School Founding
Da Vinci Academy was founded
in 2000 to serve intellectually gifted and talented students
in grades PK-8.
Enrollment
Enrollment each year is
approximately 130 students from Pre-K (includes half-day PK3)
through 8th Grade. Our students and families come from across
the Fox Valley region of the western Chicago suburbs. About
75% of our families come from surrounding towns such as St.
Charles, Geneva, Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, and Batavia.
The rest are spread across areas in all directions from the
school.
Class Size
Maximum class size is 14 in
Pre-K (half-day morning PK3 combined with PK4) and in
Kindergarten. Both PK and Kindergarten have full-time
assistants who help the grade level teachers and lower the
student:teacher ratio to 7:1. Classes in Grades 1-8 have
a maximum of 16 students. Grades PK-4 have one lead grade
level teacher, while grades 5-8 have one teacher for each core
subject. There are individual subject teachers for PK-2
Spanish, 3-8 Spanish, Art, Music, Computer, and Physical
Education.
Teacher Credentials
100% of Da Vinci Academy
grade level teachers (not including specials teachers or teaching
assistants) hold Master's degrees or other graduate level education
and training. Teachers are also active in professional
development pursuits such as graduate work, college teaching,
gifted summer programs, conferences and seminars, and
more.
School Year
The 2012-13 school year
begins August 22nd and ends May 30th. We use an academic
trimester system. We observe major holidays and have days off
throughout the year for teacher in-service days and parent-teacher
conferences. We also have a Winter Break in December and a
Spring Break the last week of March (breaks generally
coincide with those of local public school districts and
other local independent schools).
School Day Hours
All grade levels are in
session Monday through Friday, with classes beginning at 8:45
AM. Students may enter the building starting at 8:25
AM. PK3 students dismiss at 11:15 AM or 12:00 PM.
Dismissal for Pre-K and Kindergarten is at 2:15
PM. Dismissal for Grades 1-8 is at 3:15 PM.
The school offers Before and After school care every day as
early as 7:00 AM and as late as 6:00 PM.
Extra-curricular Activities
Students participate
in activities such as athletics,
chess, robotics, band, math team, and a variety of after-school
classes.
The school's Summer Camp
and enrichments programs are open to the
public.
School Mascot
The Da Vinci Knights
School Colors
Blue and White