Vista Verde School

Vista Verde School
Address
6 Federation Way
Irvine, California, 92603
Information
School type Elementary and Middle
Founded 1974
School board Irvine Unified School District
Superintendent Terry Walker
Principal Jerry Vlasic
Grades K-5 (Elementary), 6-8 (Middle)year round
Enrollment 950
Language English
Area Turtle Ridge
Color(s) Green and white
Mascot Viking
Team name Vista Verde Vikings
Website Vista Verde School Website

Vista Verde School is a year-round, K-8 school located in the Turtle Ridge neighborhood of Irvine, California. 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 1987, 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 (March 8, 2012, updated August 21, 2013), "Former Irvine school site sold for $17 million", Orange County Register Check date values in: |date= (help).

Coordinates: 33°37′47″N 117°49′39″W / 33.6297°N 117.8275°W

Additional reading