The public is invited to the dedication ceremony for Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary School. The dedication is Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. The school is located at 1111 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Following the dedication ceremony, guests will have the opportunity to tour the school.
Special guest American astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger will speak at the dedication. Metcalf-Lindenburger was a science teacher at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver Public Schools when she was selected by NASA in 2004 as an astronaut candidate. After qualifying as a NASA astronaut in 2006, she served as a mission specialist on a 2010 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Metcalf-Lindenburger retired from NASA in 2014 and lives with her husband and daughter in the Seattle area.
VITA was built as part of a capital bond passed by voters in 2017. Based on community engagement and feedback prior to the bond election, the school was designed to support project-based learning encompassing STEAM – science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. It opened this year as VITA Learning Lab for all district elementary students in second through fifth grade to experience the school through multi-day field trips.
Next fall, VITA will open as an elementary school. The district will go through an elementary boundary review process in the spring to help determine enrollment for both VITA and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Elementary School that will also open in the fall of 2023. Watch for more Information about the boundary process and how you can share your input.
Curriculum and instruction at VITA Learning Lab is supported by community partners including the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; City of Vancouver; Clark College; Washington State University Vancouver; Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries; and Vancouver Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services.
General contractor is Robertson & Olson Construction. Architect is LSW Architects PC. Landscape Architect is Shapiro Didway.
