Cerro Villa Middle School is a public middle school in the Orange Unified School District serving students in grades 7–8. Find current school information, resources, programs, awards and the history of Cerro Villa in Villa Park, California.
Cerro Villa Middle School
17852 Serrano Avenue
Villa Park, CA 92861
714-997-6251
Fax: 714-921-9331
Orange Unified Middle Schools
Cerro Villa Middle School Information
Enrollment: Approximately 750 students in recent school years
Grades: 7–8
Mascot: Viking
Established: 1965
School District: Orange Unified School District
Principal: Jeffrey Jones
Assistant Principal: Kori Fernandez
Cerro Villa receives students from seven feeder elementary schools: Fletcher, Linda Vista, Nohl Canyon, Olive, Serrano, Taft and Villa Park Elementary.
Academics, Programs & Activities
Cerro Villa offers academic, enrichment and extracurricular opportunities for middle school students, including STEM-focused learning, student leadership, clubs, after-school activities and athletics. Because offerings can change from year to year, families should use the school’s official website and calendar for the most current programs and schedules.
- Official Cerro Villa website
- Orange Unified enrollment and open enrollment information
- Cerro Villa CARES expanded learning program
Awards & Recognition
- Cerro Villa received WASC accreditation again in 2025 and was originally recognized in 2014 as the first WASC-accredited comprehensive public middle school serving grades 7–8 in Orange County.
- Recognition has included California Distinguished School, California Gold Ribbon School and Schools to Watch honors.
- In 2015, Orange Unified reported Cerro Villa as a national top-10 school for implementation of the Paxton Patterson ActionLABS STEM program.
- California School Dashboard
Cerro Villa School Resources
- Cerro Villa Middle School website
- School contact and administration information
- Orange Unified School District
- Enrollment and open enrollment
- GreatSchools profile
Cerro Villa Middle School History
Cerro Villa opened in 1965 during the same major period of school construction and residential growth that brought Villa Park High School and Serrano Elementary to the area. Its history therefore parallels Villa Park’s larger transformation from citrus groves and ranch properties into a predominantly residential community.
Where the Name Cerro Villa Comes From
The name Cerro Villa predates the middle school by decades. Early-20th-century records refer to Cerro Villa Heights, a citrus-property development marketed by the Jotham Bixby Company. Newspaper accounts around 1920 described the tract as being north of Villa Park, so those early references belong to the broader historic Villa Park district and should not automatically be interpreted as locations inside today’s incorporated city. The school name preserves a place name from the area’s agricultural era.
The 1966 Time Capsule
A time capsule was buried in 1966 to commemorate the end of the school’s first year. It was opened in 1985 in conjunction with Cerro Villa’s 20th anniversary. Items found inside included:
- A 45 rpm record of the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
- A pair of rectangular, wire-framed “granny” eyeglasses reflecting the fashion of the era.
- A letter with comments and predictions from Cerro Villa’s first principal, C. B. “Corky” Courson, including predictions that short hair and bobby socks would return to style, Mars would become a garden spot of the solar system and robots would handle household chores.
Cerro Villa’s first principal, C. B. “Corky” Courson, was the father of Pamela Courson, who later became closely associated with Jim Morrison of The Doors. Because some popular stories about songs allegedly inspired by Pamela are difficult to document reliably, this page does not repeat those claims as established fact.