Vista Verde School
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]
| Vista Verde School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
6 Federation Way , 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 | 1048 |
| Language | English |
| Area | Turtle Ridge |
| Color(s) | Green, white, and yellow |
| Mascot | Viking |
| Team name | Vista Verde Vikings |
| Website | Vista Verde School Website |
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
- "First bell sounds for year-round: Four schools start year Wednesday", Orange County Register, July 29, 2004.
- Gewertz, Catherine (December 16, 1992), "O.C. Students Outscore State on CAP Test", Los Angeles Times.
- Nguyen, Tina (May 28, 1997), "Eight Local Schools Awarded National Blue Ribbon Status", Los Angeles Times.
- "Irvine schools sweep blue ribbon awards – again", Orange County Register, May 27, 1999
- "Blue Ribbon schools", Orange County Register, September 28, 2006.
- 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.
- Gallardo, Miguel E. (2013), Developing Cultural Humility: Embracing Race, Privilege and Power, SAGE Publications, pp. 103–104, ISBN 9781483310480.
- "Irvine school gets new start", Orange County Register, May 31, 2005
- "New campus", Orange County Register, September 15, 2006
- "From Vista Verde to Turtle Ridge", Orange County Register, October 9, 2006.
- Peters, Sara (March 3, 2012), "Irvine council approves new housing project", Daily Pilot.
- Schaefer, Samantha (August 21, 2013) [March 8, 2012], "Former Irvine school site sold for $17 million", Orange County Register.