Leonardo Da Vinci Health Sciences Charter, Chula Vista CA

Original Research by School Decision on Leonardo Da Vinci Health Sciences Charter

Leonardo da Vinci Health Sciences Charter is a small elementary school in Chula Vista serving kindergarten through sixth grade. The school is part of a single-school charter district authorized by Chula Vista Elementary School District and organizes its curriculum around health sciences and project-based learning, operating on a year-round calendar.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with nearly all students drawn from low-income households. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment is small and stable across the grade band, with the school serving a community that reflects Chula Vista's broader demographic makeup in the rapidly growing South County region.

On state assessments administered in spring 2025, the school's proficiency results are uneven across grades and subjects. In mathematics, third-grade students show lower performance, while sixth graders demonstrate substantially stronger results. English language arts shows a similar pattern: third-grade proficiency is quite low, but performance improves notably by sixth grade. Science testing, administered in fifth grade, shows low proficiency. Across all tested grades and subjects combined, the school's overall proficiency is below the midpoint among San Diego County's school districts, though the small enrollment means grade-level counts are small and results can be volatile.

Comparing to other county districts on overall academic proficiency, Leonardo da Vinci Health Sciences Charter ranks in the lower half. The school has state assessment data available only for the current year, so trend analysis is not possible at this time.

The school is located in Chula Vista, the county's second-largest city, which is undergoing rapid growth. Residential communities span from the historic downtown neighborhood near Third Avenue to large master-planned developments to the east, including Millenia and Otay Ranch. The area's economy is anchored by health care, retail, and education, with major employers including Sharp HealthCare and Southwestern College. The city has invested in transit infrastructure, including the San Diego Trolley Blue Line and an electric Bayfront Shuttle. Housing values in the 91911 zip code are in the mid-range for the region, though no longer declining.

The school's health sciences focus aligns with the broader regional economy and may appeal to families with an interest in that field. A parent considering this school may want to look into the specifics of how the project-based and health sciences curriculum unfolds across elementary grades, and whether the school offers additional academic support or intervention structures given the proficiency gaps visible in the testing data.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 332%

School 32% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · district not reported

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · district not reported

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income17%Higher-income18%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income60%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income55%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap