The Capistrano Unified School District serves approximately 51,000 students with 56 schools encompassing 195 square miles in south Orange County. CUSD currently boasts 33 schools recognized as "California Distinguished Schools" and 11 schools recognized as "National Blue Ribbon Schools."

The mission of the CUSD Foundation is to raise money by developing partnerships with businesses and the community to enhance the quality of education for every student at the Capistrano Unified School District.

Over the years, the Foundation has raised over $2,000,000 for CUSD students, teachers and schools. Our volunteer-based, non-profit educational partnership raises funds through a variety of programs and fundraising events throughout the year.

As a community, we need to continue to work together to make our school district one of the top in California in terms of community investment dollars per student. Strong schools are a crucial part of a strong community. They lead to safer neighborhoods and higher property values. Most importantly, a quality education helps develop the skills that future generations need to be effective members of society.

Some of the ways the CUSD Foundation supports students in our schools...

“Save the Teachers – Preserve Current Class Sizes for K – 12 Campaign”

Because of the state’s budget cuts, 266 teachers were given their pinkslips at the end of the 2008-09 school year – meaning bigger class sizes for our children. The CUSD Foundation raised over $1,000,000 in six weeks in June of 2008 which allowed the district to hire back ALL of the teachers.

Grant Incentives For Teachers (GIFT) Program

The CUSD Foundation supports enhanced and innovative teaching programs in our schools by offering grants to teachers who work to enrich the classroom learning experiences of our 51,000 students. Grants were used to upgrade technology, fund innovative math and science programs, provide tools for literacy building and much more. Over the past several years, the CUSD Foundation gave more then $200,000 in grants to teachers throughout the district.

Arts & Music

Every year in February, the CUSD Foundation provides the transportation funds that allows over 3,000 fourth grade students in the district to attend a live symphony by South Coast Symphony. The children experience music performed by a live symphony orchestra, from a variety of genres including classic, jazz, opera, film scores from Hollywood and the music of Broadway.

Every year in March, the CUSD Foundation also sponsors the annual Honors Concerts Series, which are three live performances featuring the talents of over 1,800 students from the various schools’ choral and music programs.

The CUSD Foundation also funds the purchase of musical instruments, sheet music, stage equipment, drama production rights, ceramic kilns, art class tools and materials, audio systems and microphones, electronic media devices, art books, painting supplies much more in support of the district’s arts and music curriculum.

Technology

The CUSD Foundation provides funding for computer software and hardware to support technology programs at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The CUSD Foundation also provides multi-media materials to individual school libraries and specific curriculum programs.

Senior Scholarships

Each year the CUSD Foundation awards scholarships for community service and academic achievement to graduating seniors at CUSD high schools from the various endowments that the Foundation manages.

Teacher of the Year

The CUSD Foundation is a major sponsor in recognizing outstanding educators at each of the district’s schools at the Annual Teacher of the Year Event every April.
School Safety

The CUSD Foundation funded safety supplies for the district’s participation in “The Great ShakeOut” which was the biggest public emergency drill where 5 million people in Southern California practiced a drill for a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Nov. 13, 2008.

School Clubs and Groups

We provide interactive fundraising events and revenue sharing for diverse school groups which have included: Class Size Reduction, Destination Imagination teams, sports teams, drama clubs, music & choral programs, bilingual immersion, pep squads, special education, school site tutoring, and booster clubs.

The Foundation supports BTSA (Beginning Teachers Support and Assessment,) Professional Learning Communities, student councils, science camps, field trips, school-site laptop programs and many, many more programs that enrich our students’ educational experience