Orlando Schools has made several changes that will go into effect this fall. The first official day of school in the Orlando Schools is August 7th. This school year's students attendance for the Orlando Schools has increased by around 4,000 students to 181,210 total students. This increase in enrollment has prompted Orlando Schools to open nine additional schools. The nine schools added to handle the new students are three middle schools and six elementary schools. In addition to the opening of the new schools, Orlando Schools will divide the South Learning Community into Southwest and Southeast learning communities. This division will allow better management of resources and help address the needs of the students. New legislation that will affect next the 2007-2008 school year was also passed. Starting then, the school year will start no sooner than two weeks before Labor Day which is a change to the usual early August start that allowed the semester to end before Orlando Schools' winter break.

Orlando Schools First Days of School

For the second school year Orlando Schools is holding the First Days of School event. This is an event that is held at every school in the Orlando Schools district. Parents and students need to contact their school because each school will hold events at different times throughout the week leading up to August 7th. So instead of a single day, many schools will have an entire week of events.

Orlando Schools Help Students Get Ready for the 2006-2007 School Year

Orlando Schools has teamed up with the Apopka Chamber of Commerce and A.C.T.I.O.N. to help low-income students in the. They will work together to collect school supplies for students in need. Their aim is to have all students in the Apopka area have the tools they need to begin the new school year. This year's program is called “Fill the Bus – School Supply Drive”. An Orlando Schools bus will be parked in area business parking lots throughout the summer; the goal is to fill the school bus with school supplies that students might need. The program will accept monetary donations as well. Participating businesses include Wal-Mart and Porkie's Original BBQ. Apopka Chamber of Commerce and A.C.T.I.O.N. have made contacts with several school supply distributors, in order to use cash donations to their fullest; this allows the program to purchase supplies at lower prices than retail. The school supplies will be distributed to the community at a special back- to-school fair held at the John Bridges Community Center in late July.

Orlando Schools Eccleston Elementary School Gets Cleaned Up

During the summer Eccleston Elementary School received a make over thanks to a group of volunteers. More than 300 student teachers and retired teachers volunteered their time and resources to give Eccleston Elementary School a complete renovation. The teachers were at the annual National Education Association meeting. The teachers painted the insides of classrooms, painted murals on exterior walls, landscaped the grounds, added an automatic sprinkler system to the grounds, and remodeled the Parent Resource Center and the teachers' lounge. The student teachers worked as part of a volunteer program sponsored by the National Education Association. The National Education Association spent months deciding which school in the Orlando Schools district would receive the make over. Eccleston Elementary School was selected because it was an older Title I school that was in need. National Education Association donated $65,000 towards the renovation, not to mention the time and labor of its student teachers.