Orange County Department of Education, Orange County Academic Decathlon,

What Orange County Department of Education, Orange County Academic Decathlon, does

The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) is a California county office of education serving 28 public school districts across Orange County, California, with oversight responsibility for 500,000+ students and 20,000+ educators. Headquartered at 200 Kalmus Drive in Costa Mesa under County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean, OCDE operates as a publicly funded government agency delivering educational support services rather than commercial products. Core programs span academic competitions (Academic Decathlon, Academic Pentathlon, Spelling Bee), college readiness (AVID serving 30,000 students across 293 schools), arts education (Arts Advantage, OCArts4All, Imagination Celebration), environmental education (Inside the Outdoors, 50-year-old program), youth development (PAL, Friday Night Live, Student Advocates for Mental Health), educator credentialing (Teacher Induction, PASC, CASC, Classified Employee Grant), and health/prevention services (TUPE, FOCUS, Harvest of the Month, Fentanyl Resources).

OCDE's business model is government-funded: revenue streams consist of state education allocations, federal grants, and local property tax contributions directed through California's public education system. Programs and services are provided free of charge to Orange County school districts, educators, students, and families. The organization's value proposition centers on county-wide coordination, fiscal oversight, professional development delivery, and direct student programs, positioning it as a statutory bridge between the California Department of Education and local districts. Distribution occurs through the 28 districts as intermediaries, supplemented by direct professional development events, online resource directories, and community programs. OCDE leverages partnerships with Kaiser Permanente, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Arts & Learning Conservancy, and a Five-County Consortium to extend its service portfolio beyond core educational mandates into health, arts, and regional credentialing domains.

Name

Orange County Department of Education, Orange County Academic Decathlon,

Legal name

Orange County Department of Education

Website

https://ocde.us

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Orange County Department of Education is a publicly funded California county office of education that provides fiscal oversight, professional development, and direct student programs—including Academic Decathlon, AVID, and credentialing—to 28 school districts, 500,000+ students, and 20,000+ educators across Orange County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

County Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Career & Technical Education (CTE) Centers & Programs (EDAJAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community & Adult Education (Municipal/Community Schools) (EDAAAEAB)

Keywords

• County education services
• K-12 student programs
• Educator professional development
• School district oversight
• Academic competition programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Garden Grove

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: OCDE operates as a county office of education funded through state and federal education funding, local property taxes, and government appropriations to support Orange County's 28 school districts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) is a county office of education providing fiscal oversight, technical assistance, and educational programs to Orange County's 28 public school districts. OCDE delivers direct student programs (Academic Decathlon, AVID college readiness, Inside the Outdoors environmental education, arts programs, health and prevention programs), educator credentialing and professional development (Teacher Induction, PASC, CASC, classified employee grants), and data/research services (REDI, LCAP support, GIS mapping) to approximately 500,000+ students and 20,000+ educators across the county.

Product overview

The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) offers a comprehensive portfolio of educational programs and services organized around student achievement, youth development, health and safety, professional learning, and credential support. The core programs include academic competitions (Academic Decathlon, Academic Pentathlon), college readiness initiatives (AVID serving 30,000 students across 293 schools), and arts programs (Arts Advantage, Imagination Celebration, OCArts4All). The organization provides extensive youth development offerings including PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership), Friday Night Live, and Student Advocates for Mental Health. Professional development and credential programs encompass Teacher Induction, PASC, CASC, and Classified Employee Grant. Data and evaluation services include REDI (Research, Evaluation and Data Inquiry) for program evaluation, LCAP support, and GIS mapping. Health and prevention programs cover substance use prevention, nutrition education (Harvest of the Month), school safety, and crisis response. The organization operates as a service-oriented county office of education rather than a commercial product company, providing these programs as public educational services to Orange County schools and districts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination): College readiness program serving approximately 30,000 students in 293 schools across 19 districts in Orange County, initially implemented in 1992.
• Academic Decathlon
• Academic Pentathlon
• Inside the Outdoors
• OCArts4All
• Friday Night Live Partnership
• PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership)
• Student Advocates for Mental Health
• FOCUS (Focusing On Children Under Stress)

Products and services

• Academic Decathlon
• Academic Pentathlon
• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)
• Arts Advantage Program
• Inside the Outdoors
• PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership)
• Friday Night Live (FNL)
• Student Advocates for Mental Health (SAMH)
• FOCUS (Focusing On Children Under Stress)
• Teacher Induction Program
• Clear Administrative Services Credential (CASC) Program
• Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (PASC) Program
• Classified Employee Grant (CEG)
• Research, Evaluation and Data Inquiry (REDI)
• OC Schools Directory
• Staff Well-Being Thriving Schools Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• AVID program: 91% of 1,891 seniors graduated in 2025 met four-year college entrance requirements, 82% applied to 4-year universities with 77% acceptance rate

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and moderate.

• Five-County Consortium (Butte, Imperial, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Awarded the Classified Employee Grant by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in 2022. Consortium includes Butte County Office of Education, Imperial County Office of Education, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, and San Diego County Office of Education, coordinated through OCDE.
• Arts & Learning ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA nonprofit organization that provides music, theater, and arts instruction to students throughout Southern California. Through partnerships with schools and community organizations, the conservatory works to expand opportunities for students to participate in the arts regardless of background or circumstances. Featured on the FutureCurrent podcast discussing arts education access.
• Kaiser PermanentecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with OCDE on the Thriving Schools Initiative, which facilitates meaningful change in policies and practices that benefit all school personnel. Kaiser Permanente co-developed the Thriving Schools program alongside the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
• Alliance for a Healthier GenerationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with OCDE to facilitate meaningful change in policies and practices that benefit school personnel. Developed the Integrated Assessments for Thriving Schools and provides a free platform for districts to track progress and visualize data through their platform.
• Segerstrom Center for the ArtsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with OCMAA (founded by OCDE) to present the Orange County Music and Arts Educators Awards for over 30 years. Annual event recognizes outstanding leadership and arts instruction in Orange County schools.
• Fourth District PTAmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Arts Orange County and OCDE to host the Creative Edge Lecture Series, bringing distinguished arts leaders to share knowledge with educators and artists in the community since 2010.
• Create CAmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerState organization supporting Orange County Arts Now Communities, a local group of parents and community members partnering with school districts to support the arts. OCDE supports the Orange County Arts Now Ambassador who connects to this statewide network.
• Feather River College, Mendocino College, and College of the SiskiyousmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner community colleges providing online education courses to Classified Employee Grant participants to support passing of credential exams (CSET, RICA, CalTPA).
• SchoolsFirst Federal Credit UnionmoderateGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides special curriculum loan opportunities for educators in the CASC and PASC credentialing programs. SchoolsFirst also sponsors the Teachers of the Year recognition banquet as premier sponsor.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• California Department of Education (CDE): CDE is the state-level education authority that delegates statutory oversight functions to county offices including OCDE. It sets the policy framework (LCFF, Williams Settlement, CHYA) under which OCDE operates and is the broader incumbent in the California public education hierarchy.

Direct peers

• Imperial County Office of Education: Imperial County Office of Education is a member of OCDE's five-county Classified Employee Grant consortium and performs the same county-level oversight and support functions for Imperial County districts.
• Butte County Office of Education: Butte County Office of Education is a member of OCDE's five-county consortium and performs the same statutory county office of education role in Northern California. Directly comparable mandate and consortium-based collaboration model.
• San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools: San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools is a five-county consortium partner with OCDE on the Classified Employee Grant. It performs the same county-level oversight, fiscal, and student program functions for San Bernardino County districts.
• Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE): The largest county office of education in California, LACOE performs the same statutory oversight, fiscal monitoring, professional development, and student program functions for Los Angeles County districts that OCDE performs for Orange County. Directly comparable in mandate and service mix.
• Riverside County Office of Education: Riverside County Office of Education performs the same statutory county-level educational oversight and student support functions in California's Inland Empire region. Directly comparable in role, mandate, and customer base.
• San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE): SDCOE is the county office of education serving San Diego County and a member of OCDE's five-county consortium. It offers an analogous portfolio of district oversight, credentialing, and student programs and is a natural peer for comparing scale, scope, and program outcomes.
• AVID Center: AVID Center is the national nonprofit that designs and licenses the AVID college-readiness curriculum that OCDE implements locally at scale (293 schools, ~30,000 students). Although OCDE is a delivery partner rather than a competitor, AVID Center is the closest peer for benchmarking AVID program scope, outcomes, and funding model.

Others

• California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA): CCSESA is the statewide association of the 58 county superintendents of which OCDE's superintendent is a member. It coordinates policy advocacy and shared services across COEs, making it a system-level peer for understanding OCDE's role within California's county-office ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ocdeptofed
• Facebookfacebook.com/orangecountydepartmentofeducation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ocdeptofed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orange-county-department-of-education_2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orange County Department of Education, Orange County Academic Decathlon,