Burnham Wood Charter School District

The Burnham Wood Charter School District (CSD) in El Paso, Texas, opened its first school in 1998 and operates with a mission of preparing children to accept learning responsibility through solid partnerships with families and the community. Schools within the Burnham Wood CSD provide instruction based on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) philosophy and do not charge tuition for attendance. Student admittance is based on a lottery, and applications become available annually on March 1.

The Burnham Wood Charter School District includes two schools: Howard Burnham Elementary and the Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts. Howard Burnham serves as its initial flagship elementary school with grades kinder through fifth. Da Vinci opened eight years later, in 2006, as the district’s middle and high school, and accepts students in grades six through 12. Vista del Futuro is a second elementary charter school, offering classes for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Vista Del Futuro is a separate charter school under the management of the same charter holder, the El Paso Education Initiative, Inc.

The charter schools have received multiple awards over the years, The Burnham Wood Schools iwere three-time recipients of the State Comptroller’s Texas Honors Circle Award. Furthermore, in 2014 US News & World Report named Da Vinci School as one of the best high schools in the nation.