VAPAC: The school that used to be.

I attended VAPAC for three years, from the seventh to ninth grade. VAPAC stands for the Visual and Performing Arts Charter. When I came to this school I was greeted by a warm environment, full of creativity and understanding. I believe that it was the best place for me at the time, all the other artists alongside me.

At the end of my ninth grade year, VAPAC was shut down. The letter the students recieved has "VAPAC IS CLOSED" emblazened on it in big bold letters. The reason, it stated, was because of irreconcilable differences between the administration and the school board. Honestly? I still am not sure why VAPAC shut down, only that it is one of the worst things that has ever happend to me.

VAPAC was an arts school, at least the first two years I went there. It was fading fast the last year. Most of the good teacher had left, fearing the loss of thier retirement. They where replaced with half-bit teachers, some with little to none of the expierience required to teach us. And the students where leaving as well. There was no point in staying anymore, what with thier favorite teachers gone and replaced with a much more ignorant version.

Many schools can claim to be arts schools. To me, a school of the arts must have a variety of core classes, stretching beyond what is needed to graduate. You need a teacher as creative as the students, equipped with calming personalities and just the right balance of passion. The students must be passionate as well, an interdependent society of various artistic talents. The plays and musicals must be of theatre quality, with complete sets and lighting. The dance pieces must be exceptional, with the right choreography and costuming. The performances should not be viewed as high school productions, but professional pieces. The art work equal to gallery work, the music better than what is professionally taught. If classes offered are not o the highest quality, then what is the point of taking them? Someone could easily pay for better than what is offered.

A traditional high school has classes that are mediocre. The classes are traditional and uninteresting at best. They do nothing to improve someone with any artistic talent. A school of the arts should expand horizons. They should create a new generation of fabulocity.

When VAPAC was shut down, the administration tried to open up a private school titled the "Sacramento Arts Conservitory." The payment for this school was seven thoudand dollars a year. The joke between all the students at the existing charter school was that no one would pay for a VAPAC education (VAPAC had begun to deteriorate over the years). Only ten people enrolled and the school ended up never making it off the ground.

I felt betrayed, and so did my fellow Vapacians. This was our home. It was bad enough that our home was leaving, but your going to make another, fake one that we would have to pay for?

As an artist, I need a surrounding where I can grow and learn. Truly, we are never done learning, we are constantly learning. But I need somewhere were I can learn the right stuff. Where I can develop the skills that will help me as I continue on. Going to this school was a life-changing experience. I know that sounds cheesy, and you know what? It is. But its true and that’s all that matters. In going to that school I have made friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life, friends who have the same interests as I do. I have grown as a person because of VAPAC. I have discovered things about myself that I never knew. The Atmosphere of VAPAC was just wonderful. Because the school was so small we all shared the same interests, there was virtually no bulling. We were such a close-knit community that we had no cliques. Nobody was worried about impressing anyone, so we were free to be ourselves and let our true colors show. We are all unique, all different and instead of being teased and tortured for our differences, they were cherished.

On the last full day of school, I wrote down what had happend. Here is a short summary of what happend and what I was feeling.

"I feel so weird. Today is the last full day of school. We all felt like we should do something memorable. I still do. We all signed the table and wrote some stuff down. It was hard, cause I couldn’t think of anything to say. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Michael came by and said a little thank you to us. It was only two sentences, and then he just sort of walked off. But, during the entire thing, he was almost crying. Michael! It made us sort of die a little. Ellie was making no attempt at hiding the tears when she came to hug us. At the end of lunch Elliot got the group together and we had a giant group hug. Theres no point in trying tolearn today. It won't make a difference if we learned word problems. If I learned how to conjugate “Etre”, If I learned subject predicate agreement, Or if I learned how to spell Acetabulum, or who Colonel Spaatz is. Nobody cares. Nobody at Vapac cares. They’re to busy trying to remember, trying to forget, trying to reminisce, to memorialize, to prepare, to deny, to deal, To not let go."

I would give anything to have it back, but I know that no matter how hard I try, It won't happen. I will no longer be able to wander down the multi colored halls and converse with the teachers. What happend to us was truly horrible. Not only was it irresponsible, it was unfair.