Serves: Oxnard and Camarillo
Grades: 9-12
Students: 17,538
Superintendent: Penelope DeLeon, Ed.D.
Before school even began this year, the Oxnard Union High School District was hard at work fulfilling our promise to create equitable educational opportunities for all of our students. The high schools in some of our most economically challenged areas were distributing Chromebooks, cases and hot spots to students, many of whom had never owned such a device.
While it might seem like overkill in many districts where students come from families that have the resources to buy the latest and greatest technology, that is not the case in OUHSD. Over two-thirds of our students come from homes classified as economically disadvantaged. Nearly 20 percent speak primarily Spanish. Hundreds more come from foster homes or are homeless.
Despite these challenges, our district’s goal is to make sure each of our children has the same opportunity to succeed as a student who comes from affluence. We are here to help every child, of every background, reach his or her greatest potential. In fact, the highest achievers in our district are earning Questbridge scholarships to Stanford and attending Ivy League colleges. A team of high school engineers won the top award in California this year for developing a device that measures air quality in real time. But in OUHSD, we want to ensure a bright future for every child, and we do whatever it takes to close the opportunity gap and help each child have a chance to succeed.
It has been working:
- We have had a 44% increase in the students completing their A to G requirement so they can attend state four-year schools
- Our dropout rate has declined and graduation rate has increased
- Transfer rates out of our district are declining
- We have expanded to a school-wide International Baccalaureate program at Rio Mesa High School
- Voters approved a $350 million bond issue that is paying for a new high school and tens of millions of dollars in safety, infrastructure and technology improvements at every single one of our high schools
- Our 76 Career Technical Education programs are increasing on each campus as we offer students a chance at a successful, well-paying career outside of the four-year college experience
OUHSD has many challenges as it covers a broad span of geography, economics and demographics - but we are committed to offer each child the opportunity to achieve a powerful future.