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Feature Friday: Christine Kennelly proves longevity in the classroom leads to mastery and student success

Thirteen years is long enough to know a network’s rhythms. Long enough to stop reinventing systems every August and start seeing patterns before they emerge. Long enough to recognize that the real work of teaching is in the space that opens up when logistics finally become second nature.

Peek behind the curtain and see the magic happening inside this STEM Lab classroom

At DSST: Montview Middle School, STEM Lab teacher Bryce Enger is leading students through a curriculum designed to do more than check off science standards. His class, along with all other middle school STEM Lab courses, align directly with the pathways offered at DSST high schools, exposing students to content rarely available at other Denver-area schools and building the skills and mindsets they'll need long after graduation.

STEM thrives here: Preparing leaders of the future through the middle school STEM Lab program

Peek into a DSST classroom, and you'll find students fully immersed in programming drones to navigate obstacle courses, designing solutions on 3D modeling software, and building robotic systems that respond to their commands. This isn't a special event, this is a STEM Lab classroom, where DSST middle schoolers can get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and real-world problem-solving.

Feature Friday: Shaping futures, one middle schooler at a time

Middle school is when everything changes. When friendships shift overnight. When a student discovers they're good at something they never knew existed. It's messy, electric and full of possibility.

Feature Friday: Four leaders, four lenses, one unshakable belief in students

Ask four school directors what leadership means in 2025, and you won't get the same answer twice. But spend time in their schools, watch how they move through hallways, listen to how they talk about students, notice what they celebrate and you'll start to see something deeper than words can capture.

Feature Friday: These high school leaders are building excellence, one day at a time

There's a kind of leadership that doesn't announce itself with fanfare. It shows up early, stays late, and finds joy in the small, steady work of making schools better, one conversation, one decision, one percent at a time. At four of DSST's high schools, that's exactly the kind of leadership you'll find.

The power of teacher longevity at DSST

There's a moment that happens in classrooms across DSST, a moment that can't be scripted or manufactured. It's when a teacher anticipates exactly where a student will stumble before they do. When they reference a lesson from two years ago that connects perfectly to today's challenge. When they know not just the student sitting in front of them, but their older sibling, their cousin, and the family story that shapes how they show up to learn.

Feature Friday: Three middle school leaders building communities where every student thrives

This week, for National Principals Month, we are spotlighting three middle school leaders who show up every day to build learning communities where students can grow, where they can belong, where they can thrive.

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Feature Friday: Kicking off National Principals Month with two inspiring new leaders

October is National Principals Month. Throughout the month, we will be celebrating our school directors in our Feature Fridays, and we are kicking it off by highlighting our two incredible leaders who are new to DSST but already making a lasting impact: Emily Felsenthal, School Director at DSST: Elevate Northeast High School, and Dr. James Clark, School Director at DSST: Cole Middle School. Although their journeys to DSST are different, both share a commitment to equity, excellence, and joy, and their leadership is already shaping the future of their schools.