News & Announcements

It has been a busy week at OPA and we are all looking forward to a four day weekend! As a reminder, OPA will be observing President’s Day this weekend and there will be no school on Friday, February 12 and Monday, February 15, 2021.

It has been a great week having some of our students back on campus for hybrid learning. The return was extremely smooth, and I want to thank the staff at both campuses for their hard work making the return to hybrid learning such a success.

I recently shared with the Board of Directors my intent to retire in June 2021. I am looking forward to that wonderful stage in life where I can shift my focus to family, travel and personal interests!

Last night the OPA Board of Directors approved the plan to reopen our schools for hybrid learning on Monday, February 1, 2021. Champions who attended school in-person prior to winter break will be able to return to in-person, hybrid learning following their normal schedule. Those champions who were part of the virtual cohort before winter break will continue learning virtually.

Thank you for another great week OPA! This week we all witnessed several important milestones as we watched our democracy in action through the peaceful transfer of power to a new president. Our country now has its first woman Vice President, our first African American Vice President, and our first South Asian Vice President. I am so proud to be part of this great nation, where so many more children now can see a bit of themselves in our national leadership.

Thank you all for a wonderful first week back after winter break. Although it was great to have some time off for the holidays, all of our champions seemed eager to be back in class with their classmates and teachers virtually this week. We are all looking forward to an amazing 2021.

Links and information regarding COVID-19 testing locations, at-home testing kits, and free testing and care locations in Orange County.

The OPA Board of Directors held a Special Board meeting tonight, January 5, 2021, to discuss the health and safety of our OPA staff, students, and families in response to the rising numbers of COVID-19 in Orange County. Based on the current COVID-19 case data for California and Governor Newsom’s decision to extend the stay-at-home order for the Southern California region, the OPA Board of Directors voted to temporarily transition to 100% virtual learning for all students beginning on January 11, 2021. The Board will reassess the COVID-19 data at the January 28, 2021 Board of Directors meeting to determine a possible date for resuming hybrid instruction.

As we all start the holiday break, I want to thank everyone for an incredible year. Although there have been many challenges, our OPA community has grown stronger, closer, and more resilient through 2020, and our champions have gained valuable academic, social, emotional, and life skills. As we move into 2021, we will continue to improve our programs and provide even more opportunities for our champions to excel.

Although this week has seen difficult times with the increases in COVID-19 cases in Orange County and across California, we have had many great things happening at our school sites. On Monday, Mrs. Merlette and Mr. Bridges rewarded students for an amazing Read-a-thon fundraiser of over $23,000, by getting publicly slimed! It was an incredibly fun, although messy, event. SOC rewarded their students for a great Read-a-thon fundraiser a few weeks ago with a dip in the dunk tank for Ms. Alvarado, Ms. Velez, and Ms. Sessions. Thank you to all of our students and families who participated in the fundraisers and to our Honor Societies at each site for putting this all together.