The vision of Vista Unified School District is to be THE Model of Educational Excellence and Innovation. In order to realize our vision, teacher leaders have embarked on an ambitious partnership with PARC, a Xerox company, and Qualcomm to re-imagine the learning experience for all students. Our ambitious goal is to transform education into a personal learning path (Español) that flexibly adapts to the strengths, interests and values of each student. We call this project our moonshot because it will require everyone in the organization (students, parents, teachers and support staff) to completely shift their mindset from a traditional one-size-fits-all style of learning to a dynamic, personalized approach that places students in the driver's seat as stewards of their own learning. Teachers, support staff and parents take on a new role as facilitators of the educational process, promoting flexible learning environments that extend beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom.
The district has recently identified six schools in the district to initiate the transition to a more personal learning system that takes into account the individual strengths, interests and values of each student. These Personal Learning Challenge schools are Casita Elementary, Temple Heights Elementary, Vista Visions Academy, Rancho Minerva Middle, VIDA Middle and Vista High School. Over the course of the next ten months, students and teachers at these schools will be starting the district transformation process that will probably take a number of years. During this transformation process, students will continue to focus on developing knowledge, skill and expertise in the state standards for English Language Arts, English language Development, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and other subjects.