Revamped Vista School to Focus on Science, Math

All the attention focused on the Vista Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts has overshadowed changes being implemented at the school district’s other magnet school, the Casita Center for Technology, Science and Math.

Unlike the Academy, which is starting with an entirely new enrollment and a new program, Casita is adding 150 magnet pupils to its existing enrollment of 650. The school, formerly Casita Elementary, has been working toward specializing in the sciences for the last 2 1/2 years, when it received a $250,000 grant from the Pacific Telesis Foundation to restructure its approach to education.

The school will integrate computers, science and math into all areas of its basic curriculum for grades one through five. It also will focus on environmental and ecological issues, said principal Ollie Matos.

“We wanted to find something that works for kids that will make them employable for the 21st Century,” Matos said. The faculty also wanted to expose the children to “the problems of Earth that they are going to face,” he said.

Teachers and parents have been rushing to get the campus ready for its July 1 opening, painting murals with environmental themes on two outdoor walls, and turning the soil for a large, botanical garden that will be used in a variety of lessons. The school will also have laboratories with computers and other educational technology.

Response from parents has been enthusiastic, and more than 60 children are on a waiting list.

Casita’s minority enrollment climbed to 61% last year. With the addition of the magnet students, the balance is close to 50% minorities and whites, Matos said.

Cheri and John McClow Jr. found Casita to be just what they wanted for their third-grader, John III.

The McClows had thought about sending their son to a private school but couldn’t afford it. After looking at both the Academy and Casita, their minds were made up when John III, whose favorite class at Bobier Elementary was science, said: “I want to go to the computer school.”

Casita, a bilingual school, will also hold evening classes for parents in English, Spanish, computers, reading and math. Parents will be encouraged to assist in the classroom.

“I think this is a real novel approach,” Cheri McClow said. “I just can’t wait to get in there and learn what my son is going to learn.”