Gratitude

As we head into the New Year, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our students, staff, board members, community partners, philanthropic supporters, Wiseburn Unified, Wiseburn Education Foundation, and all the parents and guardians who choose Da Vinci Schools and trust us with your child's education. View the holiday video and hear about what our community is grateful for this holiday season.

Wishing you and your loved ones much joy over the holiday season. Here's to a fantastic New Year ahead!!

December’s Performing Arts Showcases had 560 Student Performers and More Than 2,200 Audience Members

This month, we had many firsts in our recently expanded Wiseburn Da Vinci Performing Arts Department, including two performances at two locations with 560 student performers and more than 2,200 audience members.

Industry Partners Ignite Students' Learning through Real-World Applications

This Fall, Da Vinci students across our high schools immersed themselves in captivating projects that seamlessly bridged the gap between traditional classroom education and real-world applications. In collaboration with our dedicated teachers and industry partners, our students participated in a journey of discovery, innovation, and meaningful connection with the world beyond the classroom. The range of projects and initiatives that students engaged in this semester alongside our industry partners echoes the diversity of experiences our students are exposed to.

Presentations of Learning: Students Gain Powerful Presentation Skills While Reflecting on Their Academic Learning and Growth

Presentations of Learning, known as POLs, are a tradition at Da Vinci Schools beginning in Transitional Kindergarten. All students in grades TK-12 prepare and deliver POLs at the end of each semester or academic year to “show what they know” in front of an audience of their teachers, peers, family members, and community partners. 

Showcasing Student Work at Exhibition Nights

We had another fantastic month of Exhibitions at Da Vinci Connect TK-8 and Da Vinci Connect High, as well as a grade-level exhibition at Da Vinci Design. During Exhibition Nights, families and our community come together to publicly witness and celebrate what students have learned and how they have translated their learning into projects that tackle real-world scenarios or solve real-world problems.

50 High School Students Volunteer in Wiseburn this Month

This month, 50 Da Vinci high school students spent a combined 150 hours volunteering in the Wiseburn community at Aviation Elementary School’s Family Craft Night and at Hollyglen Elementary School’s Bear Bazaar fundraising event.

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Students at Da Vinci Communications Showcase their Marketing Skills in ‘Shark Tank’ Competition

Da Vinci Communications hosted its very own ‘Shark Tank’ competition earlier this month with teams of Marketing Pathway students presenting their innovative business ideas to a panel of Sharks (judges) from Sony, Adobe, Netflix, UCLA, LinkedIn, and Da Vinci staff.

Da Vinci Schools Continues to Make Headlines Near and Far, including in the New York Times

Our very own Mr. Christopher Jackson (Da Vinci Communications' College & Career Readiness/Financial Literacy Teacher) and Sebastian Torres (DVC Alumnus, Class of 2022) were featured in the New York Times on Dec. 1st! The article was about the benefits of financial literacy courses in high school. You can check out the article here: More States Now Require Financial Literacy Classes in High Schools (New York Times) -- and read an excerpt below. We are so proud of both Mr. Jackson and Sebastian! 

From the article:

Christopher Jackson, who teaches a personal finance course to seniors at Da Vinci Communications high school, a socioeconomically and racially diverse public charter school in El Segundo, Calif., said he found that students were enthusiastic about saving in Roth individual retirement accounts once they understood the concept of compound interest and how investments grow over time.

He advises them to open a Roth IRA at 18, rather than waiting until they graduate from college and start a career. One of his students has already saved $14,000, he said.

Mr. Jackson uses a curriculum from Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit that pushes for teaching universal personal finance in high school, as a base for his instruction and supplements it with books on relevant topics, he said.

“You can’t play the money game if you don’t know the rules,” Mr. Jackson said. “I teach them the rules of the game.”

Sebastian Torres, 19, a 2022 graduate of Da Vinci Communications, said Mr. Jackson’s class, which includes a unit on the psychology of financial decision-making, helped him plan for both college and retirement.

“I really didn’t know about 401(k)s before Mr. Jackson spoke about it,” he said. “I 100 percent think it was worthwhile,” he said of the high school course.

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