SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : School-Choice Plan Will Be Outlined

Parents with children in the Capistrano Unified School District will soon receive information that outlines the district’s new school-choice program.

The program allows parents to select which of the district’s 36 elementary, middle and high schools they want their children to attend in the 1994-95 school year.

All schools will maintain the same core curriculum, but principals and teachers are being encouraged to emphasize themes and areas of specialization that will differentiate their schools from others in the district.

“The days of the cookie-cutter schools will end with this program,” Supt. James A. Fleming said.

District staff on Friday will begin mailing bulletins announcing the start of the new approach.

The bulletin will be followed by a detailed catalogue that will be available at schools beginning Feb. 22. Instructions on how the program works, school descriptions and application forms for placing children in schools outside their assigned boundary areas are included in the catalogue.

Parents can get more information by attending one in a series of regional meetings to be held at 7 p.m. at the following schools: Fred Newhart Middle School in Mission Viejo on Feb. 24; Shorecliffs Middle School in San Clemente on Feb. 28; Marco F. Forster Middle School in San Juan Capistrano on March 1; Niguel Hills Intermediate School in Laguna Hills on March 2; and Aliso Viejo Middle School on March 3. English and Spanish sessions will be held concurrently at all meetings.

Parents then will be invited to visit the schools in which they are interested from 9 a.m. to noon March 4 and 5.

Applications for schools must be submitted in person from 2 to 7 p.m. March 11 or from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 12 at the school district offices, Fred Newhart Middle School, Niguel Hills Intermediate School or San Clemente High School.

A study by district officials of similar programs around the nation found that less than 10% of parents choose to move their children to schools outside their immediate areas.

If requests to enroll students in a school exceed that school’s capacity, the district has devised criteria to determine which students will be given priority.

The district began formulating its school-choice program two years ago. Last year, state legislators passed a law requiring all school districts to adopt by July 1 choice policies for the 1994-95 school year.