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Superintendent announces year‑end schedule; district reports growth in multilingual learners and steady attendance
Summary
At the Dec. 11 Orange Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Fitzhugh announced a year‑end scale‑down, a half‑day holiday on Dec. 20 and a Jan. 2 reorganization meeting. Staff reported 1,478 multilingual learners districtwide, a rise to 27% of enrollment, and a November attendance average of 95%.
President Shawneque Johnson convened the Orange Board of Education meeting on Dec. 11, 2024, where Superintendent Dr. Fitzhugh opened the public session with administrative updates and recognitions.
Dr. Fitzhugh told the board the district will begin its year‑end scale‑down and will observe a half‑day holiday on Dec. 20; central offices will reopen Jan. 2, 2025, and a reorganization meeting is scheduled for Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. He also presented a plaque recognizing outgoing board member Derrick Henry for six years of service.
Ms. Harris presented ACCESS assessment results for multilingual learners, saying the district reported 1,478 multilingual learners in spring 2024 and that the proportion of multilingual students has risen from about 7% historically to 27% districtwide, with nearly 40% in grades K–4. She reported that 59 students exited the multilingual program in the last academic year and that school‑level performance metrics are available by building; Central Elementary was reported to have 219 multilingual learners.
Speaking about students with significant cognitive impairments, Ms. Harper reviewed Dynamic Learning Map (DLM) participation and outcomes. She said cohorts are small and participation rates have fallen in some subjects; for example, in the 2022–23 year five of 11 students reached the DLM Mathematics Target level in a cited cohort, while in 2023–24 three of 10 reached an advanced status in the cited cohort. Ms. Harper stated that participation declines in ELA, Mathematics and Science indicate a need for targeted improvement.
Dr. Fitzhugh presented the attendance report, saying the district’s November average attendance rate was 95%, noting improvements in the highest‑risk (red) attendance category and identifying chronic‑absence concentration among students in K–7. He thanked attendance teams, instructional staff and administrators for their work on improvement efforts.
The superintendent also announced plans for staff recognitions tied to the Governor’s Educator of the Year and Educational Services Professionals awards and said the district will stage a surprise celebration across schools the following Monday.
Next steps: offices reopen Jan. 2, 2025, and the board will hold its reorganization meeting that evening.
