Orange County Board of Education approves NOVA Academy countywide charter after hour-long hearing

After more than an hour of staff analysis, petitioner presentation and public testimony, the Orange County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve NOVA Academy Orange County's countywide charter petition.

OCDE staff presented a formal review that recommended approval with conditions, citing four years of low proficiency on state assessments (CAASPP) at the existing Nova Academy Early College High School and identifying areas needing improvement in English learner progress and mathematics. Staff's recommended conditions included benchmarks for proficiency by year three, mandatory internal assessment plans and annual semiannual academic reporting to OCDE.

NOVA representatives disputed staff framing and emphasized the school's mission and internal growth data. Dustin Lester, chief financial officer for NOVA Academy's board, said the school's leadership believes the traditional proficiency metrics reflect a high-need student population rather than a failure of instruction and asked the board to approve the countywide petition "without conditions." Principal Kimberly Beckstrom and other NOVA staff highlighted program elements: weekly STAR Renaissance growth reporting, dual-enrollment college credits (the petition reported 263 college enrollments and 820 credit hours), and a model they described as an "early college" pipeline that brings students to community college campuses.

Public commenters were split. Multiple NOVA students, parents and representatives from the California Charter Schools Association urged approval without conditions, citing student growth, graduation and dual-enrollment figures. Santa Ana Unified School District leadership, including Superintendent Lorraine Perez, and the Santa Ana Educators Association urged denial or adherence to staff conditions and argued that expansion to countywide status should occur through local renewal processes.

During board deliberations trustees asked legal and operational questions about statutory authority, notice to Santa Ana Unified and past settlements over SELPA or fiscal matters. NOVA counsel and CFO said the petition met the statutory criteria for a countywide charter and that prior notice and district communications occurred during the planning period; staff and Santa Ana Unified noted the district's objections and urged local process considerations.

After discussion, a motion to approve NOVA Academy Orange County's countywide charter without the staff-recommended conditions passed unanimously. The board emphasized expectations that NOVA continue to address academic outcomes and recommended close oversight through OCDE's monitoring processes.

Action details: the board recorded a unanimous vote in favor of approval. The charter will operate a 6-12 model intended to expand early-college access across the county; staff will continue to monitor academic and fiscal performance under OCDE's oversight framework.