Orange County Public Schools

Orange County Public Schools - Destination College: It's Elementary!

2010 Innovation Award Winner: Getting Ready, Southern Region
Orlando, Florida

Program Description

Destination College: It’s Elementary! was developed in 2008 as a means for accomplishing the Orange County Public School District’s 11 Essential Outcomes, specifically the district’s strategic plan’s goal of "Intense Focus on Student Achievement." The mission of the program is to provide every student, especially low-income and underrepresented students, with the maximum opportunity to achieve college readiness beginning at the elementary level. The program’s goal is to fully prepare every elementary-level student for rigorous courses at the middle and high school levels in order to achieve college readiness. The program provides a framework for implementing research-based, high-yield strategies and is designed for implementation at the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade levels. It challenges each school to create a campus-wide college-going culture, while focusing on specific learning strategies in order to promote college awareness and readiness. Implementation is directly overseen by a school-based leadership team, with the support of a district leadership team. The focus strategies are organization skills, goal-setting, self-advocacy, study skills, high-level questioning, oral language skills, Cornell Notes, cooperative learning, and SQ3R.

Measuring Success

Quantitative success will be measured through an increase in promotion rates district-wide, with specific focus on 6th grade, as well as by an increase of student enrollment and performance in advanced programs both at the middle and high school levels with an emphasis on low income and under-represented populations. Four schools, (48 teachers), were chosen to pilot the program in 2008-09 with two schools (19 teachers) successfully completing the program. During the pilot year, statistical student data was not collected. Instead, emphasis was placed on school and teacher interest, program relevance, and navigating the online course. For the 2009-2010 school year, 25 schools, with 201 teachers and 3,648 students, are participating. Qualitative success is measured through monthly participant surveys addressing the effectiveness of the program. Additionally, to monitor the continuum of implementation at each elementary school, a yearly matrix is completed for each program essential utilizing the following indicators: In Name Only, Intentionally Structured and Enforced or Culturally Embedded.

Contact

Dianne Lovett
Orange County Public Schools
445 West Amelia Street
Orlando, FL 32801
Telephone Number: 407-317-3200
Fax Number: 407-317-3369
Email: lovettd@ocps.net
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