Original Research by School Decision on Da Vinci Design District
Da Vinci Design District is a high school district serving grades nine through twelve, with an enrollment of small to mid-sized scale. The district operates one school, Da Vinci Design, and is positioned in Los Angeles County.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a sizable Black population, while Asian, white, and multiracial students each represent smaller shares. Enrollment is distributed evenly across the four high school grades. Data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility and on English learners is not available from the state reporting; the district's published materials did not reveal these figures either, so the economic profile of the student population remains unclear from available sources.
Academic performance data—proficiency rates and graduation rates—were not available. The absence of state assessment results and graduation outcome data is a substantive gap for a high school district; parents would want to contact the district directly to understand how students are performing in core subjects and what percentage complete a diploma. This missing data may reflect reporting issues rather than an assessment gap, but either way, a parent should discuss with the district what measures it uses to track and report on student academic progress.
Chronic absenteeism in the district falls above the midpoint among Los Angeles County's districts, meaning a notably lower share of students are chronically absent here than in the typical county district. This is a real strength in a context where attendance is a major lever for academic success.
Per-pupil spending is in the lower range across the county, which is material information for families considering what resources the school can deploy per student.
The district's recent and announced initiatives carry real weight. Beginning in Fall 2025, Da Vinci is launching LifeLaunch, a tuition-free college-and-career program for graduating seniors. The program centers on two career tracks: Healthcare, offering certifications as a Certified Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, and EMT; and Aviation, with FAA drone certification and paid flight hours leading toward a private pilot license. Students earn college credit through El Camino College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and can progress toward an Associate's or Bachelor's degree at no cost via partnerships with Rivet School and Southern New Hampshire University. For a family with a senior, this is a substantial offering—career credentials, college credit, and a tuition-free pathway to a degree, all at no cost.
Alongside this, the district has expanded dual enrollment sharply, growing from two career pathways to eight in a single year as of the 2025-26 school year. These college courses, offered through El Camino College, are free to current high school students, with the state and district covering tuition and textbook costs. This removes a barrier to college credit accumulation.
The Da Vinci Connect High / Rivet School model is an established pathway that lets students begin college coursework in ninth grade and work toward an AA or Bachelor's degree tuition-free through partners including Southern New Hampshire University and Arizona State University. For families planning for college affordability, this recurring option is a defining feature of the district.
The combination of expanded dual enrollment, LifeLaunch, and the Rivet pathway suggests a district strategy aimed at college and career access with minimal financial burden. These are concrete pathways, not aspirational rhetoric. Whether they translate to strong proficiency and completion outcomes is not visible in the available data, so a prospective family would benefit from asking the school about graduation rates, dual enrollment enrollment and success rates, and outcomes for LifeLaunch cohorts as they move forward.
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