A brand new building for New Vista High School: How BVSD nontraditional schools like New Vista support student success for all

The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) community was proud to come together on Nov. 13 at New Vista High School to officially celebrate the grand opening of the new building with students, staff, families, alumni, and even the principal who founded the school in 1993, Rona Wilensky.

After the speakers shared gratitude for the new space and their hopes for the future for New Vista students, a ceremonial teal ribbon was cut by their owl mascot, signifying the completion of the construction project, which began in 2023, with students moving in for the spring semester of 2025. 

Watch a video of the event here: New Vista High School Ribbon Cutting

New Vista students offered tours of their new space to visitors, while attendees enjoyed refreshments in “The Roost,” a gathering area featuring murals recently painted by local artists and large windows with views of the Flatirons. The 76,000 square foot building was intentionally designed with features specifically to support New Vista’s program, such as a dedicated room for restorative justice conferences, a communal faculty work space, a fitness room rather than a full-size gym, and an athletic field striped for ultimate frisbee and lacrosse.

The new, $52.4M school was funded through Bond programs generously supported by Boulder Valley voters in 2014 and 2022.  

Learn more about the Building for Student Success school renovation program

New Vista High School is a choice enrollment-only school, meaning all students who attend choose to enroll for a different kind of high school experience rather than attending their home neighborhood high school. New Vista High School was created in 1993 to “break the mold” by offering a small, relationship-driven, student-centered alternative to the traditional high school model.

The school is designed to cultivate students' unique talents, gifts, and interests, and to help them take greater responsibility for their own learning. Students take multi-age, mixed-grade courses where they have some choice of highly relevant and engaging topics that reflect their passions and questions. In exchange, they are required to do high quality work and earn a grade of A or B in core classes as a demonstration of authentic learning.

Some of the program elements that make New Vista unique include, among others:

• Small school size and class size
• Quarter calendar and block classes
• Weekly Community Experiences (CEs) - afternoons spent learning in the real world
• Service Week devoted to social action and environmental stewardship
• Student-and-teacher-designed courses
• Credit for mentored learning outside of the regular school day and year
• Off-campus learning in technical or post-secondary programs
• A new purpose-built campus, designed to support collaborative, project-based learning

New Vista also has some unique graduation requirements for all students that include:

• Earn almost half of required credits in learning opportunities chosen by students
• Complete a rigorous culminating project, demonstrating inquiry, impact, and personal meaning
• Participate in Path Projects annually, building the skills and mindset needed for their final project

Last year, New Vista senior Riley Nuttecombe’s culminating project included redesigning space suit designs after multiple visits to the Mars Desert Research Station, an example of the curiosity, courage and creativity New Vista students apply to their learning. Read more: Space simulation missions completed, New Vista graduate sets sights on next adventure

New Vista is just one of many nontraditional education options that BVSD offers, with a goal of providing different learning experiences, structures and support for each student to best support their learning goals and needs.

For high school students, these include Apex (BVSD’s Career and Technical Education Center), Arapahoe Ridge High School, Boulder Prep High School, BVSD Online, New Vista High School and more.

Choice Enrollment window now open

With BVSD Choice Enrollment happening now through January 7, 2026, it’s the perfect time to consider other options for your student. Many schools are offering open house enrollment events so families can walk the halls, meet the staff and ask their questions, to best inform their choice.

Click here for a list of enrollment events at BVSD schools