Accreditation

Da Vinci Academy is fully accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).  ISACS and NAIS not only serve as accreditation organizations with standards for membership, but also provide guidelines and expertise on curricular, administrative, and governance issues.

Da Vinci received full ISACS accreditation in January 2010, which coincided with the school's celebration of its tenth anniversary.  The process to earn full accreditation required work by the school's Board, faculty, staff, and parent community over several years.  In 2007-08, the school crafted a vision statement and strategic plan.  During 2008-09, the school wrote a self-study presenting its programs, governance, and school community as a summary of who we are, what we do, and how we do it.  In October 2009, a visiting team of administrators and teachers from other ISACS member schools spent three days observing how accurately the self-study described the school's program and environment and verify that Da Vinci met all the ISACS standards of membership.  The visiting team wrote a report with commendations and recommendations after observing each area of the self-study.  This system of rigorours peer-review is a key element of ISACS membership and provides a framework in which member schools continually review and improve their programs.

The school and its faculty are also members of the National Association for Gifted Children  and the Illinois Association for Gifted Children.