In July 2006, the Western Association of Colleges and Schools fully accredited Vistamar’s 9th and 10th grade programs through 2009, and provisionally accredited the 11^th and 12^th grade programs in advance of student matriculation at those grade levels. Full accreditation from WASC requires three years of operation and will be completed prior to the graduation of our first seniors in 2008. Vistamar is a provisional member of the National Association of Independent Schools, which signifies that the School’s affairs are in order and that it is on track for full membership status within the normal time frame. In its fifth year of operation, Vistamar will qualify for additional accreditation from the California Association of Independent Schools. The School’s core curriculum has been evaluated and approved by the regents of the University of California, and Vistamar’s graduation requirements exceed the entry requirements for the UC system.

When fully enrolled, Vistamar will have 384 students in grades 9 through 12 (six sections of 16 pupils at each grade level). The School opened in September 2005 with 54 students in grades 9 and 10, and now has a student body of 136 students in grades 9-12. A class of approximately 60 freshmen plus a handful of upperclassmen will be admitted for 2008-09 school year, and enrollment will continue to grow over the succeeding few years until it reaches the optimum level. Vistamar’s Board of Trustees and administration are committed to maintaining a thoughtful and selective admissions process over rapid growth to ensure that the student body represents a wide range of interests and experiences while remaining a cohesive, motivated community of learners.

In March 2007, Vistamar purchased the 76,000 square foot building in El Segundo that it had previously leased. The first major phase of construction completed in August 2005 addressed the structural requirements for the entire building and created sufficient classroom space for our first two years of operation. Some minor improvements were made in preparation for September 2006, adding a second science lab, an outdoor eating area, a large studio art space, and a practice gym for volleyball and basketball, and additional classrooms and restrooms were completed in September 2007. The full build-out, including the gymnasium and theater, is expected to be completed by 2010.

Phase I of Vistamar’s campus development included a large multi-purpose room that is adequate for fitness classes such as yoga, martial arts and fencing. In the summer of 2006 a practice gym for volleyball and basketball was added, along with cardio fitness/weight training area. Additional gym space is rented at locations throughout the South Bay for games. A well groomed field for soccer about a mile from the Vistamar campus is provided on a cooperative basis by the Wiseburn School District. Sites for golf and tennis are readily available in the immediate area. The school provides transportation to and from all its sports venues. The School currently fields 11 teams, which consist of both Varsity and Junior Varsity athletics.

600 applications and referrals were submitted for nine faculty openings in Vistamar’s opening year, and the School has continued to recruit well-qualified faculty from throughout the country as the faculty grows. All faculty are highly educated and experienced educators. Some are veterans of other independent schools, including international schools, while others have worked primarily in public schools prior to joining Vistamar. What they have in common are strong preparation in their fields of study, a commitment to professional growth, and a desire for meaningful and productive relationships with students.

Students come from 43 feeder schools in 26 zip codes. The gender balance is approximately 50/50, and about half are students of color. They represent a wide variety of backgrounds and talents, and they share a sincere interest in learning and an excitement about the role they are playing as builders and leaders of their school community. All of the enrolled students have demonstrated readiness to do college preparatory work.

In addition to the course by course approvals by the UC regents, the Education Committee of the Board of Trustees engages in careful benchmarking of Vistamar’s program and student performance. Ninth graders take standardized examinations administered by the Educational Records Bureau, which are normed against independent school students and the results of which are commensurate with the ISEE entrance examination. Tenth graders take the PSAT exam, which is normed against college-bound high school students around the country. Separate criterion-based assessments like Advanced Placement exams and SAT Subject tests will be used in science, mathematics, and language.

The Vistamar trustees established broad educational objectives, which serve as the framework for subject guidelines developed by the school’s administrators and faculty, drawing on best practices from independent schools and from other educational systems around the world. The Education Committee of the Board regularly reviews each section of the program and serves as a sounding board as we continue to build the curriculum. A large part of weekly professional meetings and time set aside for in-service faculty training is used for research, assessment, and further development of the academic program.

Colleges are skilled at finding students who match their respective missions. Most are on the lookout for students who have special interests or talents and who demonstrate independence and maturity, all of which they assess individually. Beginning with the first senior class, colleges throughout the country will begin to create a profile of Vistamar, using UC course approvals to gauge the overall quality of the program and calibrating Vistamar’s grading system against our SAT scores. Because of the attentiveness of student advisors and college counselors, colleges will receive detailed reports about each of the applicants from Vistamar, which will help admissions officers make informed decisions. Vistamar administrators have long-standing relationships with many college admissions directors, and they will spend a significant portion of each year making college visits along with the Director of Life Planning, Dan Golden. The experience of early graduates from other new schools in California demonstrates that the majority of colleges will be ready and willing to give applications from Vistamar students careful consideration. On balance, coming from a new independent school is a net positive.

The courses and teachers at Vistamar are first-rate; of course, a well-rounded high school experience goes well beyond classroom learning. Other factors to weigh are personal attention from teachers, leadership opportunities, and the close-knit community, which every member of the student body helps shape. Vistamar is large enough to offer students a range of social options, yet small enough to avoid feelings of anonymity. Relationships with motivated peers and caring faculty provide context for the academic program and form the basis for friendships and a passion for learning that will last a lifetime.