Capistrano Valley High School is a public high school at the southern border of Mission Viejo, California, USA, that is run by the Capistrano Unified School District. It is set on a hilltop overlooking the San Diego Freeway corridor and Saddleback Mountain. It is located on Via Escolar, off the Avery exit of the I-5. The school attendance boundaries primarily serve students from eastern, southern and northern Mission Viejo and a small northern portion of San Juan Capistrano.CVHS is a California Distinguished School, National Blue Ribbon Finalist, and was ranked as number 488 in Newsweek's 2008 list of the top 1,300 high schools in the USA. By this standard, CVHS falls in the top 2.5% of US high schools. It is the highest ranked for the school district and second highest rank between both Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified that serve south Orange County.HistoryCVHS opened in 1977 with one main building and a series of portable buildings that served as temporary classrooms, and 1,326 students. It was the third high school to be opened in Capistrano Unified School District after San Clemente and Dana Hills. The campus and buildings have since expanded; notable additions include two wings attached to the original main building, a pool, a gym, theater and a two-story M Building.
