Plan 2 in Viewpoint on Katella by Taylor Morrison
Orange, CA 92867

I will start by saying that the bilingual curriculum is great. Someof the staff are exceptional and truly make an effort to ensure students needs are met.. however there were some red flags. There were a few times that the gate was left open and parents were just walking in to grab their kids from the after school program. There were times we sent messages when we were on the way to pick up and still had to wait 20 mins for them to bring our child. The class sizes are too big and the staff can get a bit disorganized because of the amount of students they have to manage. It just wasn't a right fit unfortunately.

This is our first year at CV and overall are impressed with the school. It’s safe and they have programs supporting strong character and respect. Great communication from the Principal and the AP is always visible on campus. The fun clubs and great electives are a plus! The Honors teachers have impressive credentials and seem knowledgeable. The only thing we struggle with is the Honors classes assign excessive homework. Not sure how much benefit comes from hours of homework every night. We’d still recommend this school, but hope Administration re-examines the kids’ workload.

Villa Park is a really amazing school! As a current student, it offers almost everything of what a great school needs! The AP and honors classes are filled with the brightest and welcoming kids out there. The new Math and English Center (The MEC), is built beautifully, and opened in the second semester of my junior year! The administration is always busy, but always is helpful to the student. Sports are great, as baseball is ranked nationally, and our football program is on top! It's a beautiful school, and I encourage our future students to tour around the open campus! The gym is still being constructed, but I hope it opens my senior year, and welcomes back our basketball team, who temporarily hosts their games at the nearby Santiago Canyon College. I've made amazing friends here, especially the ones from the nearby middle school, Cerro Villa, with whom the few friends I have are considered my best friends. I promise you, this school is full of endless possibilities, and can help you shift to a better student.

Before I pulled my son out, my son attended this school as a 7th grader for not less than three months (pre-pandemic). The Orange school district told me this is a good school, and given it was in a relatively safe area; I was hopeful about the possibilities. I was completely wrong. He lasted a week before being verbally attacked by students cursing him in Spanish on break and in lunch. The classrooms are disruptive, and the teachers spend the first 5-10 minutes threatening the problem students to behave before class actually starts. Kids curse in class, on breaks, and during lunch. My son doesn't speak Spanish, but I do, and may I say that the type of language he was exposed to was extremely vulgar for children. As I understand, he also witnessed some kids threatened by being jumped after school. Adding to the above classroom experience, I decided our pick-up and drop-off area would be in the Albertsons parking lot next to the school. This is where I personally witnessed children as young a 7th grade vaping, offering a vape pipe to young students as they walked by. May I say as a father that it literally broke my heart to see this, not just my child, but that any child was going through this. For anyone wondering if I intervened or just watched, I intervened and immediately called the Orange police and asked for an officer to meet me at this parking lot. The dispatcher patched me to an SRO assigned to Yorba middle school, and as much as this officer had empathy, he informed me that the law prevents him from arresting or detaining students that vape off of school grounds. I am a parent that believes that all children should be challenged in school and in a safe place where they can thrive amongst other ambitious children in their education. I hope that all schools will push our children to become intelligent human beings, children who will have great success in life, professionally and socially. To the Yorba facility, I hope this critique will expose the situation you are in, not to tarnish your abilities but to push our leaders to fix this problem in our public eduacation system.In closing, my son was accepted to a trinity high school as a freshman, his grades are not perfect, but he is getting better and studying hard.