The Orange County Schools Board of Education met on Monday, where the main topic of discussion was school improvement plans for elementary schools in the district.
There were seven principals present at the meeting to represent all of the elementary schools in the county. Each principal had the opportunity to give the board updates on what plans their schools are implementing to advance student development and growth.
One point that was brought up often was how best to offer help to English-learning and minority students. Tony Widder, principal of Cameron Park Elementary School, said the school is looking to further support English-learning students by better equipping the staff.
“We are investing time and resources this year and in years to come to equip and power our staff to better support English-learners,” Widder said.
Christine Kreider, principal of Hillsborough Elementary School, emphasized the use of true multicultural literature with their students. She said finding stories minority students can relate to is crucial to their growth and success.
Several principals also emphasized increasing attention to social-emotional learning. Minnie Goins, principal of Efland-Cheeks Global Elementary School, outlined a plan to work with students on behavioral development, highlighted by her proposal to host a social emotional learning fair.
Ambra Wilson, interim principal of New Hope Elementary School, spoke about an event last year in which students each put their names on a notecard and teachers put a mark on every student’s notecard that they felt they had an emotional connection with.
“Our teachers went through and put dots on cards where if that kid was having a bad day, you had a powerful enough relationship with that student, you could turn it around,” Wilson said.
Improving and creating new outlets for parent involvement was another goal mentioned by many of the principals.
