Out & About

MIKE POURARYAN, Laguna Niguel

Capistrano Unified School District never ceases to amaze me. In spite of the budget ravages of the last number of years, the district has been able to do wonders in how they have done their utmost to educate children and make a difference in their lives. This is as the district has worked diligently in close consultations with the community to create a vision for the 21st century.

In my capacity as a member of the District’s Facilities and Finance Advisory Committee, I had the opportunity to see a vision of the future in action as I was given a tour of the latest school in the Capistrano Unified School District: Esencia. Nestled in the hills above Rancho Mission Viejo, it is a modern, state-of-the-art facility that presents a vision of what is truly possible.

When I arrived at the campus to meet with the chief building official, I was blown away by how modern the building was itself. As the official led me and another member of our committee through the campus, I was amazed at the student-centric and teacher-centric vision that is at the core of 21st century teaching. Whether it was the modular cabinets in the main hall that serves as a library, stage or instructional area or the classrooms underscored by the state-of-the-art technological resources, it was a vision of what can be truly possible.

Nelson Mandela once reminded us all, “The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children.” Esencia is a vision of what can be possible for a community to take care of its children, because they are the future.