| Vista Verde School | |
| Streetaddress: | 6 Federation Way |
| City: | Irvine |
| State: | California |
| Zipcode: | 92603 |
| Url: | Vista Verde School Website |
| Schoolboard: | Irvine Unified School District |
| Superintendent: | Terry Walker |
| Principal: | Jerry Vlasic |
| Schooltype: | Elementary and Middle |
| Grades: | K-5 (Elementary), 6-8 (Middle)year round |
| Language: | English |
| Area: | Turtle Ridge |
| Mascot: | Viking |
| Teamname: | Vista Verde Vikings |
| Colors: | Green, white, and yellow |
| Founded: | 1974 |
| Enrollment: | 1048 |
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]
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]
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]