Too often, districts launch program after program without pausing to understand the unique dynamics at play—the precise barriers keeping students disengaged, the subtle biases holding teachers back, or the hidden breakdowns in school systems. Da Vinci Collaborative breaks that cycle by treating every challenge as a hypothesis to be tested, not a checkbox to be ticked. Under Kerry Leo’s leadership, schools learn to define success on their own terms: What does genuine student engagement look like here? How quickly should we see shifts in instructional practice? By co creating clear, measurable goals and then gathering real time data—both numerical and narrative— Da Vinci guides educators through an iterative, evidence driven journey. Human connection stays front and center: teachers, leaders, and community members collaborate to interpret findings, refine strategies, and celebrate milestones. In this way, Da Vinci ensures that solutions aren’t just implemented—they’re understood, owned, and built to last. “At Da Vinci, we believe schools have the answers within them—they just need the right tools and processes to uncover them,” says Leo. “Our role is to guide them through a structured inquiry that builds their capacity to drive continuous improvement.” The Four Guiding Questions That Drive Impact At the heart of Da Vinci’s model is a deceptively simple framework built around four essential questions: 1. What is the problem? 2. Why is it happening? 3. What will we do about it? 4. How will we know we’ve succeeded? This framework—used by scientists, engineers, and systems leaders worldwide—is adapted by Da Vinci into a model for educational transformation. It starts with clarity. Schools often describe their problems in vague or reactive terms: “low reading scores,” “lack of student motivation,” or “disruptive classrooms.” But Da Vinci pushes for specificity. What data are we looking at? Who is most affected? When and where is the problem most visible? Are we mistaking correlation for causation? In the diagnostic phase, Da Vinci teams help districts triangulate data—quantitative (e.g., benchmark assessments, graduation rates, absenteeism) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, classroom observations, student voice). The aim is to create a shared, evidence-based understanding of the problem, not just among district leaders but across all stakeholder groups.