Authorized by the Los Angeles County Board of Education as a Countywide Charter, Da Vinci RISE opened in 2017. Students frequently enroll in RISE later in their high school careers, having fallen behind in accumulating credits needed to graduate. “Most of our students have already attended multiple educational institutions before enrolling here,” Principal Naomi Lara explained.
Because traditional schools don’t have adequate educational, interpersonal, and material resources for the students RISE serves, the school provides them with a nurturing and flexible schedule. It supports students through a hybrid learning model that blends competency-based and project-based learning to prepare them for a competitive and changing world. And it meets its students needs in another unusual way: by co-locating and integrating its services on-site at two non-profit organizations around Los Angeles.
The staff learn about trauma-informed care, nonviolent crisis intervention, restorative practices, and the workings of the legal and foster-care systems. RISE staff sensitively integrate academic support when making home visits, meeting with students online, and connecting students with outside services. Students praise the high level of support they receive from all RISE staff members, saying even the school’s security guards regularly talk with them about their progress.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, RISE’s mission is even more crucial to the county’s long-term goals with more than 51,000 homeless students in Los Angeles public schools and more than 7,000 students in foster care. The school is studying what it’s learned about working with students in difficult situations that can be applied to other schools and to education policy changes that can support these learners.
Authorized by the Los Angeles County Board of Education as a Countywide Charter, Da Vinci RISE opened in 2017. Students frequently enroll in RISE later in their high school careers, having fallen behind in accumulating credits needed to graduate. “Most of our students have already attended multiple educational institutions before enrolling here,” Principal Naomi Lara explained.
