Hello DSST! My name is Helen Oliver, recipient of the 2021 Responsibility Award. I have worked at DSST Byers since 2014 and have seen our community grow in so many ways since then.
Topics: News, Updates, & Events
The application for the Ariel Berryman Memorial Scholarship -- now in its sixth consecutive year -- is officially open. Jim and Teresa Berryman launched the Ariel Berryman Memorial Scholarship Fund after the loss of their daughter, Ariel, to honor her passion for helping others reach their full potential.
Topics: News, Updates, & Events
This November, Servicios de La Raza distributed 500 meals to people in the community who needed them just before Thanksgiving. They hope to distribute another 500 before Christmas. But before they can do that, they need to gather more food.
Helping with the food distribution, and the donation collecting, is volunteer Aiden Hernandez. Just a senior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School, he has been a familiar face at nearly every event Servicios de La Raza has recruited volunteers for this year.
Topics: News, Updates, & Events
Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, Dec. 6! To promote our network on this day, we are making an ask of our team.
Topics: News, Updates, & Events
As you may have read in this morning's email from Bill, DSST Public Schools has been voted a Top Workplace by the Denver Post eight times over the past 10 years. Beginning today, Nov. 29, we have the opportunity to participate in their Top Workplace Survey once again.
Topics: News, Updates, & Events
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on this year so far and say thank you to the entire DSST community. This year has not been without challenges, and your support has shown your deep commitment to our students and education.
Topics: Community Stories
November is often looked at as the season that leads us into the holiday season, however, it is much more than that. In 1990 a decision was made and proper recognition was given to those who have called this North American soil home for much longer than any other group of people. What is now "National American Indian Heritage Month" initially began as a single day (Nov. 28) before evolving into a week and then a full month of celebrating the beautiful indigenous people of the Americas.
Topics: Community Stories
DSST is celebrating our six amazing School Psychologists this week for National School Psychologist Week.
Topics: Our Program
DSST has brought in three Literacy Interventionists to help address the decline in reading assessment proficiency that educators are seeing at DSST and across Colorado.
Samantha Hakes is the literacy interventionist at our Aurora Science & Tech (AST) Middle School, where she works with students twice a week for 45 minutes to help them improve their reading and testing skills.
Hakes shares her perspective on reading rates, testing and the importance of the reading interventionists’ work.
1) Reading rates were shown to have dropped across schools in general. How do reading rates look at DSST?
If we look at the CMAS writing data for DSST middle schools, we can see that an average of 50% of students, at most campuses, scored a zero. This does NOT mean that they didn’t have access to the prompt/reading, but that they either lacked the stamina to complete the reading portion and have enough time for writing OR they did not attempt the prompt.
Testing fatigue is real, so we need to strategically think about which assessments our students truly need to take and which assessments guide instruction. It’s imperative that we find a way to encourage student and family buy-in with CMAS, while also not teaching to the test.
2) Your title is “literacy interventionist.” How is literacy intervention different than enrichment and how does that impact students?
The three literacy interventionists who are piloting the program this year at AST, DSST: Green Valley Ranch, and DSST: College View middle schools, are experts in their field. All three of us have over 10 years of instructional experience with an emphasis on literacy development, and experience with differentiating instruction to meet diverse needs. In addition, the programs that we are using – STARI, Words Their Way, and Wilson – are research-based interventions and most include professional development or training before implementation of the programs. With all of this in mind, we have the experience, background knowledge, and tools to truly identify the root causes of students’ literacy gaps and then create individualized plans to target and close gaps.
Therefore, this is different from enrichment, because literacy interventionists do not teach any other classes. Our sole focus is on intervention groups, which utilize specialized assessments and instruction to support all students.
3) Why do you think this work is important based on the current educational/literacy climate?
Topics: Inside the Classroom
“Eliminating educational inequity and integrating schools” remains core to our mission at DSST. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team remains dedicated to cultivating a school community that welcomes open discussion and self-reflection around these issues.
Topics: Our Program
