Vista Verde School
Address
Map
6 Federation Way

Irvine
,
California
92603
Information
School typeElementary and Middle
Founded1974
School boardIrvine Unified School District
SuperintendentTerry Walker
PrincipalJerry Vlasic
GradesK-5 (Elementary), 6-8 (Middle)year round
Enrollment1048
LanguageEnglish
AreaTurtle Ridge
Color(s)Green, white, and yellow
MascotViking
Team nameVista Verde Vikings
WebsiteVista Verde School Website

Vista Verde School is a year-round, K-8 school located in the Turtle Ridge neighborhood of Irvine, California, United States. Vista Verde belongs to the Irvine Unified School District but is not a neighborhood school; rather, it is open to all Irvine residents with a preference for Turtle Ridge residents, and is one of four year-round schools in the Irvine district.[1]

Academic distinctions

In 1992, Vista Verde was the highest-scoring school in Orange County, California in the CAP tests.[2] Vista Verde has been recognized multiple times as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.[3][4][5]

The school was a pioneer in teaching computer literacy; it bought its first computers for student use as early as 1978, and was introducing students to the internet by 1994.[6]

History

Vista Verde opened in 1974 as an elementary school and later became a magnet school. It was originally located in the University Park neighborhood of Irvine. Rosa Drew Lane, a street in Irvine that passes the former campus site in University Park, is named after Rosa Drew, who had been a teacher at Vista Verde for 30 years.[7]

The University Park campus closed and the school moved to the Turtle Ridge campus in 2006.[8][9][10] In 2012, the old Vista Verde School site and buildings were sold to a home builder for $17 million. The company subsequently demolished the old school in late 2012 to make room for new homes.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "First bell sounds for year-round: Four schools start year Wednesday", Orange County Register, July 29, 2004.
  2. ^ Gewertz, Catherine (December 16, 1992), "O.C. Students Outscore State on CAP Test", Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ Nguyen, Tina (May 28, 1997), "Eight Local Schools Awarded National Blue Ribbon Status", Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Irvine schools sweep blue ribbon awards – again", Orange County Register, May 27, 1999
  5. ^ "Blue Ribbon schools", Orange County Register, September 28, 2006.
  6. ^ Takahashi, Dean (May 14, 1994). "A Tale of Four Schools : At Vista Verde, on the Internet 'It's More Fun Than Playing Nintendo'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  7. ^ Gallardo, Miguel E. (2013), Developing Cultural Humility: Embracing Race, Privilege and Power, SAGE Publications, pp. 103–104, ISBN 9781483310480.
  8. ^ "Irvine school gets new start", Orange County Register, May 31, 2005
  9. ^ "New campus", Orange County Register, September 15, 2006
  10. ^ "From Vista Verde to Turtle Ridge", Orange County Register, October 9, 2006.
  11. ^ Peters, Sara (March 3, 2012), "Irvine council approves new housing project", Daily Pilot.
  12. ^ Schaefer, Samantha (August 21, 2013) [March 8, 2012], "Former Irvine school site sold for $17 million", Orange County Register.

33°37′47″N 117°49′39″W / 33.6297°N 117.8275°W / 33.6297; -117.8275

Further reading


Categories