Cypress Village Residents Will Enjoy Two Walking-Close Schools This Fall

Online, July 3, 2014 (Newswire.com) - This fall, Cypress Village residents will enjoy a very unique opportunity for their school-bound children in elementary and middle school - the ability to walk to school every day! Cypress Village Elementary School is scheduled to open in September, joining Jeffrey Trail Middle School in the heart of Cypress Village.

"Cypress Village is the only neighborhood in Irvine with two walking close schools," said Tom Veal, Vice President of Residential Sales and Marketing for Irvine Community Development Company. "Jeffrey Trail Middle School is already earning acclaim despite having just finished its first year, and Cypress Village Elementary School is sure to do the same!"

Jeffrey Trail Middle School was honored at the 2014 Southern California State Science Olympiad, placing fifth among middle schools - an impressive feat when considering the school opened just eight months earlier.

"By any measuring stick - test scores, graduation rates, students who move on to higher education - the Irvine Unified School District is one of the finest in the state, and the nation," noted Veal. "These student achievements are just another barometer of all of the outstanding things happening in Irvine schools, as the students remain among the best in California."

Veal added, "And in Cypress Village, students are just steps away from both campuses."

Thoughtful planning goes into the building of each neighborhood, with decisions about the close proximity of schools to homes - an important factor according to homebuyer feedback - given key consideration.

Locating educational facilities - including major universities, local community colleges, elementary, middle schools and some of the best high schools in the U.S. - close to homes has always been of the key planning principles that have guided the building of the Villages of Irvine®. Elementary schools are the most prevalent; almost every village has one. Secondary schools are larger and private and public high schools serve citywide functions and usually are located close to residential villages. Private, public and junior colleges are located throughout the city, with the largest being the University of California, Irvine.

In Cypress Village, Jeffrey Trail Middle School serves seventh- and eighth-grade students. Classrooms are designed to encourage student participation, with desk shapes and configurations varying by classroom. Teachers wear lapel microphones that utilize audio speakers positioned in all four corners of each classroom - ensuring that the teacher can be heard by all of the students, regardless of their desk location.

The school's computer lab includes a number of desktop computers, but also is designed with space that allows students to work on laptops and tablet computers if they desire. A video production studio is located behind the school's multipurpose room, and will allow students to shoot and edit digital video. A live, student-produced weekly television news show is planned. Additionally, students will be able to integrate video projects into their classroom projects.

Cypress Village Elementary School will open in the fall with Susan Kemp overseeing operations as the school's first principal. Kemp just concluded her seventh year as principal at Canyon View Elementary School - a Silver Medal award winner in the 2013 Orange County Register annual ranking of all of the elementary schools in the County, and a California Distinguished School.

Innovative design. The latest technological advances. Walking-close to homes in the neighborhood. These are all hallmarks of schools built within the Villages of Irvine®.

Cypress Village offers residents everything families want and need to thrive now and in the years to come. Offering the next generation in new home designs, Cypress Village provides residents with resort-style recreation for the young and young at heart, a convenient setting near your favorite places and acres of parks for fun in the sun, and is conveniently located just moments away from the region's premier shopping, dining and entertainment.

For more information about the new homes available throughout the Villages of Irvine®, including office hours for the Cypress Village Sales Galleries, visit www.VillagesofIrvine.com.