Our Vision: RISE High will graduate individuals who have a strong sense of self & value of community; who are able to think critically about the world around them; who possess the skills and passion to create change; and who feel empowered and prepared to do so.

Our Mission: RISE High exists to provide our students an individualized education through the coalescence of their personal and professional goals, their interests, and the academic skills necessary for success in the high-demand, constantly-changing world around them. Our school is a haven for students experiencing housing instability, foster and transition-age youth, and other students traditionally left out of the larger educational narrative. RISE will serve as a home where student voice is amplified and student needs are prioritized, resulting in a family environment where all individuals feel affirmed, valued, trusted, and supported towards their future goals.

Our Values: We value Connectivity, Creativity, and Change, that are Centered on youth.

Our Story: Who We Are

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. Through the facilitation of a flex-scheduling, credit recovery model, students are given the voice and choice necessary to pursue their academic goals while honoring the additional responsibilities they have in their lives. 

Da Vinci RISE High collaborates closely with a network of youth-development agencies, educators, municipalities and social-support centers to break through systemic silos and create a truly student-centered ecosystem.

RISE learning sites are embedded within or near multiple social-service-provider locations in high need areas across Los Angeles to create a citywide campus allowing RISE students to master a real-world, project-based college- and career-ready curriculum in the ways – and in the places – that work best for them. These partnerships give RISE students access to counseling, case management, tutoring, job readiness training, career pathways, internships, extracurricular opportunities, leadership development, and more.

RISE High, incubated at Da Vinci Schools, was 1 of only 10 schools in the nation to win a prestigious ‘Super School’ grant to reimagine high school in connection with XQ: The Super School Project, funded by Laurene Powell Jobs. Da Vinci RISE High opened its doors to families in fall of 2016. There are currently three RISE learning sites co-located with wraparound support providers: RISE-Richstone Family Center in Hawthorne, RISE-A Place Called Home in South Los Angeles, and RISE-New Earth in Culver City. RISE serves roughly 50 – 125 students at each site.

Da Vinci RISE High is authorized by the Los Angeles County Board of Education. The phone number for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Charter School Office is (562) 922-8806.

Our Students: Who Attends RISE?

  • Foster, homeless, and probation youth who need a personalized, flexible educational program that is responsive to their needs and connects them to wraparound services.
  • Youth who are extremely credit deficient and need to recover courses in order to graduate 
  • Students who, due to extenuating life circumstances,  prefer to move at their own pace due with more autonomy over their school schedule
  • Students who are facing medical challenges and need a program that provides flexibility in attendance.
  • Students who are interested in incorporating work experiences into their high school diploma journey.
  • Students who have struggled in more traditional school settings (i.e. larger class sizes, heavy course load, traditional school schedule & calendar. etc.)
  • Students who desire more 1:1 and small-group learning opportunities.
  • Students who desire choice and are passionate around driving their own educational experience through the personalization of their project topics, schedules and real-world experiences.
  • Students who are motivated by a family-like social structure and would benefit from small advisory communities, 1:1 check-ins with staff and meaningful weekly community building activities.