Da Vinci Schools

Da Vinci Schools is a small, two-campus alternative district in Jackson, Michigan, serving roughly 439 students from Pre-K through 12th grade, with nearly 80% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

The district is essentially a tale of two very different campuses. Da Vinci Schools K5 is the smaller, elementary campus with 117 students, a better student-teacher ratio (15.8:1), and higher per-student spending ($15,832). It also has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate at 31.7%, compared to the main campus's 79.2%. However, even at this "better" campus, proficiency rates are low, with only 15-26% of students meeting state standards in core subjects. In contrast, Da Vinci Schools (the main K-12 campus) serves 322 students and faces severe challenges. Its graduation rate is just 44.8% (state average is 84%), and its dropout rate is 30.7%—more than four times the state average. Academic performance on the main campus is consistently 20-30 points below state proficiency averages across nearly every subject and grade level.

Several patterns stand out. The most dramatic is the collapse in performance between 9th and 10th grade: 9th graders scored 45.5% proficient on the PSAT ELA, but 10th graders dropped to just 19.1%—a 26-point single-year decline. This suggests significant disengagement begins in the sophomore year. There is also a notable year-over-year decline across multiple subjects, including an alarming 30-point drop in 11th-grade social studies proficiency. On a positive note, 8th-grade social studies improved by over 20 points, showing that targeted gains are possible. The K5 campus spends $2,837 more per student than the main campus, yet still underperforms state averages, raising questions about resource allocation. Ultimately, while the elementary campus shows better engagement, the district as a whole struggles with a weak academic foundation, high poverty, and a critical failure to keep students on track through high school.