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Debbie Figueroa

Professor Lawson

English 113B

February 20, 2017

The VAAS-WAY

The Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences or VAAS for short is a high school The Valley

Academy of Arts and Sciences is located in Granada Hills California and it holds roughly 1600 students,

students that come from everywhere from exchanged students from France and Syria to exchange

students from South Korea. VAAS welcomes students from everywhere and lets the students express

themselves in anyway. One of the people who founded VAAS was Ronald Harris who is currently an AP

Literature teacher. He had a vision along with Principal Kelly Hannock, that VAAS would be a place that

the students would create a culture within themselves and they call this culture the VAAS-WAY. VAAS

was described as a safe space by students and staff, a space where students can be themselves To have

students from different places and different identities isn't really seen much out in the real world. To have

a space where everyone can be themselves and enjoy everything together without being divided by their

ethnicities or where a culture does not influence them and they create their own culture. And that's what

the VAAS-WAY means.

The students like to celebrate each day by doing something different. Every day the leadership

committee plays music during lunch that was chosen by a student who submits a music playlist. The

student who is chosen has a playlist already made and they get the chance to play it during lunch, the

music genre is based off what the student wants. During the visit there was music playing in Spanish that

was the music choice for that day, students were surrounding the stage and dancing with other students.

Some students who didn't know how to dance to the music were dancing and enjoying the music. But not

only do they play music they also play games that gives each student a chance to be involved.

One of the teachers is Mr. Padgett, he is an 11th grade English teacher that not only loves his job but

loves his students as well. In Mr. Padgetts classroom it was really vibrant and full of character. Walking
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in the first thing you see is the G.S.A flag for his club and walking further in on the wall to the right are

movie posters and to the left is the white board and on the back wall is his desk. The students come

together during a discussion about a short essay theyre analyzing together.

In the classroom of Mr. Cho it's a chemistry class and in that class the students sit in their own

chosen seats and in that class they seem to of formed a sort of clique between each other. The room is

filled with different ethnic groups and being in the room the students with different languages that they

speak go around the room. Theres students speaking in Spanish and others speaking Arabic. Although an

ethic group does seem to stand out more, that still doesnt determine whether the students associate with

each other.

VAAS has many different forms of art a student could express themselves in. Theres multiple

clubs and elective classes that offer students the chance to be able to show their true colors without being

judged for out casted. VAAS has a zero tolerance for bullying and will not stand for anyone causing

trouble at that school. VAAS likes to celebrate the staff and the students by having family nights at the

school, one of the events is the pancake breakfast. The pancake breakfast is an event where students and

teachers good to school on Saturday and the teachers make breakfast for the students. The dean Mr. Tyni

gladly helps to make the breakfast, they all show up early morning and it ends at 12 in the afternoon.

They have music and they have families come and enjoy their time at their kids school. The way the

students and the teachers just come together and have fun together is amazing. The connection a student

gets with the staff is remarkable. Students who have left the student to advance to the next step in their

lifes claim that its the hardest thing for them to do. VAAS alumni say It feels like your leaving your

family behind they also put out there that VAAS showed them how to live their life the VAAS-WAY,

meaning that you show except people for who they are. VAAS doesnt just share this culture amounts

themselves but with all the students families. VAAS helps not only the families of the students but also

the community around them, they have helped a family in need.

Although VAAS doesn't have an ethnicity division they all come together as one culture. Its a place

where the students have created sort of a culture within themselves. This culture is a welcoming culture
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and it accepts the students and staff for who they are and where they come from. The Valley Academy of

Arts and Sciences has showed the students a culture which is the VAAS-WAY.