Da Vinci Schools: Parent Guide to a Project-Based Public Charter Network

Da Vinci Schools is a public charter network in the Los Angeles area built around project-based learning, career-connected pathways, and a bridge from K-12 to college and work. It includes multiple free public schools and a college and career program, so a parent profile needs to distinguish the network from individual schools such as Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Science, Da Vinci Connect, Da Vinci Connect High, and Da Vinci RISE High.[1][2]

Snapshot facts

Field	Detail
Official name	Da Vinci Schools.[1]
Current operating status	Active. Da Vinci publishes current school pages, enrollment pages, and 2026-27 enrollment materials.[1][3]
Founded	Da Vinci says it opened in 2009 with Da Vinci Science and Da Vinci Design.[2]
Founding organization or founders	Da Vinci's story page says the founding team included Dr. Nicole Tempel Assisi and that the first two schools opened in Hawthorne in 2009 with 445 students. The site also describes former board chair Chet Pipkin's early role in the network's history.[2]
Current leadership	This batch did not extract a current chief executive name from primary pages. Families and editors should verify current network leadership before publication if leadership will be displayed.[1][2]
Headquarters or primary location	201 North Douglas Street, El Segundo, California.[1]
Campus or location footprint	Da Vinci describes on-campus and hybrid school models and lists Da Vinci Communications, Design, Science, Connect TK-8, Connect High, RISE High, Levitt Lab, and LifeLaunch in its current navigation. The network says it has six free public schools and one college and career program.[1][2]
Grades served	Da Vinci serves TK-12 across the network, including high schools and hybrid TK-8 and high school options. Grade ranges vary by school.[1]
Public, charter, private, or nonprofit status	Free public schools, operating as a charter network. Individual school status and authorizer details should be verified by school.[3][4]
Tuition or public funding model	Free public schools. Da Vinci's enrollment page states that its schools are free and open-enrollment public schools.[3]
Admissions model	Application and lottery if demand exceeds available seats. Wiseburn residents are guaranteed a spot at one of the Da Vinci high schools under the published policy.[3][4]
Educational model	Project-based learning, real-world learning, industry partnerships, career technical education pathways, and mastery-based grading.[5]
Accreditation	Da Vinci's story page says Connect and RISE received six-year WASC accreditation in 2024 and Communications, Design, and Science received six-year WASC accreditation in 2025.[2]
Evidence confidence	Strong for published model and admissions. Outcome data are mostly school-reported in the reviewed sources and should be checked against state data before publication of performance claims.[6]

What it is

Da Vinci Schools is a public school network with several related but distinct offerings. Its homepage says the network opened in 2009 and emphasizes project-based learning, real-world learning, industry, and a bridge among K-12, college, and career. Its current school list includes traditional on-campus high schools, hybrid options, Da Vinci RISE High, and a college and career program.[1]

For SchoolDecision, Da Vinci is best treated as a network profile with clear child-school routing. A single profile can explain the overall model and admissions system, but parents still need school-specific pages or links because Da Vinci Communications, Design, Science, Connect, Connect High, and RISE High may differ in schedule, grade range, student population, and best fit.[1][3]

Educational model

Da Vinci's signature programs page describes real-world learning through project consults, mentorships, internships, and partner-connected work. It describes project-based learning as part of the core course experience, with interdisciplinary projects and products intended to demonstrate mastery. The same page identifies career technical education pathways and mastery-based grading as network practices.[5]

The model is not simply student-led freedom. It is structured around projects, industry links, pathways, and public demonstrations of learning. Parents should ask how much of the day is organized around projects, which projects are required by grade, and how core academic skills are directly taught and assessed inside that structure.[5]

Student experience

The student experience depends on which Da Vinci school a student attends. A student at one of the main high schools may experience a campus-based project and pathway model, while a student at Da Vinci Connect or Connect High may have a hybrid schedule and more home-based or independent work. Da Vinci RISE High serves a different mission and population than a conventional comprehensive high school profile would imply.[1]

Across the network, public materials emphasize real-world learning, industry partners, internships, mentorships, and projects. That may fit students who want to connect academic work to careers, products, and adult-world feedback. It may be a weaker fit for families who want a more traditional high school schedule, a large AP catalog, or a single campus model.[1][5]

Curriculum and instruction

Da Vinci's curriculum is described through projects, pathways, and mastery. The signature programs page says students complete interdisciplinary projects in core courses and demonstrate mastery through products. It also says the network offers 15 career technical education pathways. Families should ask which pathways are available at each school and whether they are accessible to all students or constrained by grade level, prerequisites, scheduling, or capacity.[5]

The network's outcome page and story page show that Da Vinci uses college-readiness and career-readiness language, but parents should still ask for the exact graduation requirements, A-G completion expectations, honors or AP availability if any, dual enrollment options, and how mastery-based grading appears on transcripts.[2][6]

Public, charter, private, or nonprofit status

Da Vinci's enrollment page says its schools are free, open-enrollment public schools and that students are accepted regardless of background, academic record, or special education status. It also says a lottery is used when there are more applicants than seats and that preferences apply under the published process. This should be treated as a public charter enrollment system, not as private admissions.[3]

Families should verify each school's charter status, authorizer, grade range, and accountability records. A network profile should not imply that all Da Vinci programs are the same. Da Vinci RISE High, Da Vinci Connect, and the main high schools may require different parent questions.[1][3]

Locations and availability

Da Vinci lists 201 North Douglas Street in El Segundo as its main address. Its story page says the first schools opened in Hawthorne, and current school pages should be checked for the exact campus location of each program.[1][2]

Eligibility is broader than neighborhood assignment but not unlimited. The enrollment process page says Da Vinci schools are free public schools and that California students can apply, but Wiseburn residents are guaranteed a spot at one of the Da Vinci high schools. When applicants exceed seats, Da Vinci uses a lottery with preferences.[3][4]

Tuition, admissions, and eligibility

Da Vinci's enrollment process page reviewed for this batch described a 2026-27 application cycle, a priority deadline, a lottery date, and response deadlines. Those dates should be updated annually rather than reused permanently.[3]

The enrollment FAQ says all California residents are eligible to apply and that Wiseburn residents are guaranteed a high school spot. It also lists priority order details that differ by program, with Connect enrollment priorities not identical to the high school priorities. Parents should use the current enrollment FAQ, not a generalized statement about open enrollment, when deciding whether to apply.[4]

Evidence and outcomes

Da Vinci publishes more outcome information than many non-traditional schools. Its outcome page reports school-published figures including 94 percent A-G completion, 82 percent immediate college enrollment, and 91 percent second-year college persistence for the 2024 reporting context. Those figures are useful, but they are school-reported and should be labeled as such unless independently verified.[6]

Da Vinci's story page also states that all Da Vinci schools hold top-tier WASC accreditation, with Connect and RISE receiving six-year accreditation in 2024 and Communications, Design, and Science in 2025. Accreditation is meaningful, but it does not by itself prove academic outcomes. Before publication, SchoolDecision should review CDE dashboard data, school accountability reports, charter renewal documents, and postsecondary data if available.[2]

Best fit

Da Vinci may fit families looking for a free public school option with project-based learning, career pathways, industry-connected work, and a smaller or more intentional school design than a large comprehensive high school. It may also fit families considering a hybrid public model through Da Vinci Connect or Connect High.[1][5]

It may be a weaker fit for families who want a conventional high school with neighborhood assignment, a broad athletics program, a large AP course catalog, or guaranteed access without lottery or residence rules. It also requires careful matching to the specific Da Vinci school, not just the network brand.[3][4]

Questions parents should ask

Parents should ask which Da Vinci school is the target, what grade levels it serves, which campus or hybrid schedule applies, and what lottery category the student falls into. They should ask whether Wiseburn residence changes the student's admission path and what waitlist movement looked like in recent years.[3][4]

Academic questions should focus on pathway access, transcript format, mastery grading, A-G completion, internships, dual enrollment, special education services, and school-specific outcomes. Parents should ask whether the school's published network outcome data apply to the specific campus and graduating class their child would join.[5][6]

Sources

[1] "Da Vinci Schools," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[2] "Our Story," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/about/our-story/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[3] "Enrollment Process," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/enroll/enrollment-process/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[4] "Enrollment FAQ," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/enroll/enrollment-faq/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[5] "Signature Programs and Practices," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/about/signature-programs/, accessed June 7, 2026.
[6] "Outcomes," Da Vinci Schools, https://www.davincischools.org/impact/outcomes/, accessed June 7, 2026.