Awards and Recognitions
OREGON CHARTER ACADEMY IS HIGHLY RATED AND NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED! WE’RE PROUD TO HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED WITH THE FOLLOWING AWARDS.
2024 Best of the Mid Valley
We’re proud to have won Best Charter School in the Best of the Mid Valley awards for the fourth year in a row! We were also awarded Best Overall Leadership, Best Place to Work, and Best Employer. Category winners were chosen by mid-valley residents, which is evidence of how the community perceives the important work we do.
Exceptional Charter School in Special Education
National Association of Special Education Teachers
Selection as a NASET Exceptional Charter School in Special Education is the highest honor a charter school can achieve through the National Association of Special Education Teachers. The recognition is bestowed on charter schools that meet rigorous professional criteria and have demonstrated truly exceptional dedication, commitment and achievement in the field of special education.
Oregon Charter Academy is proud to have received this award for the second year in a row. We are the third virtual charter school and the first in Oregon to receive this award since it started in 2017. This year's list only contains 1 other Oregon school.
Virtual Field Trips
In late 2023, science teacher Michael Rodriguez took advantage of ORCA's unique remote environment by hosting virtual field trips from McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Rodriguez was in Antarctica as a member of an Oregon State University research expedition funded by the National Science Foundation.
eDynamic’s 2023-24 Knowledge Matters National Educator of the Year
ASCEND instructor Summer Highfill was named eDynamic's 2023-2024 Knowledge Matters National Educator of the Year. This recognition highlighted her great work with ORCA’s CTE program, ASCEND.
Merit Scholar
Senior Isaac Choi was honored as one of 29 National Merit Scholars in Oregon last year. He is continuing his studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he plans to major in life sciences.
QuestBridge Scholarship Recipient
Senior Hani Mhamdi was chosen from more than 20,000 applicants worldwide as the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship recipient. The award gives seniors from low-income backgrounds full four-year scholarships to 50 of the nation's top universities.
2023 Best of the Mid Valley
We’re proud to have won Best Charter School in the Best of the Mid Valley awards for the third year in a row!
We are one of 79 schools internationally to receive this honor, and the only one on the West Coast.
Our Cognia 5-year accreditation score was 377.5 out of 400.
The average scores for all schools accredited by Cognia nationally range between 278.34 - 283.33.
2022 Best of the Mid-Valley
At the 2022 Best of the Mid-Valley Awards, Oregon Charter Academy won:
Best Charter School
Best Public School
We were finalists for:
Best Overall Leadership
2021 Best of the Mid-Valley
At the 2021 Best of the Mid-Valley Awards, Oregon Charter Academy won:
Best Charter School
Best Overall Leadership for all workplaces in the Statesman Journal reach
We were finalists for:
Company Culture
Most Innovative Leadership
Best Boss for all workplaces in the Statesman Journal reach
2021 eDynamic National CTE Teacher of the Year finalist
ORCA teacher Cathy Hay was a finalist for the eDynamic National CTE Teacher of the Year award, for her work in the ASCEND Computer Science pathway.
2021 State Poetry Out Loud winner
Tabarjah Neal ’21 was Oregon’s Poetry Out Loud winner, and will represent the state at Nationals in May 2021.
