Established in 1960, Bella Vista High School would be the first of two high schools built in Fair Oaks, California. Part of the San Juan Unified School District, Bella Vista is centrally located in Fair Oaks. In 2003, Bella Vista was the only high school in Sacramento to win the California Department of Education's School Recognition Award as a California Distinguished School. It received the same award in 2009.
Bella Vista offers special business courses in advanced computer applications, which upon completion, provide students with three units toward their education at California State University, Sacramento. The high school's academic decathlon team has represented Sacramento County in the California Academic Decathlon for the past 19 years.