Orange County Weighs School Closures
Orange County Public Schools is weighing plans to close seven schools next year. On Tuesday, the School Board reviewed a proposal to consolidate the students from the seven across 17 other schools in the county.
Hundreds of parents attended community meetings with OCPS leaders over a two-week period. The schools on the chopping block are McCoy, Bonneville, Orlo Vista, Chickasaw, Eccleston, and Meadow Woods elementary schools, along with Union Park Middle School.
OCPS says it has lost 8,600 students over the last three years, including nearly 6,000 who didn’t return after last school year. District leaders say declining enrollment and policy changes are forcing difficult decisions.
During the meeting Tuesday, several members of the School Board expressed frustration with their options, and some expressed frustration with state leaders, saying they’re not supporting their institutions. Superintendent Maria Vazquez made it clear this round of closures may not be the last. To better understand how the district says it reached this point, Scott Howat, Chief Communications Officer for Orange County Public Schools, joins Engage.
Challenger Disaster Remembered
Those who were around in 1986 remember where they were when the horrific news broke from Cape Canaveral as Americans were riveted to televisions for a historic shuttle launch. On January 28 of that year, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off for its tenth mission. On board was Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire. She was set to deliver lessons that would be beamed from space into classrooms across the country. It would be a first for NASA and a revolutionary leap in education.
Just 72 seconds after lifting off, NASA engineers knew something was wrong. For the first time in the American space program, NASA lost a crew during a mission. It had been 19 years since three astronauts died in a fire on the launch pad during an engine test, but America never lost one during a mission. Investigations later revealed that cold weather caused a seal on a booster rocket to fail, leaking hot, high-pressure fuel, which triggered the explosion. Engineers at the booster manufacturer had warned NASA about the threat, but the agency moved ahead with the launch.
Adam Higginbotham is the author of Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, a book that examines the Challenger disaster and the multitude of factors that led to the tragedy. As we acknowledge the 40th anniversary of the passing of astronauts Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Ronald McNair and teacher Christa McAuliffe, Engage speaks with Higgenbotham about what led to the challenger disaster and what has been learned from it.
Florida Hit with Cold Wave
In Central Florida, winter tends to mean grabbing a light jacket. This week, words are being used to describe the weather that we don’t hear often like frigid, arctic, and even snow. The cold headed our way could challenge records that haven’t been touched since the 1930s. To help sort out what’s actually possible, Megan Borowski, Senior Meteorologist for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, joins Engage.
Languages and Community Meet in Lake Mary
Restaurant and bar promotions are nothing new for drumming up business from ladies’ night to karaoke and bar trivia. A café in Lake Mary came up with a unique way to increase traffic. Every Saturday at 6 p.m., Rita’s Café hosts a language night. Tables are set up with little signs denoting different languages, drawing a diverse crowd with language skills at all levels. In addition to spoken languages, there is a table for people who use American Sign Language. Engage speaks to participants and Derek Hartwigsen, owner of Rita’s Café and creator of the Language Exchange, about how the gathering is building friendship and community.
