| There are many Orange County Public Schools | | | | (1) Phonemic and phonological awareness |
| systems throughout the nation. There are Orange | | | | (2) Systematic phonics |
| Counties in Virginia, North Carolina, California, and | | | | (3) Vocabulary and background knowledge |
| Florida to name a few. Issues and challenges may | | | | (4) Fluency |
| vary from Orange County Schools to Orange County | | | | (5) Comprehension |
| Schools, but the basic drive is the same - to give | | | | (6) Motivation |
| students the best quality education possible. | | | | -Necessary criteria for increasing reading achievement: |
| Orange County Schools in Orlando are no exception. | | | | (1) Minimum of 90 minutes of protected time for |
| School choice, as mandated by the United States | | | | reading instruction to close the gap |
| Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, is present | | | | (2) Smaller class sizes for intervention (15 to 20 |
| throughout these Orange County Schools. | | | | students per class) to individualize and adjust |
| Improvements in reading education and reading | | | | instruction for all students |
| fluency are also hot topics. | | | | (3) Technology in classrooms to create a scope and |
| It may be hard to believe that a school district could | | | | sequence of individualized instruction for all students |
| raise the reading scores of struggling students by as | | | | (4) Commitment, by administrators, to learning about |
| much as two grade levels each year, but Orange | | | | reading process instruction and what it looks like in a |
| County Schools are doing just that. The most | | | | successful classroom |
| challenging group of students to bring up to grade | | | | (5) Continual professional development for |
| level are students in middle and upper grades. These | | | | intervention program teachers |
| Orange County Schools students are a lot less | | | | In accordance with a 1970 court order enacted by |
| motivated, and have even lost a lot of their trust in | | | | the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth |
| the learning process, believing they are too dumb to | | | | Circuit, Orange County Schools offers its students |
| learn. Many educators have come to realize that it's | | | | and parents many avenues of school choice. They |
| going to take extreme measures to change such | | | | are: |
| these students' lives. Interventions are required at all | | | | Majority to Minority Transfers |
| levels - from the superintendent's office on down to | | | | No Child Left Behind |
| the humble classroom. One Orange County Schools | | | | Opportunity Scholarship |
| intervention that has been put into place - with | | | | Exceptional Education Program Placement |
| amazing results - is the Orange County Literacy | | | | McKay Scholarship Transfer Academic Transfer |
| Project. | | | | Childcare Transfer |
| In addition, a recent report was solicited by Orange | | | | Graduation Transfer |
| County Schools from the Phyllis C. Hunter Consulting | | | | Magnet Transfer |
| Firm. The firm recently presented an evaluation of | | | | Medical Transfer |
| the Orange County Schools, and how the district can | | | | Mid-Year Transfer |
| best improve its reading instruction. The report, | | | | Psychological Transfer |
| entitled "Reading Leadership in a Standards-based | | | | School Personnel Transfer |
| Reform", covered numerous aspects that need to be | | | | Sibling Transfer |
| addressed. Among them: | | | | Work-Related Transfer |
| -All students have the right to reading instruction that | | | | For more information on the requirements to make |
| enables them to meet high standards | | | | any of these types of transfers, visit the Orange |
| -A Comprehensive Reading Program includes these | | | | County Schools district website. |
| six elements: | | | | |