Vista Magnet Middle School Rings In New Year With Newly Completed Upgrades

The school’s front entrance returns the school to its historic beauty

Vista Magnet Middle School welcomed 2024 with an impressive new look after an almost year-and-a-half-long construction project to upgrade and improve the school.

Students and faculty returned in January to a redesigned entrance at the front of the school, which has been restored to showcase its Spanish-styled architectural glory. 

The parking lot has also been improved after aging portable classrooms were removed to open up the space, new asphalt was laid, updated lighting was installed, and a new digital marquee with an electronic display was added.

The whole project was done as part of the Vista Unified School District’s Measure LL Bond. The goals for Vista Magnet Middle School were to provide the school with an ADA-compliant front entry and a safe ‘historic plaza’ for students to utilize as an outdoor learning area. 

VMMS principal Steve Post explains: “The plans included redesigning the entire front of the school to improve access as well as the school’s curb appeal, and to rectify issues like insufficient drainage and the lack of walkways and shade.”

The VMMS campus was once the original Vista High School, which was built in 1936, so the new look and building updates were desperately needed.
“Once we realized we could do a full redesign, we created the ‘Historical Committee’,” says Post. “It was made up of staff, district staff, students, community members, and the design team including Josh Eckel from the design studio.

“The committee considered questions like, ‘What did it used to look like? What features and aspects should we add and restore?’”

[Caption: The upgraded front entrance, complete with bold signage, shaded walkways and fully ADA-compliant pathways]

Caption: A new hallway (left) at Vista Magnet School reflects the same historical architectural style as the original building (right)

The biggest feedback, says Post, was the need to bring focus back to the look and feel of the school’s historic main hallway, which was built in Spanish mission-style architecture and features arches and beams. The historic core of the campus had been obscured by the newer rectangular office building built next to it several decades ago.

“We wanted to bring the front of the school back to what it used to be, so I looked at pictures from Vista High School back in the 30s,” says Post. “The redesign needed to say: ‘This is who we are, this is what we look like, and this is why we're special and historical.’”

The whole front area was renovated to make the walkway more accessible and welcoming by improving lighting, landscaping, and seating spaces. Construction on the upgrades began in August 2022, and the school was under construction throughout 2023. 

Not surprisingly, given the age of the school, the improvements brought many unforeseen challenges along the way. “When you dig down around here next to a street on an old site, you're going to find unexpected stuff,” says Post, recalling challenges to the project. “We had a lot of issues because things were not well marked from 40 or 50 years ago, or water or electronic lines were fragile.”

Last year’s heavy rains added to the challenges, with mud causing many delays. Post admits students and staff experienced ‘construction fatigue’ due to the delays, dust, and noise, but today the results speak for themselves.

“Before winter break, I was told, ‘We're going to reopen in January’” recalls Post. “And I said, ‘I'll believe it when I see it!’ And lo and behold, here we are. We had a basketball game after school on the first day back and everything was great. Everyone could park in the new lot and come right into the gym, so it made things easy; We are off and running!”

Work continues on the completion of what is known as the ‘Historical Plaza’ front entrance. Plans include adding ways to commemorate the history of the site with plaques or brick donations imprinted with names. For now, it’s an attractive gathering spot with landscaping and irrigation almost completed.

“The area has a lot of potential to become more of a landmark,” says Post. “There are still steps to be done and we're planning our grand ribbon-cutting ceremony around March or April, so that's when we're going to do more of a big celebration.”

He calls today’s results a “long overdue relief. One of the biggest things we didn't have before was curb appeal. Now we have a big, proud front entrance that echoes California history with the mission architecture, a big sign, and a big modern parking lot. I think it makes people feel a little more pride in this beautiful school, pride that this is a special place.”

[Caption: The new Historical Plaza, a gathering and learning space at Vista Magnet Middle School]