Don Juan Avila Elementary, a California Distinguished School, is located in the beautiful friendly city of Aliso Viejo! Dennie Samuels, the principal, along with her dedicated teachers and support staff, are always busy preparing and executing an excellent instructional program to meet the unique needs of each and every student. "Our staff will strive to maintain and enhance the spirit of excellence that pervades the Don Juan community with the best interest for children being our top priority"

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SCHOOL PROFILE

Don Juan Avila Elementary School opened it doors in the year 2000. It is the fourth elementary school to be opened by the Capistrano Unified School District in Aliso Viejo. The school is located at 26278 Wood Canyon Drive. It is a beautiful campus sitting on a bluff with a magnificent view of Saddleback Mountain in the distance, and green, cascading valleys below.

The Elementary school shares the campus with Don Juan Avila Middle School. Both schools were designed so there is minimum physical interaction between elementary and middle school students during the course of a typical school day.

Review the latest Don Juan Avila Elementary School Accountability Report from the district.

MISSION STATEMENT

Don Juan Elementary School has a clear mission: To help each child to learn. Learn more today than yesterday and more this year than last year. This means ensuring that every student masters a concrete educational foundation of basic skills within each subject area and is able to confidently apply these skills in academic and non-academic situations.

The specially selected staff and principal are dedicated to creating a nurturing and caring atmosphere at Don Juan Avila Elementary that ensures every child's opportunity to think critically and creatively, develop a deep love for learning, and to acquire both a local and global perspective. Together, the student's, staff, and parents at Don Juan are committed to the expectation of excellence!

SCHOOL MOTTO

EXPECT EXCELLENCE! This simple yet powerful statement drives our daily instructional practices at Don Juan Avila Elementary School. It is the focal point of our Character Education Program and emphasizes our professional desire to always do our best!

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

From the beginning, Don Juan Elementary School has established a proud tradition of connecting with and serving the surrounding community. The first Student Council elected to focus on programs that would encourage Don Juan students to give back to the community. In their first year, Don Juan Avila students raised over $12,000 for the Jump Rope for Heart charitable fund. Again in September of 2001, our students unselfishly reached out to help the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York by raising over $8,000 for the Red Cross relief fund. There have also been several other programs supported by Don Juan Avila students which have provided much needed food supplies for many less fortunate families in our local community. The staff and teachers at Don Juan Avila encourage the students to step up to the challenge of helping others, which in turn helps our community to stay strong.