ALISO VIEJO : Two New Schools Will Open in Fall

Two new schools will open in Aliso Viejo this fall. The move will provide the young community--which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year--with its first elementary school.

“It’s a nice birthday present,” said Wendy Wetzel, executive vice president of corporate affairs for the Mission Viejo Co., developer of Aliso Viejo. “It’s one of the biggest steps for the community in terms of growing and maturity.”

While plans for a permanent school are still underway, Capistrano Unified School District will open an “instant” school in September for 550 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The $1.5-million facility, known as the Foxborough Street School, is made up of portable classrooms--the first district school of its type in about 20 years, officials said.

The temporary school was funded completely by developer fees, although the district has applied for a state grant to cover half the costs, Assistant Supt. William F. Dawson said.

Also in September, Morasha School, a private Jewish day school, will move from Mission Viejo to a new, larger four-acre campus at Aliso Creek Road, just north of Glenwood Drive. The new school site is owned by Temple Beth El of South Orange County. The school is not however, affiliated with any particular synagogue or movement although Jewish studies and ethics are an essential part of the curriculum, officials said.

The school will provide instruction for up to 200 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In the past, the school had to turn children away because of lack of space, officials said.

Morasha will be the second private school built in Aliso Viejo. The first, La Monte Acadamie, a school specializing in individual instruction for students with learning difficulties, opened last fall at 25182 Eastwing.

Eventually, more schools will be built to accommodate the growing population of 16,000 residents. They include at least two more Capistrano Unified School District facilities.

Work is already underway on Aliso Niguel High School. It will serve both Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel residents when it opens in September, 1993.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in October for Aliso Viejo Elementary School, which will serve students in kindergarten through eighth grades.

The elementary school also is expected to open in September, 1993.