The Slice

April 27, 2026 Mondays With Maria - 4/27/26 Video: Transcription: Student Announcer: Hi, I am Anthony Torres, and welcome to Mondays with Maria. Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez. Dr. Maria Vazquez: Hi everyone. Raheem Jones, executive leader over elementary schools, is here with me today. Raheem, it's so nice to have you. Dr. RahIm Jones, Executive Leader: Thank you for having me this morning. Dr. Vazquez: So today we are going to continue our conversation around the power of public education and what sets OCPS apart, all of the wonderful programs that we have. Dr. RahIm Jones: There is a lot that OCPS offers that you may not find in a charter school or even in a private school. And I'm happy to report that our elementary schools are definitely delivering. Dr. Vazquez: I know they are just amazing, and they really provide a lot for our families. So, I have visited quite a number of elementary schools over the years, and there are amazing things everywhere things are happening. Like, I love this chess club. Let's take a look. Christopher Conniff, Roberto Clemente MS, Chess Coach: We have schools from throughout the district here to participate in our end-of-year district chess tournament. Anyone from grades K all the way up to 12th grade is competing against other schools within the districts. It's having fun. Raheem, Carver MS Student: What I like most about chess is the fact that you have to strategize to look ahead and make sure that you're not in check, and focus on the game. Christopher Conniff, Roberto Clemente MS, Chess Coach: Chess positively improves your life by giving you those critical thinking and problem-solving skills to implement them in your, in your daily life. And I noticed that as students start with you, as they progress, they're get, they get a little bit more independent because they're, they're constantly having to think three moves, four moves ahead. Dr. Vazquez: Amazing. And when you are there in person, seeing these children from kindergarten playing chess, it just brings chills. Dr. RahIm Jones: Oh, I love seeing this when I go to the competitions, just to start exactly in kindergarten all the way up through middle school and high school. So, it's an important, it's important that our kids are learning about problem-solving skills. They're learning about critical thinking skills. And I think I would lose against a kindergarten student if I were playing chess. Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, I know I would. Alright, so another amazing program that we have in Orange County Public Schools is our two-way dual language program. That's a mouthful. And it begins in our voluntary pre-kindergarten classrooms. Let's take a look. Wilchris Ortiz, Washington Shores Teacher: VPK is usually for ages four to five. Sometimes they'll come in three, they'll turn four with us. But if they start this young, they're like sponges, and they just absorb all of that language. Maelin, Eagle Creek ES Student: It’s like fun because I get to like learn two languages, and then if people speak those two languages, I can talk to them in the other languages. Leanne Ferraro, Eagle Creek ES Teacher: I think this program is so important for the future of the students because it gives them more opportunities. And these kids are, some of them are trilingual, multilingual. They're having all of these opportunities open for them for the future. Dr. Vazquez: I love that. Are our students so young learning a second language and, in some cases, a third language? Dr. RahIm Jones: Oh, I think the power of the dual language program is not only teaching our kids to be bilingual but also bi-literate. Dr. Vazquez: Yes, absolutely. And those programs have incredible results, like you said, in various aspects. And it's a, it's a high demand program. So, I'm so thankful that we have those offerings for our parents. Dr. RahIm Jones: And we can't forget about Rock Your School. Dr. Vazquez: Oh, well, let's take a look. Ashley Roman, Conway ES Teacher: Today for Rock Your School. We have a jungle theme, and so we are doing a STEM project. All of my students are animals. Sergio, Conway ES Student: This is a jungle. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And we're trying to save our animal friends by building a bridge. Joshua, Sun Blaze ES Student: Good to have fun when you're learning. So, it makes school more fun. Merescil Gamboa, Sun Blaze ES Teacher: I believe it's important for the kids to have fun while they are learning, so it sticks more in their memory. They'll remember it for a long time. Dr. Vazquez: Talk about project-based learning. Oh my gosh, that was amazing. Dr. RahIm Jones: I love to see the energy in schools on that day for Rock Your School, because it just makes learning fun. And what I want to see is that we just make sure that we're having fun all year long in our classroom. Dr. Vazquez: And, you know, we go beyond the academics. Let's take a look at the amazing shake at Village Park Elementary. Giovanni, Village Park ES Student: Amazing Shake is learning conversation skills, learning how to speak properly in front of people, interviews, you know, just learning life skills. Lauren Lorusso, Village Park ES Teacher: We talk about the themes of Amazing Shake, which would be poise, confidence, humility, humor, all of those things we incorporate into our weekly lessons. Hunter, Village Park ES Student: They’re teaching us this, and then we get to compete in it, which makes it even more fun to learn. Lauren Lorusso, Village Park ES Teacher: Today was all about narrowing down our top 32 students to our top five. So, we start with working the room, which is round one. And it's basically more of a conversational round where they are networking, they're having conversations with adults. And then the second round that we do is called the gauntlet, which is more station-based, where we give them situations and scenarios where they're testing all of their amazing shake skills that they've learned and applying them to different scenarios. So we did the fishbowl round this year. The fishbowl round is where they're pulling a question out of a bowl, and it's on the spot. They have to think very quickly. Lauren Lorusso, Village Park ES Teacher: And then we go from there to the lunch round, observing their manners, their behaviors, and whether they are helping others. And then the last round is the final impression round, in which they all get the same question. Giovanni, Village Park ES Student: People like people with confidence. When you have confidence, and you act like the boss, the king, you are the boss. You are the king. What you think you are, that's what you are. Dr. Vazquez: You know, it's great to see that we are teaching our children those soft skills that our businesses are saying they want to see in their employees, and the confidence they exude as a result of this activity. Dr. RahIm Jones: I love Giovanni's reaction in the video about being the boss, but I think what it goes back to is just making sure those life skills that kids are learning, about how to communicate and how to respond to one another, so that if they learn this now with students, they're going to learn it. They're going to carry this on with them when they're adults. Dr. Vazquez: I couldn't agree more. Dr. RahIm Jones: And we're teaching service learning. Let's take a look at Palm Lake Elementary. Eleanor, Palm Lake ES Student: We're here because we're celebrating Thanksgiving, so we're coming to Brookdale to visit the residents. Lauren Akesson, Palm Lake ES School Counselor: Students who came to visit today are part of our Kids Who Care service learning club. And so, we have students in third, fourth, and fifth grade. And so, six times a year, we come out and visit the residents of Brookdale, which is our neighbor's assisted living facility. And we come and bring some good cheer to them. Today, we're asking the residents what they were thankful for. Did a little Turkey dancing to bring some smiles and joy to the residents. Maritza Villamil, Brookdale Senior Living Resident: They're so sweet in the way they ask their questions. You're so professional, and it's so cute. We had a great conversation with all of them. I am delighted with them. Dr. Vazquez: Just warms my heart seeing how we are giving back to the community. And you know, that interaction with the retirees, it also just makes them feel special. Right? Dr. RahIm Jones: The smiles on the residents' faces. Yeah. As the children are singing, dancing, and interacting with them. That's what this is about. It's really about how we teach the whole child. Dr. Vazquez: And we have service learning across our district. So, I'm just so thankful that we have these incredible programs, and it's a result of the great teachers we have in our classrooms. We also have wonderful professional development opportunities for our teachers. So let's take a look. Emily Lopez, Music K-5 OCPS Program Specialist: This is a national course that happens all across the country, and we are lucky enough to have one right here in central Florida in partnership with the Central Florida Orff chapter. Emily Lopez, Music K-5 OCPS Program Specialist: Yeah, it really focuses on the whole child. It focuses on the four pillars of singing, moving, and playing. Teachers come back over and over again because it brings so much joy to their students. They walk away with so many resources that they can implement in their classroom on day one, but it also builds a community for them within professional development where they are working with teachers from around the district, and then they have the opportunity to have that network of teachers that they can rely on in their tribe throughout the school year that they can lean on for support. Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, I don't know that many individuals outside of the school system understand that teachers are always learning and perfecting their craft. And so this is just one example. Dr. Rahim Jones: Exactly. And, and, and what they learn from those trainings and those professional opportunities enhances their own skills, and they can give back to their students. Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, it's great. And there's even more that happens during our summer instructional leadership event. Let's take a look. Dr. James Russo, Senior Executive Director: Middle Leadership Institute is a day full of opportunities for them to learn from their colleagues, to learn from experts, develop some common language, and really kick off the learning for the upcoming year. Rosemary Berson, Innovation MS Principal: It's our opportunity to hear best practices across the district. We can find out what worked out in different schools, how they implemented it, and then we can come together as an administration team to discuss how we see this fitting within our school and our culture. But then we have the actual presenters who did this work, be able to share some of their lessons learned. So then we can go in and just dive in. And then we also have a point of contact throughout the year that we can go back and refer to if we want to learn a little bit more. Dr. James Russo, Senior Executive Director: The reason why we need to pour into our administrators and our principals is that good principals have good schools, great principals have great schools, and we all know that the teacher has the most impact on that student. And that teacher cannot be successful without a knowledgeable and supportive instructional leader. Dr. Vazquez: That is amazing to see so many of our leaders participating in professional development as well. Dr. Rahim Jones: And what I love is that our administrators have an opportunity to collaborate on best practices and talk about what's working in their schools, and also the challenges they've overcome in order to implement those changes in their schools. Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. You know we could go on and on. Orange County Public Schools is all about preparing, inspiring, and empowering our students. You can find more of these stories on TheSlice.ocps.net or check out big futures.ocps.net. Rahim, thanks so much for being here. It's been great. And thank you all for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. We will have more on our podcast. Just go to wherever you get your podcast and search for Mondays with Maria. Have a great week. Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic. Listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice@ocps.net. I'm your announcer, Emily Hannon, a student at Audubon Park School. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.