{"id":12702,"date":"2020-05-12T01:00:26","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/?post_type=cw_post&p=12702"},"modified":"2020-09-24T10:10:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T14:10:10","slug":"da-vinci-connectx-a-hybrid-on-campus-and-homeschool-support-program","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/da-vinci-connectx-a-hybrid-on-campus-and-homeschool-support-program\/","title":{"rendered":"A Hybrid On-Campus and Homeschool Support Program at Da Vinci Connect"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Da<\/p>\n

The Da Vinci Schools<\/a> are a network of five charter schools in Los Angeles. Their charter authorizer is the Wiseburn School District, with whom they share central office space. Dr. Matt Wunder, Da Vinci\u2019s long-time CEO, described Wiseburn as \u201cthe wind beneath our wings.\u201d The first Da Vinci school opened in 2009.<\/p>\n

Three of Da Vinci\u2019s schools, which each occupy a floor of a new school building connected to the Wiseburn district office and Da Vinci Charter Management Organization, serve as the district\u2019s primary high schools. Each has a distinct career focus and name: DV Communication, DV Design, and DV Science. More than 900 students are on the wait list to enter 9th<\/sup> grade at these project-based learning high schools.<\/p>\n

The other two schools\u2014DV ConnectX and DV RISE High\u2014are independent study programs<\/a> that provide a pathway for student schedules and activities to be flexible and innovative. DV Connect and Da Vinci Extension have recently merged to become Da Vinci ConnectX, one of the first programs in the nation that serves students in transitional kindergarten through college. [Update: Da Vinci subsequently renamed the merged school to DV Connect rather than DV ConnectX.]<\/em> Once students reach 9th grade, they can begin an innovative dual enrollment program and earn an associate\u2019s degree or even a bachelor\u2019s degree while completing their high school requirements. DV RISE High is a high school for students experiencing housing instability, in the foster care system, extremely credit deficient, or a combination of these and similarly acute challenges.<\/p>\n

Da Vinci provides an exceptionally entrepreneurial, problem-solving approach to meeting the needs of students. Obstacles and community needs are consistently met with creative solutions that expand the boundaries of the existing system. At the same time, Wunder is clear about his indebtedness to other innovative models, saying \u201cAs effective curators, we\u2019ve tried to pick the best practices from other models. But our philosophy is we\u2019re not trying to create one school as the best prototype school. We took seriously that charters were supposed to be the research and development arm of public education.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have five mostly different schools from each other. I think people more and more want choice. That\u2019s not a political statement. People want to be able to customize education for their child. They all come here for different reasons. \u2018My kid\u2019s getting bullied.\u2019 \u2018My kid is medically fragile.\u2019 \u2018My kid\u2019 is highly gifted.\u2019 \u2018I want my kid to learn by doing and not take so many standardized tests.\u2019 \u2018My kid is entrepreneurial and wants to pursue it.\u2019 There\u2019s a myriad of reasons, and it really allows the most flexibility and the most innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the first of two blog posts on the Da Vinci Schools. My visit was before the COVID-19 pandemic, so the series mostly reflects Da Vinci\u2019s approaches before the school closures. However, two Da Vinci staff members kindly provided updates on their current operations during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Da Vinci ConnectX<\/strong><\/p>\n

DV ConnectX\u2019s Assistant Principal, Kaitlin Toon, explained that the school is grounded in three signature practices: project-based learning, homeschooling, and strong social-emotional learning practices. \u201cThose are the three things that most families gravitate towards us for, whether it\u2019s one or all.\u201d The school attracts both veteran homeschoolers and families who haven\u2019t home schooled before but like what DV ConnectX offers.<\/p>\n

The school provides students the opportunity to spend two six-hour days on campus focused on project-based learning across subject areas, with an emphasis on social-emotional learning and 21st<\/sup>-century skills in a collaborative, project-based classroom setting. Some student projects have included kindergartners creating and demonstrating Rube Goldberg machines, 4th<\/sup>– and 5th<\/sup>-graders building models of sustainable \u201ctiny homes\u201d as a possible solution for the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, and middle-schoolers performing rock operas based on the scientific revolution.<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/p>\n

Parents and guardians, which DV ConnectX calls \u201cparent educators,\u201d receive group and individual supports from DV ConnectX teachers to supervise their children\u2019s academic and social-emotional work, incorporating project-based and experiential learning. In addition to curriculum resources and support offered to every family, parent educators can participate in virtual and in-person workshops to help them be better teachers for their children. The week I visited, the school was holding a conference with 25 workshops for parent educators on reading, writing, and math instruction, social media use, and self-care. DV ConnectX offers about 300 of these workshops per year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic homeschooling\u201d approaches such as DV ConnectX are yet another potential route to achieve personalized, competency-based education. They enable elements such as flexible pacing and pathways, timely and differentiated supports, student agency, and meaningful assessment. (The California Department of Education explains<\/a>, \u201cIndependent study serves students who desire to accelerate or move more slowly through a course, or to make up a subject that they have missed in a traditional classroom.\u201d) Another element of competency-based education is rigorous common expectations that are explicit and transparent, and DV Connect provides an extensive resource of these expectations on their website\u2019s Learning Targets<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

The common expectations in competency-based education apply not only to academic knowledge, but also to skills and dispositions. DV ConnectX calls these \u201cHabits of Heart and Mind\u201d and \u201c21st<\/sup> Century Skills,\u201d as shown in the figures below (and available as originals in the Student and Family Handbook<\/a>). They seek to achieve these habits and skills through their learning activities at home, on field trips, and on campus.<\/p>\n

\"Table<\/p>\n

\"Graphic<\/p>\n

DV ConnectX\u2019s charter specifies extensive teacher supports for homeschooling parents, rather than a hands-off approach when students are off campus. Detailed responsibilities for students and parents are also specified in the student and family handbook. Approved independent programs in California document the supports they provide as well as student outputs in order to receive full-time per-pupil funding allotments. On-campus days are accounted for by taking attendance, and students and parents need to submit a daily log or work journal for off-campus days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some independent study programs, this documentation is a quick \u2018We did work today,\u2019 and that\u2019s it,\u201d Wunder said. \u201cWe don\u2019t think that\u2019s what best for kids, so we have an outline of the Common Core standards that we\u2019d like the families to work on. We also provide curriculum to help them work on those, although they\u2019re allowed to do anything they\u2019d like, so long as its secular. The curriculum we offer is wonderful and tailored for parents, which a lot of independent study schools don\u2019t do. They\u2019ll push out curriculum to families that\u2019s meant for educators, and the families don\u2019t know how to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur program expanded and exploded in a way that we had not \u00a0expected,\u201d Wunder said. \u201cHome-schooling families wanted a hybrid system that would provide community and support at school, but parents and guardians also wanted to be with their children more, and to be more in charge of what and when their children learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notably, homeschooling with public support is not limited to charter schools. During my recent visit to the public Chugach district, I learned that they support clusters of homeschooling families in Anchorage, in smaller towns, and in remote areas of Alaska. Many other Alaskan schools districts also support homeschooling.<\/p>\n

During the time of COVID-19 school closures and beyond, it\u2019s important to learn from models such as DV ConnectX that support caretakers as educators. \u201cOur decade of experience with supporting homeschooling families enabled us to shift to virtual learning within three days of California\u2019s \u2018Safer at Home\u2019 order,\u201d Toon explained. \u201cWe are providing flexible but consistent distance-learning content to families through a variety of learning resources including curriculum, teacher-generated lesson plans and resources, live and pre-recorded virtual lessons, and virtual opportunities to connect and build community.\u201d These social opportunities have included scavenger hunts on Zoom, a virtual Star Wars party, and a virtual talent showcase. Given the isolation, stress, and trauma brought on by the pandemic and school closures, the school\u2019s focus on social-emotional development and building a connected community is an essential element of meeting students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

The next blog post<\/a> on the Da Vinci Schools explores the older grades of Da Vinci ConnectX, in which students focus on real-world learning and dual enrollment in pursuit of college degrees while completing their high school requirements.<\/p>\n

Learn More<\/strong><\/p>\n