Capistrano Valley High School

Capistrano Valley High School (often called CVHS or Capo) is a public high school at the southern border of Mission Viejo, California, USA, that is run by the Capistrano Unified School District. It is set on a hilltop overlooking the San Diego Freeway (I-5) corridor and Saddleback Mountain. It is located on Via Escolar, off the Avery exit of the I-5. The school attendance boundaries primarily serve students from eastern, southern and northern Mission Viejo (the entire portion of the city in CUSD) and a small northern portion of San Juan Capistrano. CVHS is a California Distinguished School, National Blue Ribbon Finalist, and was ranked as number 488 in Newsweek'''s 2008 list of the top 1,300 high schools in the USA. By this standard, CVHS falls in the top 2.5% of US high schools. It is the highest ranked for the school district and second highest rank between both Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified that serve south Orange County. History CVHS opened in 1977 with one main building and a series of portable buildings that served as temporary classrooms, and 1,326 students. It was the third high school to be opened in Capistrano Unified School District after San Clemente and Dana Hills. The campus and buildings have since expanded; notable additions include two wings attached to the original main building, a pool, a gym, theater and a two-story M Building. CVHS experienced several population shifts as the district opened the new schools of Aliso Niguel and Tesoro with the building boom in southern Orange County. Student attendance shifted between these schools as district boundaries were re-drawn with each new school addition. The 2006-2007 school year was the last year that San Juan Capistrano freshmen students enrolled at CVHS. In the 2007-2008 school year, most SJC freshmen attended the district's new San Juan Hills High School. A few San Juan Capistrano students who live close to the Mission Viejo/San Juan city borders continue to attend CVHS.