Small Schools, Big Impact: Designing for Belonging & Connectedness
The month of January has been impactful for many – from the wildfires impacting all Angelenos in some way to the changes in presidential leadership. For some, the changes are welcomed and easy, and for others, the changes may be hard and require resilience.
As we navigate the hardships and the opportunities, we want to remind everyone of Da Vinci’s unique approach to supporting students and families, our deep commitment to building belonging and connectedness within our schools, and the resources that are available to all students and their families.
Small Schools, By Design
Da Vinci Schools are small schools by design, with each of our schools having approximately 530 students where every student is known, seen and valued in a close-knit community.
One of the hallmarks of attending a school within the Da Vinci network is that we focus deeply, and lean-in intentionally to social-emotional learning; social-emotional growth and development; and honoring each student for who they are, where they are, who they want to be, and where they want to go. We have a ‘come as you are’ philosophy where all people should feel safe, welcome and understood.
Our commitment to keeping all of our schools small allows us to adapt to the evolving needs of the world. With smaller student populations and more personalized learning environments, we can quickly implement new programs, technologies, and teaching methods without the delays that larger institutions might face. We foster a culture of flexibility and education innovation where both teachers and students are more easily able to experiment and innovate. Whether responding to changes in technology, shifts in the job market, or evolving societal needs, we can pivot quickly, creating tailored learning experiences that equip students with the skills and mindsets they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
“I believe that having small schools allows us to meet the moment with our students and create solutions that are in line with their needs moment to moment,” said Dr. Matthew Wunder, CEO and Superintendent of Da Vinci Schools. “I think we all deserve to have people who can truly see us, celebrate our successes, recognize our growth over time, and catch us when life throws one of its many challenges at us. Each of our schools has 3-4 counselors, with a significantly low student to counselor ratio, so we get to know kids really well and to know when something’s off,” he continued.
Students who attend Da Vinci Schools experience the best of both worlds. At the high school level, most students’ school day is spent in small learning communities, then they come together and find support, connectedness, and belongingness through clubs, athletics, performing arts, and other after-school programs/events. Students also come together for school dances, prom, and grad night.
Safe & Supportive Environments
We ensure our students and families have the information, resources and access they need so that they can thrive –both academically and personally. This information includes comprehensive mental health and wellness resources.
At all of our high schools, students have 2-3 advisory periods per week. In the Advisory period, similar to homeroom, counselors and teachers create a safe space and lead students through a myriad of activities, including active and intentional relationship building; self-exploration; college and career exploration; mental health awareness; as well as responsive conversations and discourse around community events, tragedies, and things that are occurring in the world so that we have a place to hear our students’ voices, know where they are at emotionally, and support them in whatever ways they need.
This year we also added Community Learning Days (CLDs), which are flexible days that are designed to empower our students and staff from across the schools to come together to explore their interests, follow their passions, and create their own meaningful learning experiences in subjects that may not be readily accessible during the standard school week.
Additionally, every Da Vinci school also has a safe space that’s accessible to any student who may feel the need to deescalate themselves or calm themselves away from other students. Some schools call them pods, some schools call them the Zen Zones – all schools have them. In the space are reflection guides, coloring books, and other tools that can help students to calm themselves from the high-intensity world we live in, and any high-intensity feelings they may be experiencing.
Meeting students where they’re at and supporting them with where they want to go is one of the many things we’ve built our model to do exceptionally well. We are continuously mindful of the fact that what happens in the world outside of our campus often affects our students while they’re on campus.
“We are ever mindful that just like the fires impacted a lot of Angelenos, so too will the national changes to immigration rules and national enforcement policies,” said Erin Whalen, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and co-founder of Da Vinci RISE. “We encourage all families to utilize all the services we offer and we will be offering more services in the near future.”
Counseling Support
All Da Vinci students have an assigned counselor. We have top-tier counseling support with 3-4 counselors per high school. Because of our commitment to creating safe and supportive learning environments for our students, the ratio of students to counselors at our high schools is 171:1 compared to the state average of 464:1.
Our low student-to-counselor ratio allows our counselors to provide more support resources and opportunities through targeted relationship building that allows students to express themselves and receive the support they need.
Counselors provide one-on-one counseling, group counseling, college and career guidance, therapy services, crisis intervention and resource allocation for all students. They also support the schools in guiding the social-emotional learning initiatives across the campuses to ensure that students are becoming healthier and more able to navigate challenges and various social dynamics. The counselors also connect our schools to amazing nonprofit organizations that provide resources, enrichment opportunities and programming for students on and off campus.
All students should know who their counselor is, but on the off chance that they don’t know, they can ask the front office staff at their school. Any student (or parent/guardian) can request individual counseling services by asking the assigned counselor, or calling their schools’ front desk.
Free Mental Health Therapy and Wellness Resources
All students and families have free access to our outside partners for individual, group, virtual or in-person therapy services.
Therapy can help students cope with anxiety, bullying, withdrawal, grief, peer and family relationships, depression, or stress. Therapy can also give students an independent third party that they can simply talk with and process their feelings and life with.
Allcove is our in-person counseling partner for young people ages 12 to 25 with mild-to-moderate needs looking for support. Services include mental health, physical health, sexual health, substance use, peer support, college and career prep and support and parent education.
The Allcove center nearest to us is located at 514 N. Prospect Ave., 4th floor in Redondo Beach. You can schedule an appointment on their website or by calling (310) 374-5706; drop-in appointments are also welcome. When you enter the Allcove center, you will be greeted by a friendly staff member and given a tablet to check-in for drop-in services, an appointment you have that day, or just tour the space. All services are provided for free.
HazelHealth is our partner for providing virtual mental health services at no cost to Da Vinci families, including scheduled therapy appointments, access to licensed, bilingual, and diverse therapists who are experts in the needs of children and teens, and additional care coordination.
Students can schedule virtual therapy appointments at school (via a Hazel Health ipad and supervised by a school counselor) or at home. Hazel Health is free to our students and families and offered regardless of insurance status.
We also have other free mental health resources that are available to students and families that you can access here.
If you’re a part of the Da Vinci family of schools and you or someone you know needs help or more support either academically or personally, please reach out to any adult at your school.
For immediate support with any mental health concerns, please call 911, 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to not only provide an exceptional educational experience for students, but to also provide a safe learning environment where our students are seen, valued, and supported–in good times and in hard times.
We are grateful to our amazing staff for working so hard to support students and families, and to all of our partners for their support. And we are grateful to all our incredible students and families for the trust you have placed in us.
