Da Vinci RISE High

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why Da Vinci RISE High was nominated

Designed for youth dealing with homelessness, foster care, housing instability, the juvenile justice system, and transient living, Da Vinci RISE embraces flexibility, eliminating penalties for seat time non-compliance and offering credit recovery models for remote learning. The Graduate Profile focuses on key attributes, ensuring students not only gain post-secondary content knowledge but also develop hands-on skills. Da Vinci RISE's commitment to equity creates an environment where every student, regardless of challenges, can flourish academically and personally., Da Vinci RISE serves high school-aged youth that are navigating foster care, housing instability, probation, and/or other circumstances by offering a flex-scheduling, credit recovery learning model. Teachers at this school have also started implementing "Project Leo," an in-house project-based learning platform that leverages AI to suggest project ideas for students., Da Vinci RISE High microschools (Los Angeles, CA) are a non-profit designed to serve foster and homeless youth. They ensure students traditionally left out of the greater educational narrative receive full access to Da Vinci School's innovative academic model while receiving vital, whole-child, trauma-informed support., DaVinci Schools take a completely student-centered approach across all of their models, both on-campus and hybrid. Learning is purposeful, experiential, rigorous, and engaging. They have developed a strong community within each school, supported by deep relationships among students and teachers alike. They have a tremendous learning mentality -- they are ceaselessly seeking to improve, when already they provide a learning and developmental experience to kids that should be a model for the entire nation., Da Vinci RISE High launched in fall 2017 in South Central Los Angeles. The school seeks to create a highly responsive, holistic, and integrated model that meets the unique needs of youth navigating foster care, housing instability, probation, and/or other circumstances that have caused disruptions in their academic journeys. Many aspects of the school model are directly responsive to the realities of its students. Multiple campus locations and the opportunity to complete credits remotely ensure that students can master a competency-based, college- and career-ready curriculum in ways and in places that work best for them. A wraparound approach connects students with the support and extra services they need to thrive, such as medical and mental-health care, legal assistance, and health, fitness, and well-being supports. The RISE team aims to eliminate barriers to student' well-being outside school and works to rethink the rigid structures that impede opportunities inside most high schools. Instead, school staff customize schedules and course offerings around what students need to graduate college-ready. RISE operates year-round and offers extended hours and flexible scheduling so students can complete their academic work when they are able"even if that falls outside the traditional school "day" or "year." A digital platform houses each student's personalized learning plan, curricular materials, and school/family communication tools, so teachers and students always have a clear picture of each student. Teachers and students meet regularly to track progress and recalibrate learning goals. RISE also has a unique teacher hiring and onboarding process that requires RISE teaching staff to spend time in student' homes and communities. Staff members receive support around positive youth-development, trauma-informed practices, and extensive professional development in integrating the history, structure, and terminology of the legal and foster-care systems so they can help students analyze their own experiences., Da Vinci RISE High seeks to create a highly responsive, holistic, and integrated model that meets the unique needs of youth navigating foster care, housing instability, probation, and/or other circumstances that have caused disruptions in their academic journeys.

Student experience design

At RISE students receive personalized, project-based learning tailored to their individual needs, passions, and goals. Teachers work closely with each student and meet them where they’re at to ensure academic success. One student researched immigration reform and shared the negative impacts that current policies had on their life, and then shared their ideas for more just and humane policies moving forward. Others focused on issues such as gun safety, healthcare, or climate change. Students reflect on their culminating project and their time spent at RISE through a presentation of learning, sharing ways in which they grew, and how the lessons they learned at RISE will lead to success in their post-secondary goals. RISE provides an empowering education by partnering with service providers, leveraging student voice, and centering the school experience around youth who are most frequently written out of the larger educational narrative. The school intentionally recruits staff members who want to work closely in a small, tight-knit team and to build a strong, nurturing community of resilience from the ground up. Educators receive special training in trauma-informed care, nonviolent crisis intervention, restorative practices, and the workings of the legal and foster-care systems. RISE doesn’t have rigid course sequences or grade levels. The school promotes a stable and trusting environment that reconnects young people with learning at any time—through year-round extended hours, face-to-face and online learning. RISE partners with social services and operates from three locations, allowing students to access critical services and resources without taking them too far away from their academic experiences. Students get transportation through rideshare programs to make sure they don’t miss school, work, or appointments.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Blended Learning	5+ years
Competency/mastery-based Education	5+ years
Grading Policies Focus On Mastery	5+ years
Interdisciplinary	5+ years
Project-based Learning	5+ years

All Practices

Advancement On Mastery

Student Advisories

Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning

Assessments For Career Readiness

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Career Prep And Work-based Learning

Co-leadership

Community And Business Partnerships

Family And Community Support Services

Competency Framework

Culturally Responsive Practices

Disaggregated Data On Student Participation

Early College High School

Extended Learning Opportunities

Hiring For Equity And Inclusion Values

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Interoperable Data From Multiple Technologies

Individual Learner Profiles

Mental Health Services

1:1 Mentoring

Multi-age Classrooms

No Tracked Classes

Multiple Opportunities To Demonstrate Mastery

Performance Based Assessment

Physical Well Being Services

Place-based Learning

Reallocation Of Resources For Those Most In Need

Restorative Practices

SEL Curriculum

SEL Integration School-wide

Social Justice Focus

Student-led Conferences

Student-led Goal Setting

Self-paced Learning

Students Develop Projects

Trauma-informed Practices

Tutoring

Universal Design For Learning

key reasons for innovating

Artifacts

Committee data analysis and conversations have identified that RISE HS students feel that their school is a place where adults care about them sincerely and authentically, and that most students at RISE believe that they have an adult who is trustworthy and accepting enough to go to in the event that immediate support is needed. The school staff has significant training and experience that equip them to work from a trauma informed lens, which is critical in establishing a place of emotional and physical safety for students who have experienced long-term and repeated trauma. The student experience survey data also shows that a vast majority of students at RISE HS feel safe from acts of physical or social bullying based on race, gender issues, or other differences. Students mention feeling respected by teachers annually, and express a belief in teachers’ ability to prepare them for life after high school. Survey data also reveals that RISE HS students have a strong sense of identity with regard to their acad... No two RISE students are exactly alike, but almost all of the 200 young people we serve each year have been failed by the traditional school system. Of the 108 RISE alumni to date, 15% were in foster care, 7% were homeless, 8% were on probation, and 10% were involved in more than one system. These are students who may be older than the typical high school student, they might be on probation, they might be young parents and/or they may have full-time jobs, all of which can get in the way of school being their number one priority. Compared with other students across the L.A. school district, RISE students are twice as likely to have diagnosed disabilities, three times as likely to be experiencing homelessness, and 20 times as likely to be in the foster care system. Since the Fall of 2020 when the CA Department of Education began work on officially approving alternative assessments for schools to demonstrate growth, RISE HS students have been demonstrating significant grade-level and above grade-level skill o...