Vista Verde School
Elementary and middle school in Irvine, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
 | |
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 |
| Colors | 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]
