Moving Back to Orange County Next Summer Need Help Finding the Right Schools

i was going to add los alamitos school district...you would need to live in Seal Beach, Rossmoor or Los alamitos...the schools are excellent.

It's hard to go wrong if you opt for South Orange County. I'll second what the other person said about Mission Viejo...such a great place to raise children. The Saddleback Valley Unified School District has been great to our kids. (I have a Junior in high school and a 6th grader.) The schools are award winning and the teachers are fabulous (with a few exceptions as always!). One thing in particular...as you may or may not be aware of, the school system in CA has suffered greatly because of the state budget issues. I have been a member of the School Site Council at Del Lago Elementary School for many years now, so I have seen the budget issues up close and I have always been impressed with how SVUSD has handled it. They have overall been smart about their spending and thus we have survived pretty well with all the budget cuts. I believe they've done a better job than Capistrano Valley School District, the other one in this area. The only way around the budget issues in the immediate area is to go over to Laguna Beach District. Their school revenues are based on property taxes and the property values are high, so to my knowledge up to this point they haven't even had to lay off any teachers.

But whatever the case, you would love SVUSD, which covers parts of Mission Viejo, Foothill Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, and even to the edge of Laguna Hills.

Hi L.! I'm a little biased, but I teach at a wonderful school in Huntington Beach, called Circle View Elementary School. I know many of the teachers who teach here and at other schools send their kids to our school, even if they're not their home school. Our district is called Ocean View School District and it is considered the northern part of Huntington Beach. There are many wonderful schools in our district. Our web site is www.ovsd.org. Circle View has received the California Distinguished Award for many years, as well as the National Blue Ribbon Award. The area where the school is located is darling, too. I'm sure that you won't get as much of a house for your money as you have in Maryland, but that's just about anywhere in OC right now. Hope you find what you're looking for!

Hi L., If you end up moving to Costa Mesa or Newport Beach your children will get to be in NMUSD. It is a fantastic school district with an outstanding reputation. I work in the district and if you had any questions about specific schools please shoot me a message!

After these budget cuts I think all scholls will be hurting. Los Alamitos is FANTASTIC. Capo is good, but they have major administrative problems. Saddleback is very large. irvine is good, but, they school are getting too crowded. Placentia/ Yorba Linda is good too. I'd stay away from Orange and Anaheim districts if you can.

Irvine schools have an excellent reputation. I have heard that the parents do a lot of fundraising to help pay for getting the education to a superior level. It's going to be competitive though (and so a B there might be like an A at another school). I don't think colleges take that into consideration. Fountain Valley schools are good too and not quite as bad with the competitiveness.

Hi,

We had the same situation. Moved away from Orange County without children, then moved back with. We ended up in Anaheim Hills. Our kids are at a great school. Imperial Elementary. Really good school. It's a small neighborhood school, so it's really nice. Best part is the Jr. High and High school is great too. We're really happy. If you need, we also have a fantastic realtor. She specializes in relocations: Rose Veldhuizen. She's been in the business for 30 years, great lady! She really knows her stuff. If you're interested just contact ____@____.com Luck

I dont live in the area, but we own a rental home in Aliso Viejo ( south OC ) and the school district is Laguna Beach. Everytime our house comes up for rent, people are interested in it because Laguna Beach has the best district. One of our last tenants was a Dean from Chapman College who wanted his son to go to school in the Laguna Beach District. Just a suggestion

Hi L.,
Christ Lutheran School of Costa Mesa is awesome. I attended CLS and all three of my children did also. They have Pre-school - 8th grade. Most of the teachers have been there decades. The curriculum is above average. It is simply the best school. They have won many awards. The web site is ChristCM.com. Feel free to use my name as a reference and email me if you have any questions. D. Valenzuela

Hi L.,
Love Floral Park! My husband and I used to live right across 17th in Washington Square :) When we moved, schools and a family life-based community was high on our list of wants because we were going to start a family.

We chose Mission Viejo and 5 years later, couldn't be happier with our choice. Now, parts of MV are Capistrano District, and parts are Saddleback Unified. We are in the Saddleback district. I've heard Capo is good, too, but they have had many administrative problems with their district the last few years and I know that it has been a struggle for some of their schools, too.

Anyway, our daughter is 4 and has been attending preschool since 3 years of age. The preschools is offered through the city and held in MV elementary schools. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have an actual school setting, instead of a daycare type preschool setting. Not to mention, the cost is unbelievable -- $450 a quarter for two days a week. UNBEATABLE in OC!! Our daughter's teacher is fantastic, is certified to teach elementary school in CA and has been teaching preschool in the district for 35 years. Very qualified.

Besides schools, we've found MV to be super family-oriented. There are tons of family community activities, almost all free. Not to mention rights to the lake, which is a phenomenal bonus that we use constantly, whether it be swimming, boating, free concerts on the lake in the summer. During the summer, we take advantage of the lake at least 2-3 times a week.

Also, so nice to live in a community of TREES!! Trees everywhere, it's unbelievable, really. We live right next to a wilderness glen with a trail running through it there are so many animals, birds, beauty. Going from Santa Ana to here was like moving to a different planet. Our first night here, we just stared up into a clear night of stars. Back in SA, the sky was always pink at night, couldn't see the stars. Uggh.

Here is a great resource to check on various school's ratings, test scores, etc: www.greatschools.net

Another great thing, MV just made a bunch of NRDC's top 10 lists for recycling, transportation, green space and energy production and conservation: http://smartercities.nrdc.org/cities/mission-viejo-ca

Feel free to message me if you'd like any other info on Mission Viejo. I guess I should work in their PR dept, we absolutely love it here! Best of luck and welcome back!

Someone else mentioned Los Alamitos School District... if you end up in North Orange County you couldn't make a better choice! My children just finished up at Los Alamitos Elementary and are looking forward to McAuliffe middle school. You can check your their website http://www.losal.org it has links to the individual school pages.
Best of luck to you on your move!

Orange County is a large area, but my "children" went to the Los Alamitos Schools and we were very happy with the district. They do a good job of educating kids whether they are gifted or below average. We didn't move out of that area until all of my kids had completed their education. By the way, it is a small district with one high school, two middle schools and four or five elementary schools. All are rated 9 or 10. If you need a good realtor for that area, my son is very good. His name is Matt and his phone number is ###-###-####.

if you want beach community Huntington has some great schools, if you want newer developements Rancho Santa Margarita also has great schools and community, of course there is always Irvine but the schools are a little militaristic (sp) if you ask me.

I don't know if you will be moving near the city of Orange again or not, but INDEPENDENCE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL is very good, and is in Orange. It is private, as the name indicates, and has small classes and excellent teachers, etc. All three of my children went there, and now my grandson as well. Good luck to you, I know your concern.
V.