Rancho Mission Viejo to Gain Another Capistrano Unified campus

By Kaila Mellos

Rancho Mission Viejo has been a continually growing community since it was established in 1999. With more and more families in the area, Capistrano Unified School District has decided to open a second school within the boundaries of RMV.

The school, which is targeted to open in time for the fall 2027 school year, will be a transitional kindergarten through eighth-grade campus that will feed into Tesoro High School, similar to the already established Esencia TK-8.

According to a school district staff report, Capistrano Unified has seen an increase in students from the Rienda area and has already added 400 temporary seats to Esencia TK-8 School. With Esencia expected to reach capacity by fall 2027, CUSD Trustees greenlit a new school during a board meeting in February.

The new school will house up to 1,600 students, Capistrano Unified spokesperson Ryan Burris said.

“The decision was made to build the new school based on the growth of Rancho Mission Viejo and the number of students attending Esencia,” Burris said. “As The Ranch has grown out, we knew that some of the kids living in Rienda before a school was opened in Rienda would be using Esencia and sharing that school with them. The highest occupancy around our school sites is 1,600.  Esencia is not yet there, but they would be if we didn’t start the construction.”

Burris said the new Rienda school will feature classrooms and labs allowing flexible teaching and breakout learning sessions. Each classroom would also have state-of-the-art teaching walls and an interactive mounted display for educators to use during lessons.

Spaces for performing arts, teacher meetings, outdoor learning, lockers, and more will also be constructed.

The new school will be located on 15 acres between Coyotes and Pablo Way, just north of Saddle Way.

“It’s a prime location right in the heart of the village, making it especially accessible and walkable for Rienda residents,” said Mike Balsamo, Senior Vice President of Governmental Relations for Rancho Mission Viejo.

During the Feb. 19 meeting, CUSD board trustees unanimously approved a contract bid between Capistrano Unified and Swinerton Builders, a commercial construction company.

According to Burris, the new school will not cost the district any money. Developer fees and state matching dollars will fund the project, which is estimated to cost about $79 million.

The growing community has always planned to expand schools to accommodate the increasing number of families.

“Rancho Mission Viejo has been designed to accommodate a growing population and include various amenities, including schools,” Balsamo said. “The broader planning for the Village of Rienda always included a public school, and the delivery timing is set by CUSD’s criteria based on student generation in the community. We have thousands of new residents looking to build a life here on The Ranch, and a major part of that includes providing access to quality education and schools.”

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