West Contra Costa virtual academy touted as ‘ahead of curve’ amid 17% enrollment decline

WEST CONTRA COSTA Unified’s permanent online K-12 school, Vista Virtual Academy, had a 17 percent enrollment drop from 505 students in June 2022 to 419 students now, as California emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.

Although the district launched the Vista Virtual Academy last year to accommodate students who weren’t able to attend classes in person, plans for it were in the works years before the pandemic broke out for families that had expressed interest in online schooling. The academy had become West Contra Costa Unified’s online independent study option, which was required by the state to serve students who weren’t vaccinated by the time the statewide mandate went into effect. Last school year, the district was concerned that it didn’t have enough space in the academy to accommodate all the students who lacked vaccine verification. Now, the academy has no waitlist for grades K-8, and only 16 high school students on the waitlist — down from nearly 400 in December 2021.