Da Vinci Connect TK-8

Mission

Da Vinci Connect TK-8’s mission is “to improve the quality of life for [their] students by cultivating culture, building future-ready skills, developing partnerships, and creating impact in [their] work to solve complex educational problems.” Established in 2011, Da Vinci Connect (previously Da Vinci Innovation Academy) was founded to offer a hybrid option for families who wanted students to learn both on campus and at home. It functions as a part of the larger Da Vinci Schools charter network.

Demographics

Da Vinci Connect TK-8 serves a student population that is 36% white, 24% Latine, 19% two or more races, 13% Black, and 8% Asian. Further, 2% of their students receive English language services and 26% qualify for free or reduced-priced meals. Students and families who join the school are expected to embody the school’s “Habits of Heart and Mind,” which include curiosity, collaboration, reflection, agency, empathy, equity, and flexibility.

Experience Overview

Da Vinci Connect TK-8 offers a hybrid homeschool model, with students learning at home three days a week and attending lessons on campus for the other two days. While students are at home, their caregivers lead instruction through a combination of school-provided curriculum, hands-on experiences with community organizations, and field trips throughout the city of Los Angeles. Families have significant choice in how they design home learning while the school supports them along the way. When students learn on campus, they engage with the school’s curriculum, project-based learning, and instruction in durable skills such as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. As a non-graded program, students complete a demonstration of learning (e.g., student-led conferences, project presentations) in reading, writing, and math every six weeks.

In this hybrid model, using technology is not a requirement, but there are available technology tools to support learning. Families and students have choice in when, where, and how they want to use technology, with some students using it daily and others not at all. The school does not offer 1:1 technology but does provide a check-out system for laptops, hotspots, and headphones for students who want to include devices as a part of their learning.

Da Vinci Connect TK-8’s hybrid model is successful because they foster small, community-focused environments with a strong culture that welcomes families as leaders in learning and builds intrinsic motivation for students. This is accomplished in part by using nonviolent communication and avoiding discipline systems with external rewards. Additionally, they co-create classroom rules alongside students and utilize rubrics and checklists to set expectations, allowing for learner voice and choice in how their classroom is structured.

Da Vinci Connect TK-8 is a high-quality hybrid program. In their model, they build intentional relationships with students and their families by incorporating choice in how they approach learning, as well as by grounding learning around shared values, communities, and social connections. The school utilizes a full inclusion, universal design pedagogy to ensure that students benefit from the school’s real-world, project based learning. The use of technology is highly customized to individual students and families, allowing for autonomy over how and when it is used. To set students and families up for success with the foundations of self-directed learning, they host a fall orientation, collect weekly learning logs, and provide multiple family supports to ensure they have the tools and knowledge necessary to direct their child’s learning at home.

Learning In Action

Da Vinci Connect TK-8’s model engages parents and caregivers as instructors, with students learning from home three days a week. Families have significant choice in how they approach learning, often selecting curriculum and tools provided by the school, which allows for real-world learning and ample opportunities to engage in their communities. Families keep a learning log of activities students complete at home, which is reviewed by the school and results in targeted support where needed.

The other two days a week, students go to the campus to learn in person with Da Vinci Connect’s educators. During that time, students engage in curriculum, project-based learning, and have opportunities to build critical skills. Students also experience significant choice in how they approach their learning and regulate their space, exercising autonomy over movement throughout the day.

Teaching In Action

Educators at Da Vinci Connect TK-8 embrace the school’s philosophy for learning, focusing on removing hierarchies and shame in education. Teachers, administrators, and families go by their first names, model growth mindsets, and foster learning environments that are meaningful, engaging, and offer ample choice. By taking this approach, learners are able to build intrinsic motivation and develop strong relationships with their educators who are there to celebrate who they are as individuals. Throughout the course of the year, educators identify the most critical standards for mastery and build learning experiences that foster depth over breadth.

The goal for educators is to highlight progress over achievement while providing students and families with the tools they need to understand where they are and the next steps for mastery of standards. To support ongoing teacher-student relationships, teachers loop with students for two years, allowing for deeper, connected learning.

Teachers weave in durable skills throughout their instruction and regularly support students in identifying their long-term goals, passions, and interests. Each day on campus begins with an opening meeting and concludes with daily reflections. Teachers may lead community circles and restorative justice practices to support conflict resolution and skill growth and development.

Conditions for Success

• Community and Culture: Da Vinci Connect TK-8’s model is centered on community, with families leading learning at home and students actively learning from community partners throughout the year.

• Student Support Programming: In order to support students who may not have the structures in place to effectively learn independently at home three days a week, the school started a four-day-per-week, in-person program for up to 40 learners each year.

• Physical Environment: Since students only attend in-person instruction two days a week, there is always a relatively small number of students in the building at any one time, allowing for greater focus and connection.

• Learning Materials and Tools: The school emphasizes place-based learning, encouraging families and students to learn in the city through intentional field trips, volunteering, and community projects. To achieve this, the school offers customized learning materials and tools based on individual student and family needs.

Other Key Highlights

In the Da Vinci Connect TK-8 learning model, parents and caregivers are as influential on their child’s education as the teachers employed by the school. This level of familial involvement creates a unique, collaborative learning structure that empowers learning beyond the classroom. In order to measure learning, students complete performance-based assessments and receive progress reports with feedback from both their families and teachers, rather than traditional grades.