A Quality Education for All: Bridging the Opportunity Gap in Orange County

Why Did IOC Partner with the CCSA to create ChartersOC?

The creation of ChartersOC was based on the need to address the following educational deficiencies that plague Orange County’s low income learners:

• 45% of Orange County’s fourth graders are not reading at grade level, this is a critical indicator of a student’s future academic success or failure
• 254,000 students, more than half of Orange County’s students, are eligible for free or reduced meals, meaning they live below the poverty line. A large number of these students are concentrated in the northern part of Orange County and have limited access to high quality schools.
• The state has identified 125 failing schools in Orange County

Is There a Solution? Why Charter Schools are a Good Answer for the Community

We believe the demonstrated success of high quality charter schools speaks for itself.

• The number of high school graduates completing all college preparatory coursework is 4 times higher at charter schools that it is at traditional district high schools in Los Angeles
• 75% of Los Angeles charter school graduates have completed coursework qualifying them to attend CSU/UC institutions, while only 20% of traditional district high school graduates have completed the same requirements
• Los Angeles charter schools graduate 5 times more African American students who have completed CSU/UC requirements and 4.5 more Latino students than district high schools