Having acquired ownership of the mall and spending millions ofdollars in redevelopment and upgrading, Simon offered the schooldistrict a location in the newly opened food court area to houseits Capistrano Home Outreach Option for Student Education program(CHOOSE). The new CUSD Education Resource Center will allow parentswho are home schooling their children a chance to work withcertified teachers in designing and implementing curriculum andadministering tests. The center also will distribute textbooks andprovide library services. The CHOOSE program has 50 students thisschool year.

"It's taken about a year in all, because they were developingthe mall," said Jolene Dougherty, director of elementary schooloperations for CUSD. "The district has to incur the cost for thebuild-out. We're saving $100,000 a year for the lease we won't haveto pay, so it's a big savings for us. Hopefully it will be done bythe first of the year."

The shopping-mall location allows shoppers to stop at the centerand learn about CHOOSE, as well as other educational services andprograms that they may not know the school district offers.Additionally, the Capistrano Unified Foundation, the fundraisingarm of the school district, will be housed at the center.