We extend our heartfelt thanks to our students, families, staff, key partners and supporters for helping us achieve these results and recognition.

2013

• Da Vinci Schools' first full class of seniors from Da Vinci Design and Da Vinci Science graduate, 98% of whom completed their "a-g" requirements for admission to a 4-year university, and 78% of whom were accepted to a 4-year university.
• Da Vinci Schools hosts Young Women's Career Conference with seven senior level executive women, including SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, discussing what it takes to get ahead and be successful.
• Da Vinci Science receives national certification for its Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program. Da Vinci Science currently offers six PLTW classes and will add two more in 2013-14. PLTW is the gold standard of rigorous and innovative STEM education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S.
  

2012

• Da Vinci Science is selected by Project Lead The Way to participate in a national pilot program exposing students to high-demand career paths in Computer Science and Information Technology. Da Vinci Science will join about 50 schools nationwide to pilot a new PLTW course, Computer Science and Software Engineering, for the 2013-2014 school year.
• Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Science, and Da Vinci Innovation Academy are named among an elite group of Schools That Can.
• Da Vinci Schools is awarded a coveted Next Generation Learning Challenges grant, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to start a new high school-university "hybrid" in 2013-2014 that will reduce the time and cost of completing a bachelor's degree.
• Dr. David Brown, Executive Director of the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools, says "Da Vinci Schools are among the very finest I've seen."
• Da Vinci students have been accepted into prestigious summer programs at Yale, UCLA, LMU and other programs designed to develop students’ skills in key academic and leadership areas.
• Da Vinci Schools delivers college prep results with 100% of Da Vinci Science’s inaugural Class of 2012 going on to college, 87% of whom have been accepted into 4-year universities and 98% of whom have completed their "a-g" UC/CSU admission requirements.
• In June, we held our first Da Vinci Teacher Presentation of Learning Colloquium as part of our Teacher Education and Support Program, a teacher credentialing program launched this school year, in partnership with High Tech High Graduate School of Education.
• In April, a team of women from Da Vinci Science won 1st Place at the 3rd Annual YES! (Youth Engineering Success) Program, sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers at Cal Poly Pomona.
• Da Vinci Design was one of 50 semi-finalists in the 2012 Vans Custom Culture Shoe Design Competition, a national contest that attracted a pool of over 400 entrants from all 50 states. This is the second consecutive year that Da Vinci has been a semi-finalist.
• Da Vinci's Robotics Team won the Top Rookie Seed award at the 2012 Los Angeles Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, finishing #5 out of 66 teams.
• Da Vinci Science won 2nd Place in the Northrop Grumman High School Innovation Challenge that was part of National Engineers Week 2012.
• Da Vinci Schools are awarded a $100,000 technology grant from The Riordan Foundation as part of The Riordan Personalized Digital Learning Initiative.
• Da Vinci Schools launched a Work Experience Program with more than 50 students interning at more than 20 local businesses. This real world learning is a hallmark of a Da Vinci education.
• Da Vinci was invited to contribute a chapter to a scholarly book on educational practice coming out later this year, Educating for Creativity.
• Da Vinci Schools form new partnerships with Antioch University Los Angeles, Marymount College and Foothill-De Anza Community College District to offer “early college” classes in which students earn college credits for free while simultaneously working toward their high school diploma.
• Da Vinci Schools partner with industry to launch an innovative new program called Ed-U-Creationship, The pilot program establishes collaborative project planning teams that include teachers, students, industry experts, and university professionals to develop rigorous and relevant real-world projects that bring professional practice into the classroom. Raytheon and Karten Design co-create the program’s first projects.

2011

• Da Vinci Schools are awarded a $100,000 two-year grant by a private non-profit foundation to expand the Da Vinci Early College Program.
• Da Vinci Science was named an official chapter of the Rotary Interact Club, the California Scholastic Federation, and the National Honor Society.
• Da Vinci Design forms new partnerships with Art Center College of Design, Industrial Designers Society of America, and Deutsch, Inc. to offer college level classes and curriculum support.
• Da Vinci Science won the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) 2011 Excellence in Engineering Education Collaboration Award for its extensive collaboration with Northrop Grumman and other key partners.
• The Da Vinci Innovation Academy officially opened its doors on August 25, 2011, offering families a new approach to K-8 education that combines school-site instruction with home-based learning.
• Da Vinci Schools were awarded two large "Energy for Learning" grants by Chevron in 2011 and 2010 as part of the company's investment in South Bay schools to advance STEM education and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
• Da Vinci Schools were featured at the 2011 ASEE Conference with two poster sessions on the agenda. Dr. Ray Haynes, Da Vinci's Director of STEM Integration and a retired Northrop engineer, moderated a panel on "Evolutionary Models for College-Industry Partnerships" that explored emerging strategies in industry-education partnerships, including how to attract more K-12 students into STEM college programs and careers.
• Da Vinci Design students won Third Place in the Raytheon Engineering Games that was part of National Engineers Week 2011.
• Da Vinci Schools won the Best Community Service Award in the 2011 QuikSCience Challenge, a national competition sponsored by the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Quiksilver, Inc., and the Quiksilver Foundation.

2010

• In November, the Wiseburn Community resoundingly approved an $87 million bond measure to open a state-of-the-art, 21st century high school facility to serve the families of our education community. The new high school campus will allow the two Da Vinci schools to reunite permanently with a combined enrollment of about 1,050 students.
• Da Vinci Schools earned four years of accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The Visiting Committee noted our high quality learning environment, supportive community partnerships, ability to serve students with different learning needs, and our clear sense of purpose and direction.
• The U.S. Department of State selected Da Vinci Schools as a visit site for 25 international STEM educators. Da Vinci Science was identified as a "best practice" example demonstrating how industry, government, academia and the K-12 community can effectively collaborate to engage students in STEM education.
• Da Vinci Design students won First Place in the Pancho Barnes Film Contest held in conjunction with the 2010 National Engineers Week, co-sponsored by Northrop Grumman.
• In April, NASA and Northrop Grumman selected Da Vinci Schools as the site for a community event that featured a presentation by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. John Mather, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Senior Project Scientist.
• The Da Vinci story was part of the plenary presentation at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) STEM Summit 2010 at UC Irvine and was presented as a best practice as defined by the NAE "Engineering in K-12 Report."
• Da Vinci students piloted a remote controlled plane to a Second Place finish in the Northrop Grumman Innovation Challenge.
• Da Vinci Science students won First and Second Place at the 2010 Los Angeles County Science Fair.
• In January, the Northrop Grumman Innovation Lab at Da Vinci Science was opened and was quickly recognized nationally as a role model for STEM innovation.
• In January, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell visits Da Vinci Schools and is quoted saying, "Da Vinci Schools should be a model for other public schools in the state."

2009

• Da Vinci Schools were the subject of a Los Angeles Times feature article, "A teaching model that would make Da Vinci proud."
• Da Vinci Science and Da Vinci Design Charter High Schools officially opened their doors on August 18, 2009.

2008

• Da Vinci Schools form extensive partnerships with industry and university leaders, including Northrop Grumman, Belkin, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and many others, in preparation to launch the new schools.
• The name Da Vinci Schools was suggested by a student in an ideation workshop.
• The Wiseburn School District authorizes two independent charter schools, the Wiseburn 21st Century Charter Schools.