Q: When can I apply for the 2025-26 school year?
A: The application window opens on November 1, 2024.
Q: How can I apply for the 2025-26 school year?
The New Student Application for the 2025-26 school year opens on November 1, 2024. Before applying, we highly encourage families to attend (or view) our Information Sessions, Student Chats, and Virtual Tour. For the latest information visit Enrollment Overview.
ALL TK-12th grade students interested in attending Da Vinci Schools must submit an application through SchoolMint- https://davincischools.schoolmint.net (this also includes Wiseburn Residents, current 8th grade students at DV Connect and Dana Middle School). The Priority Application period runs from November 1, 2024 through February 28, 2025.
The timing of your application is not significant as long as you apply within the Priority Application window, which spans from November 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025. Applying earlier does not offer any advantage over applying later, as long as it falls within this specified time frame.
After submitting an enrollment application, a confirmation email will be sent to you automatically to the email you provided.
Q: When is the deadline for the application?
A: The Priority Application Deadline for the 2025-26 school year will be February 28, 2025.
To be entered into the enrollment lottery, you must apply between November 1, 2024- February 28, 2025. Applications received after this date will be placed at the end of the waiting list. > Wiseburn Residents - learn more
Q: Who can attend Da Vinci Schools?
A: All California residents are eligible to apply to Da Vinci Schools.
Students who live within the Wiseburn Unified School District boundaries are guaranteed enrollment at a Da Vinci high school, as Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Science, and Da Vinci Connect operate as Wiseburn's residence high schools. Wiseburn residents who submit a late application may not receive their first choice of school. > See Wiseburn Residents
Q: Who gets admitted to Da Vinci Schools?
A: Some students receive a preference/priority in admissions as outlined in our charters and authorized by state law. Admission is determined by the following priority order:
DA VINCI CONNECT (TK-College)
1. Residents of the Wiseburn Unified School District
2. Siblings of currently enrolled Da Vinci Connect students in grades TK-11
3. Children of Da Vinci and Wiseburn teachers, staff, and Board members (not to exceed 10% of enrollment)
4. Students who are currently attending Wiseburn K-8 schools on permit (entered district in K-5)
5. Students who are currently attending Wiseburn K-8 schools on permit (entered district in 6th grade)
6. All Others
DA VINCI COMMUNICATIONS, DA VINCI DESIGN, AND DA VINCI SCIENCE (grades 9-12)
1. Residents of the Wiseburn Unified School District
2. Children of Da Vinci and WUSD teachers, staff, and Board members (not to exceed 10% of enrollment)
3. Students who are currently attending Wiseburn K-8 schools on permit (entered district in K-5) or currently attending Da Vinci Connect (entered charter in K-5).
4. Students who are currently attending Wiseburn K-8 schools on permit (entered district in 6th grade) or currently attending Da Vinci Connect (entered charter in 6th grade).
5. Students who are currently attending Da Vinci Connect (entered charter in 7th or 8th grade)
6. Siblings of students currently enrolled at a Da Vinci School from grades 9-11 of the previous school year
7. All Others
Q: What is an enrollment lottery?
A: As prescribed by state law, charter schools conduct an enrollment lottery—a public random drawing— for available enrollment spaces as a way to ensure equal opportunity of access for all students. At many charter schools, including Da Vinci, there are more applications than enrollment spaces available. SchoolMint generates a weighted lottery where, based on our charters and state and federal laws, applications are collected and sorted by priority order. Although students with an enrollment priority are not guaranteed admission, they are generally placed at the top of the waiting list if enrollment application is submitted before the Priority Application Deadline. If students receive a "Pre-Offer", they are guaranteed admission and will receive a registration packet the week after the enrollment lottery takes place.
Families do not need to be present on lottery night.
Wiseburn Residents are exempt from the enrollment lottery. To ensure you receive this priority, you will be asked to upload three (3) proofs of residency when you submit the enrollment application. > More info
Q: Is there an application fee or tuition?
A: No. Da Vinci Schools are free, public charter schools and are supported by educational tax dollars, as well as from other public and private sources.
Q: Can I apply to more than one Da Vinci high school?
A: Yes. Only one application is needed per student. When you complete an application, you will be asked to rank your school choices by preference.
Please do not submit more than one application per student. All duplicate applications will be removed.
Q: Can I apply to Da Vinci Schools through the Wiseburn Unified School District?
A: No. The Da Vinci Schools enrollment process is completely separate from the enrollment process for the K-8 public schools in the Wiseburn Unified School District. However, both organizations utilize the SchoolMint enrollment system making the enrollment process easy to complete. Be sure to submit the enrollment application through https://davincischools.schoolmint.net/.
Q: If I am employed within the Wiseburn Unified School District boundaries, is my child guaranteed enrollment?
A: No. We do not give an enrollment priority if parents/guardians are employed within the WUSD boundaries. All families should still apply during the Priority Application Period.
Q: How many spaces do you have available?
A: The best years to apply to a Da Vinci school are grades TK, Kindergarten, 6th and 9th. All other grades have very limited spaces, if any, available. We will not know how many spaces we will have available until late in the school year or in the summer.
Q: Once I submit an enrollment application, can I make any changes to my application?
A: Before Feb. 28 - Yes. You can log in to your existing SchoolMint account and edit your rankings or information you provided.
After Feb. 28 - No. Making changes after the Priority Application Deadline will affect your waiting list number. If you need to edit other information, please reach out to enrollment@davincischools.org for assistance. If you forgot your username/password, please reach out to SchoolMint Support.
Q: What happens after the enrollment lottery?
A: When the lottery generates priorities and waiting list numbers, there are students who receive a "Pre-Offer". Those who receive a "Pre-Offer" are guaranteed enrollment and will receive a registration packet via SchoolMint.
Once all enrollment spaces have been filled, subsequent students are placed on a waiting list(s) to fill any vacancies that may arise.
Due to thousands of applications we receive, we kindly ask families to be patient during our busiest time of the year. Please do not call the enrollment office to inquire about the status of your child's waiting list number. Your waiting list number will be visible once you log in to your SchoolMint account 10 days after the Enrollment Lottery takes place.
Q: How does my child apply to 10th, 11th, or 12th grade?
A: Current high school students applying for 10th through 12th grades are "transfer" students who desire to transfer to our schools. The application process is the same as that for other students. When there is space, a "conditional offer" will be made subject to transcript verification to ensure the student is qualified for the grade level for which he or she is applying. > See Transfer Requests
Q: Does Da Vinci have a separate enrollment process or lottery for students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs)?
A: No. Students with IEPs and students with identified learning disabilities are enrolled using the same lottery process. By law, we do not ask any questions about whether a student receives special education services until after an offer of enrollment is made. > See Special Education & 504 Plans
Q: If one child gets into the school, how about his/her siblings?
A: Siblings of currently attending students in grades K-7 and grades 9-11 of the previous school year receive an enrollment preference within DV Connect and Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design and Da Vinci Science, respectively. Due to the large number of applications we receive from siblings, we no longer give sibling consideration (previously called a sibling “bump” or "family number") to two or more siblings who apply at the same time.
Q: When will we know whether our child has been accepted or placed on the waiting list?
A: Notification of your child’s place on the enrollment list will be emailed to you via SchoolMint approximately 10 days after our lottery takes place. All enrollment notifications are made through SchoolMint (make sure you provide a working email address that you check regularly).
Applicants not admitted through the lotteries have their names placed on a waiting list in the order drawn during the lotteries. Da Vinci notifies wait-listed applicants immediately as space becomes available.
Students who are offered admission must complete the online registration packet by the deadline. If you are offered admission, but do not complete the registration packet by the specified date, your space will be given to another student on the waiting list.
Wiseburn Residents who apply before the Priority Application Deadline will receive a registration packet in early March prior to the lottery.
Q: What happens if we are not offered our first choice school or program?
A: If you are on the waitlist and accept an offered space at one of our high schools, you will be removed from the rest of the waitlists; you cannot accept a space at one Da Vinci school and simultaneously wait for another Da Vinci school. You may instead decline the offer and remain on the waitlist for your first choice school, realizing that you run the risk of not being offered a space there if none are available. If you accept, you will not be allowed to switch schools within the first year of enrollment.
Q: What happens to late applications?
A: Completed applications received after the Priority Application Deadline (February 28) are placed at the bottom of the waiting list in the order applications are received.
Wiseburn residents are always guaranteed a spot at a Da Vinci high school, but may not receive their first choice of school.
Q: Do I need a permit or a release from my home district to attend a charter school?
A: No. All California students are eligible to attend charter schools. You do not need permits or releases to attend a charter school. However, there may be some paperwork required by your district to complete the enrollment process and obtain student records.
Q: Do my children need to be immunized to attend Da Vinci Schools?
A: Immunizations for every student are monitored and are required to be in compliance with the laws and regulations of the state of California.
Immunization Requirements can be found at:
Immunization Requirements for K-12
California School Immunization Law
If offered a spot, students are required to upload Immunization Records to the registration packet. > See Health Services.
Q: When will the 2025-26 school year begin?
A: Instruction will begin in mid-August 2025. Please check back in the spring for the exact date. > See Calendars
Q: Do Da Vinci Schools admit students during the school year?
A: When there are spaces available, students may occasionally be enrolled during the fall semester and through the beginning of the second semester in late January. In order to be considered for mid-year enrollment, you must have an Enrollment Application on file with us.
Q: If my waiting list number does not come up for the school year I applied for, will I be automatically placed on the waiting list again the following school year?
A: No. For each new school year, you must re-apply. There is no priority list for former waiting list families.
Q: If students are already enrolled at the school, will they have to reapply every year?
A: Once your student is accepted and remains in good standing, he or she will have a space with us for the duration of their time at Da Vinci Schools. Families will be asked to complete an Intent to Return in SchoolMint, in the spring of each year in order to confirm their wish to have their student continue to attend Da Vinci.
Returning Da Vinci students do not need to submit a new application. Re-Enrollment forms will be sent via SchoolMint during the summer of each school year.
Q: Can my child switch between schools?
A: Da Vinci has a very limited number of seats available for students who wish to transfer from one Da Vinci school to another. Transfers are not permitted mid-year or within the first year of attendance. Transfers will be approved based on the following criteria: a) valid reason to request transfer, b) space availability at the requested school, c) student is in good standing at their current school, and d) administrative approval for the transfer.
Current Da Vinci students who wish to transfer from one Da Vinci school to another must have parent/guardian consent and submit the request in writing via an Intra-School Transfer Request form (available between January 2 through February 28th). Intra-school transfers are granted late summer. Completion of the Intra-School Transfer Request form is not a guarantee of transfer. > See Transfer Requests
Students in grades 9-11 attending Da Vinci Connect who wish to transfer to Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design or Da Vinci Science must apply as a new applicant to Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design or Da Vinci Science before the Priority Application Deadline of Feb. 28th. The student shall be admitted pursuant to the school’s respective charter petition and applicable policies.
Q: Will there be information meetings or tours to learn more about Da Vinci Schools?
A: Information Session dates and details can be found on our Enrollment Overview webpage.
QUESTIONS?
High School Enrollment
Laura Nilsson
(310) 331-8097
enrollment@davincischools.org
Da Vinci Connect & DVX Enrollment
Ebony Bobadilla
ebobadilla@davincischools.org
RISE Enrollment
Ashley Oku
(562) 360-9472
dvrise@davincischools.org