Good Afternoon OPA Families and Staff,
I am very excited to announce that both OPA - Saddleback Valley and OPA - South Orange County were selected to receive the 2022 California Pivotal Practice (CAPP) Award. Yesterday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, announced the recipients of the Award, which was given to only 727 California schools. “I’m incredibly proud of these schools and districts for their creativity, dedication, and innovation in the face of adversity,” Thurmond said. “These schools led incredible efforts to engage students, distribute technology, provide meals, and support the social and emotional well-being of students during an incredibly difficult time for schools and families.”
The CAPP award is being used this year in place of the California Distinguished School Program. It celebrates schools and districts that implemented an innovative practice during the 2020-2021 school year, when California required schools to offer distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our schools submitted an online application highlighting practices that included social and emotional learning, interventions and supports, and strong enrichment programs. We are so proud of the way that our school sites met the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are honored that the state of California recognized the tremendous efforts of our families, staff, and students during these difficult times. This honor is another testament to the incredible strength of our OPA community!
Both schools will receive a certificate and 2022 CAPP flag to display. Congratulations OPA Champions!!
This week we also received news that SVUSD will be holding a Public Hearing to determine community support for our OPA - Middle School charter petition on Thursday, May 12, at 6:00 pm. We will have a short presentation regarding the proposed OPA-Middle School charter, and then several staff, student, and parent speakers. If you would like to show your support for the charter, you can send a letter of support to [email protected] which I will bring to the public hearing, and/or you can come to the SVUSD Board meeting for the public hearing. Also, thank you to all of our 4th-6th grade families that turned in your intent to enroll forms for the new middle school. We had approximately 80% of our families show their support! We are very excited to share information about our proposed middle school charter with the SVUSD Board and hope that they vote to approve the charter on June 16, 2022.
We are also holding our lottery for the 2022-2023 school year tomorrow at 11:00 am. This year we have seen incredible interest in our OPA programs, with over 1500 applicants. In a time when most California schools and districts, including those in South Orange County, are declining in enrollment, OPA is getting incredible numbers of applications, and even more calling daily to be placed on the post lottery list. This will continue to allow us to improve our programs, including our virtual learning program, and provide even more opportunities for our OPA champions. Our OPA schools truly stand out as model educational organizations.
It is a very exciting time for OPA, and I am so grateful for everyone in our OPA community. You are all what make OPA such a strong and supportive place for our champions to excel! We truly are "moving forward together" to provide the best individualized learning experiences possible. Thank you all for choosing to be a part of OPA!!
Sincerely,
Amy Kernan
Executive Director
I am very excited to announce that both OPA - Saddleback Valley and OPA - South Orange County were selected to receive the 2022 California Pivotal Practice (CAPP) Award. Yesterday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, announced the recipients of the Award, which was given to only 727 California schools. “I’m incredibly proud of these schools and districts for their creativity, dedication, and innovation in the face of adversity,” Thurmond said. “These schools led incredible efforts to engage students, distribute technology, provide meals, and support the social and emotional well-being of students during an incredibly difficult time for schools and families.”
The CAPP award is being used this year in place of the California Distinguished School Program. It celebrates schools and districts that implemented an innovative practice during the 2020-2021 school year, when California required schools to offer distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our schools submitted an online application highlighting practices that included social and emotional learning, interventions and supports, and strong enrichment programs. We are so proud of the way that our school sites met the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are honored that the state of California recognized the tremendous efforts of our families, staff, and students during these difficult times. This honor is another testament to the incredible strength of our OPA community!
Both schools will receive a certificate and 2022 CAPP flag to display. Congratulations OPA Champions!!
This week we also received news that SVUSD will be holding a Public Hearing to determine community support for our OPA - Middle School charter petition on Thursday, May 12, at 6:00 pm. We will have a short presentation regarding the proposed OPA-Middle School charter, and then several staff, student, and parent speakers. If you would like to show your support for the charter, you can send a letter of support to [email protected] which I will bring to the public hearing, and/or you can come to the SVUSD Board meeting for the public hearing. Also, thank you to all of our 4th-6th grade families that turned in your intent to enroll forms for the new middle school. We had approximately 80% of our families show their support! We are very excited to share information about our proposed middle school charter with the SVUSD Board and hope that they vote to approve the charter on June 16, 2022.
We are also holding our lottery for the 2022-2023 school year tomorrow at 11:00 am. This year we have seen incredible interest in our OPA programs, with over 1500 applicants. In a time when most California schools and districts, including those in South Orange County, are declining in enrollment, OPA is getting incredible numbers of applications, and even more calling daily to be placed on the post lottery list. This will continue to allow us to improve our programs, including our virtual learning program, and provide even more opportunities for our OPA champions. Our OPA schools truly stand out as model educational organizations.
It is a very exciting time for OPA, and I am so grateful for everyone in our OPA community. You are all what make OPA such a strong and supportive place for our champions to excel! We truly are "moving forward together" to provide the best individualized learning experiences possible. Thank you all for choosing to be a part of OPA!!
Sincerely,
Amy Kernan
Executive Director