Established in 1998 by Howard and Iris Burnham, the Burnham Wood Charter School District oversees three schools in El Paso, Texas, ensuring each offers the highest possible standards in academia while maintaining fiscal integrity. Among the Burnham Wood Charter School District’s educational institutions is the Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts.

1. Da Vinci Dragons Excel at FTC
Championships
Burnham Wood Charter School
District

2. Introduction
• Established in 1998 by Howard and Iris Burnham, the
Burnham Wood Charter School District oversees three
schools in El Paso, Texas, ensuring each offers the
highest possible standards in academia while
maintaining fiscal integrity. Among the Burnham Wood
Charter School District’s educational institutions is the
Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts.
Students from the school competed in the First Tech
Challenge (FTC) Championships in February 2017.
Hosted by UTEP’s Memorial Gym, the FTC
Championship is an annual tournament that challenges
teams of students to design, build, and operate robots in
order to develop crucial STEM skills.

3. Da Vinci Dragons
• The school’s Dragons competed against 16 other
teams, many of which were made up of high school
students, eventually finishing in eighth place despite
losing a wheel during its first match. The team,
which was comprised mostly of students from the
seventh and eighth grades, was later selected by the
El Dorado High School as an alliance partner in the
elimination rounds. Together, the team created a
scissor lift mechanism that resulted in them being
invited to the Panhandle Plains FTC Championship,
where they earned the PTC Design Award.