Operating Budget Request Youth who fail to complete high school by age 20 are seven times more likely to be poor as reported by The Urban Institute. It is also reported from the United State of Justice that two-thirds of all youth in the juvenile court system could not read in the fourth grade. Finally,it is alarming to read from the National Commission on Writing that$3.1 billion is spent annually to improve the literacy skills of entry-level workers. The statistics are sobering and speak to the need to focus on literacy. Furthermore, Orange County students deserve to be equipped to participate in civic life through means such as accessing and navigating health care systems. They deserve to be prepared for higher education which on average requires 8o pages of independent reading per week. Data tells us that up to sixty percent of community college freshmen are assigned to remedial reading courses because they are not adequately prepared. It is recognize that the Orange County Schools literacy data is disproportionate and does not reflect the potential of our students. As a result, Literacy is a primary focus of the work as we budget and plan for the 2020-2021 school year. FOCI II- CULTURE&CLIMATE: Climate is observable habits that characterize life in the school or office while culture is the beliefs that reflect that deeper foundation of how we operate. This plays out for our students as Social and Emotional Learning. Social and Emotional learning is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals,feel and show empathy for others, demonstrate cultural sensitivity, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decision. "Could someone help me with these? I'm late for math class." t r Unfortunately,the above cartoon reflects many students entering our school buildings today. They are entering our buildings carrying lots of"baggage"and still expected to perform,learn and behave. In order for our students to be the most successful,we have to support the student in a whole child model not just focusing on academics.