MISSION AND BACKGROUND
OF THE BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON EDUCATION

The mission of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Education is to develop recommendations that will lead Orange County Public Schools (“OCPS”) and our community into a new era of improved student performance. To that end, the Panel will identify the factors that are significantly impacting student and school performance in Orange County. Further, the Panel will seek to compare current practices in these areas within Orange County with documented best practices across the nation. The work of the Panel will focus on issues that directly impact student performance. This comprehensive evaluation will lead the Panel to provide specific recommendations to OCPS, community leaders, parents and citizens, for the purposes of securing the greatest possible and significant improvements in public education and student performance in Orange County’s public schools. The evaluation will include consideration of available resources both within the district and within the community.

Committee Process
The Chairman of the Orange County School Board, Orange County Mayor and the Mayor of Orlando will nominate representatives to the Panel. It is anticipated that the work of the Panel will take 4-to-6 months. Appointees must commit to regular attendance at the meetings and will agree not to send designees in their place whenever possible. Because of the scope of work of the Panel, the use of committees is recommended to ensure the most efficient and effective review of factors impacting student performance. The committees will be charged with specific tasks and timelines, which will be reported back to the full Panel at regularly scheduled meetings.

OCPS will be responsible for providing all staff support and necessary resources to the Panel, including but not limited to, meeting arrangements, research and report preparation, meeting minutes and agendas. Expenses associated with panel research, field trips, and support will be addressed by a joint OCPS, city and county funding agreement.

Focus Areas
The Panel will target its efforts in areas that affect student performance using a five-committee structure:

Early Childhood Education
Student Performance
Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay
Parental and Community Support
Education Management

The Panel should compare current OCPS policies and practices with best practices throughout the nation that have demonstrated a positive impact on learning and that have provided improvements in student performance. Emphasis on programs and services that strengthen student preparation should be considered essential to overall success. The Panel will identify and evaluate unique or special challenges faced by OCPS that impact student and school performance. These challenges may include, but are not limited to, the number of students whose primary language is not English, student mobility and student population growth. The Panel will review current legislation (state and federal) as relates to student performance and propose recommended changes. The Panel will identify if targeted community support and corporate business resources can be used to overcome identified shortcomings or unique challenges in specific environments. Where relevant, specific focus areas may be addressed by more than one committee, and include the following:

Early Assessment and Education Programs - The Panel will review the OCPS process for early identification of children who may be at risk for poor student performance, including pre kindergarten children. This review will include an evaluation of the educational programs available to assist children who have been identified through the early assessment process. (Early Childhood Education Committee) Early Childhood Education The Panel will review the extent to which Orange County children have access to quality early childhood education prior to the age of five and make recommendations to enhance access to these programs.

• (Early Childhood Education Committee)
  Intervention Programs - The Panel will review and evaluate the capacity and quality of intervention programs available for remediation of elementary, middle and high school students who are not reading on grade level, who have been retained and/or otherwise fail to meet student performance standards on the FCAT. This will include identification and evaluation of intervention programs available after regular school hours, during summer school and through pull-out programs.

• (Student Performance Committee)
  Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay - The Panel will review approaches to teacher performance, retention and pay. A review will cover data related to teacher pay and incentives, educational attainment, placement, turnover rates and related information. The Panel will gain an understanding of programs, which train, support and assist teachers, including beginner and Master teacher programs.

• (Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay Committee)
  Instructional Programs - The Panel will review the use of International Baccalaureate programs, magnet programs, academies and vocational/technical programs.

• (Student Performance and Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay Committees)
  OCPS Organizational Structure - The Panel will review the current organizational structure. The review will focus on the best possible administrative structure to increase student performance.

• (Education Management Committee)
  Parent and Caregiver Involvement - The Panel will obtain an understanding of the impact of parent/caregiver involvement on student success. In addition, the Panel will evaluate the opportunities and barriers to such involvement, including but not limited to, accessibility of school staff and teachers and the method of communication with parents and caregivers.

• (Parental and Community Support Committee)
  Community Conditions that Impact Student Performance - The Panel will obtain an understanding of the impact of community economic and social conditions on student academic performance, including such things as unstable housing, mobility, student growth, unsafe neighborhoods and peer culture. The Panel will also review efforts effectively utilized locally and nationally to counteract community factors that negatively impact student achievement.

• (Early Childhood Education, Student Performance, Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay, Parental and Community Support Committees)
  Exceptional Education/Limited English Proficient Student - In light of the inclusion of all student scores in calculating school grades for the 2004-05 school year, the Panel will review the number of students who face academic challenges as a result of educational disabilities and make recommendations for increasing student success. The Panel will review the available research on the length of time required for English acquisition and its implication for OCPS students achieving academic success. The Panel will make recommendations for possible interventions to reduce the dropout rate and increase the percentage of high school graduates of our Limited English Proficient (LEP) population.

• (Early Childhood Education, Student Performance, Teacher Performance, Retention and Pay, Parental and Community Support Committees)
  Other issues or priorities established by Panel may be included in the process.

Resource Evaluation
After a review of the focus areas and an understanding of their impact on student success and school performance, the Panel will explore and evaluate the sources of funding for OCPS and the allocation of these resources on the identified focus areas within the OCPS budget. The Panel will evaluate OCPS’ current level of funding as appropriated by the Florida Legislature and allocation of that funding in comparison with similar school districts within Florida and across the nation. The Panel will evaluate the impact of current external and community resources dedicated to OCPS at the district and school level.

Recommendations
The work of the Panel will result in a comprehensive review and in-depth evaluation of student performance within OCPS compared to best practices and meaningful results achieved by comparable districts across the nation. This valuable information will serve as a starting point for the Panel to prepare recommendations for achieving improvements in key areas that will significantly impact student and school performance in our community. Upon completion of the Panel’s work, it is essential that the review, evaluation and recommendations of the Panel be memorialized in a final report to OCPS and the community.

Proposed Timeline