Planning continues for computer science charter school affiliated with Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

 Planning for the first charter school to operate in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District is continuing as an anticipated August 2024 opening for the district-affiliated charter approaches.

The Orange County School of Computer Science charter plans to enroll some 600 seventh and eighth grade students in the first year of operation upon expected approval by trustees of the sponsoring Placentia-Yorba Linda school district.

The charter “will operate independently from the existing (district) structure” but “will maintain the governance structure of (the district),” with “the role of the governing board of (the district)” ensuring “independent operation from the overall district operation,” notes a charter document.

The charter “will be indirectly funded and will receive its allocation on a pass-through basis through the school district,” the document states. First-year revenue is projected to be $6.8 million, rising to $12.6 million in five years.

According to the charter document, “Although the design ot (the) school addresses the needs of learners through flexible and innovative instructional design, delivery and an alternative bell schedule, we are proud to remain within the (Placentia-Yorba Linda) boundaries.”

The charter will admit “all students who want to attend” and “submit a timely application,” but if the school “receives a greater number of applications than there are spaces for students,' then the charter will use “a public random drawing process.”

The charter document notes that the school has plans for low- and high-achieving students, as well as English learners and special education students, with some plans using existing district facilities and personnel.

Enrollment is expected to grow by 100 students each year until an optimum 1,000 students is reached in the 2028-29 school year. The staff is expected to grow from about 44 the first year to some 62 full-time equivalent employees in five years.

Notably, in the eighth grade year, the charter proposes to offer the Advanced Placement Computer Science Principals examinatiion, as well as the Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture examination for students enrolled in the Dual Language Academy Program.

Other plans outlined by the charter include serving a student population that represents the diversity found in Orange County and serving 45% of a population that's designated as “low socioeconomically disadvantaged.”

Others: an instrumental music program, including orchestra, band and jazz band; a part of the physical education program devoted to study skills; using materials approved through Placentia-Yorba Linda district procedures; and curriculum taught by credentialed teachers.

Also, “students will use a wide range of equipment in their basic studies and computer science immersion experience,” which includes “hardware and software specific to computer science in all academic and elective courses.”

Yorba Linda City Council extends contract for 36 automatic license plate reader cameras

 

Yorba Linda's City Council has extended an agreement to operate 36 automatic license plate reader cameras installed throughout the 20-square-mile city for an additional five years at the original pricing for a total of $504,000.

The cameras were installed earlier this year and ”have already aided law enforcement in several incidents,” according to a report to council members from Assistant City Manager Dave Christian.

An early contract extension was offered by Georgia-based Flock Group, Inc., “in an effort to incentivize and retain customers,” Christian reported. Fullerton and Buena Park are among 13 Orange County cities contracting with the Flock Group for the license plate readers.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department asked the council to consider purchasing the cameras “in order to improve the public safety services they provide to the community,” Christian noted in an earlier report to council members.

“Specifically, the cameras would enhance (law enforcement) ability to find stolen vehicles, find 'persons of interest' and conduct investigations,” Christian said. He added, “What really makes (the Flock) product unique is the user interface software.

“Within the software component, law enforcement can receive hotlist alerts and create custom alerts for plates under investigation,” Christian said. The Flock Group camera systems are live in more than 600 cities in 38 states and are used by more than 210 police departments.

“It should be noted that all data will be transmitted in encrypted form directly from the cameras to the cloud stored where it can be accessed only by law enforcement for a period of one year,” Christian said. The cameras are powered by solar energy and are not wired to a power source.

Sheriff's Department and city staffers worked with the Flock Group to identify various locations in the city that best capture the ingress and egress of vehicles. Most are mounted on existing city-owned poles.

Only one resident spoke in opposition to the cameras when they were first approved Dec. 20 on a 5-0 vote. There was no opposition expressed to the five-year extension, which was part of 15-item consent calendar approved on a 5-0 vote Oct. 17.

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Forty-one Yorba Linda signalized intersections are part of a countywide synchronization project in cooperation with the Orange County Transportation Agency to update a 2009 plan to improve travel times, reduce delays and congestion and increase the number of successive green lights drivers experience in their daily commutes.

Included in the new council-approved pact is the creation of a countywide signal synchroniztion baseline by retiming some 2,500 county signals along regionally significant corridors to avoid crossing conflicts and ensure signal timing is based on current traffic volumes, according to a report to council members prepared by Tony Wang, the city's traffic engineering manager.