The School Board of Orange County held its regularly-scheduled board meeting at 4:45 p.m. at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. These are the highlights of the meeting:

Arts In Our Schools Month Recognized

Orange County Public Schools surpasses the state percentage of students enrolled in arts courses. As a result of our commitment to support visual and performing arts education, OCPS students participate in local, state and national performances and exhibitions. During the month of March, a K-12 exhibit will be available to the public at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center showcasing student artwork from across the district.

Bay Lake Elementary fourth-grade student Danny Huang won the Florida Art Education Association’s 2023 Youth Art Flag Design competition with his colorful drawing titled, “Keep the Earth Clean and Rivers Evergreen.” He is the first Orange County Public Schools student to be selected for this honor. His artwork will be part of a flag that will be displayed at the 2023 National Art Education Association conference in San Antonio in April.

Lakeview Middle eighth-grade student Yuxin Cai’s self-portrait graphite drawing will be on display in the Capitol in Tallahassee from March 7 through May 5.

Culinary Competition Winners Recognized

More than 170 students representing 10 OCPS high schools and the OTC South Campus recently competed in the 13th annual OCPS Culinary Competition where more than 60 judges from Disney, Universal Orlando, The Ritz, area restaurants, hotels and resorts critiqued the culinary skills.

Black History Month Recognition

School Board recognizes former School Board of Orange County Member Kattie Adams, who proudly represented District 5 for 20 years. Adams was the first Black member of the Orange County School Board when she was elected in 1980. She was a Jones High alumna and taught history at Jones and Colonial high schools for 19 years. Adams also was a devoted educator, community leader and advocate for student equality, and lobbied for the improvement of reading skills and the creation of uniform discipline policies.

Photos Credit: The School Board of Orange County

Date Posted: February 28, 2023