Orange County Impact School<\/a> by the Orange County Department of Education. The program, in its inaugural year, recognizes outstanding schools and highlights their best practices.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat stood out most to me was the pride that students, families and staff have in being part of this community \u2014 it\u2019s something you can feel the moment you step on campus,\u201d said Laurie Virtusio, OCDE\u2019s literacy and language coordinator and Impact School lead. \u201cThat shared commitment creates the conditions where teaching and learning can really thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consistent communication between students and staff serves as a foundational element of the school, helping build students\u2019 confidence to be curious, ask questions and work together to find answers.<\/p>\n
That inclusive environment begins with Principal Hannah Lim. Each morning, Lim stands at the front of the school to greet parents and students. Throughout the day, students return the gesture, enthusiastically greeting her as she walks around campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen students come to school, to be able to have a safe space, our teachers form relationships with kids where the trust is built so that they are able to be successful in the classroom,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n
That trust is evident in the classroom, where students engage in unique assignments, projects and approaches to problem-solving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During a walk-through of the school with the OCDE Impact Schools team, one fourth-grade class sang a song about caring for the environment set to the tune of Katy Perry\u2019s \u201cFirework,\u201d with lyrics written collaboratively by the class. In another, projects were so engaging that one student even bemoaned the sound of the lunch bell, disappointed it interrupted their work.<\/p>\n
Family engagement is another key component of Beechwood\u2019s approach, extending that sense of connection beyond the classroom. The school encourages parents to stay involved throughout the year by hosting family events such as \u201cWestern Night,\u201d and by providing homework material for parents to work through with their child so they can be part of their learning experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt think its very important, because school and education is not one-sided,\u201d Lim said on the value of involving parents. \u201cWe invite our parents to walk on the journey through the year because you have to work together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, parents are invited into the classroom to volunteer whenever they can. Combined with Lim\u2019s open-door policy, Beechwood strives to be as transparent as possible while building meaningful relationships with its families.<\/p>\n
While those efforts contribute to student success, Lim said the focus remains simple: keeping students at the forefront of every decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the big thing is we\u2019re always very student centered overall,\u201d Lim said. \u201cThe well being of the student is what helps lead the success, not only in the classroom, but outside as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quick look: Beechwood School in the Fullerton School District was recently selected as an Orange County Impact School…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-278369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}