Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts is a public elementary magnet school in the Vista Unified School District located in North San Diego County.  We are an International Baccalaureate World School with a focus on teaching and learning through arts integration. In 1993, our school was reimagined as a K-8 visual and performing arts magnet school and became Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. Our students receive weekly instruction which connects to their IB units of inquiry in Dance, Drama, Visual Arts, Music, and Spanish from teachers credentialed in their area of expertise, as well as arts integrated lessons from their classroom teachers, creating cohesive and transdisciplinary instruction and learning. Vista Academy was authorized as an IB World School in 2017 featuring the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Today, our inclusive learning community is home to 642 students from an array of cultural backgrounds creating a learning community celebrating diversity, including a significant special education population.

Located in an urban, predominantly Latino community, Vista Academy’s vision is to be the model of educational excellence through innovative arts integration and intercultural understanding. Students learn how to treat each other and aspire to be internationally-minded individuals by demonstrating the attributes of the IB Learner Profile in their daily interactions and their learning experiences. The foundation of Vista Academy’s academics is centered on teaching and learning within the IB PYP, an inquiry-based approach focused on transdisciplinary learning, reflection, learner agency, and taking action. Students’ learning is grounded in real-world connections, challenging them to make an impact in their local community and around the world.