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DSST alum moves on to run organization that focuses on giving all students critical networking stills and more

DSST is built on a foundation of educational equity, something which alumni and former DSST teacher Nicholas Kukucka has worked to incorporate into his life and career.

Nicholas graduated from DSST: Montview in 2010 as part of the third graduating class, and started his career as an American History and Spanish teacher at DSST: Green Valley Ranch. However, he spent most of his time at DSST as the assistant director of E-Ship, which is a program meant to teach students critical skills like collaboration, creativity and many others.

“When I started, E-Ship had only piloted its program with a few small groups of 15 seniors at GVR” Nicholas said. “By the time I left, we were serving 600 students from sixth to twelfth grade across multiple campuses.”

Nicholas said having been a student and then a teacher at DSST has given him a unique perspective about what makes the organization stand out.

“I think having a staff that cares deeply about the students is truly special. While the students work hard, the teachers are right there working just as hard if not harder,” Nicholas said. “DSST is by no means a perfect institution. However, having seen it grow and develop since I started at DSST in 2006, I greatly appreciate DSST’s constant willingness to hold a mirror to itself and have the courage and humility to ask ‘How can we do better?’” 

Through his experience at DSST, Nicholas developed a passion for education and making sure diversity and equity were promoted in the school-to-career pipeline.

It is that passion that helped him end up as the Executive Director for The Ganas Network -- which “strives to equip early professionals with the critical skills that ensure they thrive in their personal and professional lives while organizing, nurturing, and amplifying their voices as charter school advocates to lead conversations on education policy.”

Nicholas is a firm believer that networking is a huge part of the professional world, but it is a “vital skill that is often left out of core curriculums at traditional education institutions.”

“When we put the responsibility for learning critical skills like networking entirely on our students, we do the majority of our students a disservice,” Nicholas said. “The students who are most likely to pick up those skills on their own are those who are privileged to have access to parents who are familiar with skills needed to succeed in white-collar professions and we perpetuate the status quo.”

Nicholas and The Ganas Networks are working to break the status quo and give all students an equal chance at developing critical skills they will need in corporate America.

While he may be making an impact in the education space, Nicholas said his greatest pride is his former students. 

“I’m most proud of my former students. It would be ridiculous to take credit for all their accomplishments, but no matter what they’re doing today, to have had the opportunity to share a classroom with them, get to know them and watch them flourish over the years is probably one of my favorite things,” Nicholas said. “I have no doubt that my life would be significantly different if I hadn’t attended DSST.”

Dr. Martin Luther King and the 'critical' promise of democracy (Clone)

A note from Dr. Aaron J. Griffen, VP of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., over the course of the last decade or more, has become a performative caricature to sustain a status quo narrative that equality is a zero sum game in which each of us must work hard to achieve our goals regardless of each person’s starting point. The trope of equality that MLK referred to was not the equal hope and determination to achieve an “American Dream,” but the equal ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness. 

Equal Ability vs. Equal Capability

Consider equal ability vs equal capability. To be capable means one has to do the individual learning, growth, and development to become “able” to achieve the betterment of our stations in life regardless of where we begin. Capability can be an individual’s drive, while ability can be hindered by circumstances outside our control. For example, one may be capable of entering a building while on crutches, in a wheelchair or on a walker. However, the ability to do so is hindered by the 25-step flight of stairs. Therefore, to be able to enter equally, one would need access to an elevator, an escalator, and/or ramp. Providing the resource necessary for equal access achieves equal ability. That is equity. 

Weaponizing MLK: Equity v. Equality

There was a time when providing for the “least” of us and “doing unto others as we would have them do unto us” was what our American culture was guided to become. However, recent calls to ban equity in the name of MLK have surfaced an underlying truth our nation refuses to acknowledge: Equality is safe, while equity presents a complexity to what it means to earn one’s way.

Equality is providing everyone with the same access, opportunities, rights and protection under law regardless of where one begins. The assumption is that everyone has the equal ability to achieve, given the amount of work they put in. Equity is providing for people according to their needs so they can not only reach equality, but to sustain it and be successful. Equity names and acknowledges that everyone does not have the same starting point and depending upon societal factors, someone’s ability to navigate their access, opportunities and equal protections under law are often diminished. For example, conviction rates for violent crimes along racial lines, the ability to receive adequate healthcare along gender lines and the ability to walk peacefully down the street after a terrorist attack or a named pandemic regardless of racial, religious, economic, and cultural lines. 

MLK and Critical Thinking

There are claims that MLK would be against equity in education because it forces people to look past the content of a person’s character and critique their differences and experiences.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” - MLK

This quote contradicts the notion that MLK would be against critical thinking. The function of education is to develop critical thinkers with the ability to analyze character and the content and intent of a person’s character. The function of education is to develop critical thinkers with the ability to be critical of knowledge and learning. To separate critical thinking from judging the content of a person’s character is an impossibility and a non-threatening version of MLK. The peaceful protest version of MLK was not a peaceful thinking MLK, and thus he would not be against the critique and criticality that is sweeping our nations.

Aaron J. Griffen, VP of Diversity Equity and Inclusion

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Introducing the founding school director of AST High School, Kryszelda Mendoza

Top 10 DSST highlights from 2021

Giving & Cheer Day 6 Core Value: Curiosity

Hi DSST Team, my name is Lauren Jones-Kaplan (LJK), and I was the recipient of the 2020 Core Value Award for Curiosity. This is my seventh school year at DSST, and I am currently the Director of STEM & Innovation at the Home Office. At the core of my work is curiosity, and I am lucky to be in a position where I can constantly research, explore, and synthesize new ideas to bring to DSST.

At DSST we define curiosity as seeking to learn more about ourselves, our community, and our world. For me, an important personal connection is to the natural world and the interconnectedness of our ecosystems. An organization that supports the connectedness of our ecosystems, and inspires curiosity to learn more about how we can protect the biodiversity of some of our key species is the Audubon Rockies, the local chapter of the National Audubon Society. Birds are important in many ways to our ecosystems, including pollinating wildflowers, dispersing seeds, providing natural pest control, and even preventing the spread of disease as scavengers.

Birds are also a simple visual reminder to pause and be curious about the world around us. The best nature documentary narrator ever, Sir David Attenborough said, “Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?"

Giving & Cheer Day 5 Core Value: Courage

Hello DSST! My name is Becca Bloch, and I was the recipient of the 2020 Core Value Award for Courage. I have been at DSST since 2014. A large part of my heart will always live at DSST: Cole (go Dragons!), but I am currently the school director at AST (home of the amazing Owls!). While I won the courage award last year, this award really is for all of us who are in the teaching profession. We all had the courage to face the unknown with COVID-19, the courage to teach and lead online, the courage to come back this year to so many unknowns, and the list goes on. I truly share this award with all the DSST educators in our network, and especially with my AST team.

I cannot imagine the courage it takes to be an immigrant or refugee to the United States. After receiving the courage award last year, I led a morning meeting on service with our community and presented students with three local organizations in Aurora that serve some of the most courageous people in our community. Our students voted to have my CV donation go to the Village Exchange Center in Aurora. The Village Exchange Center is a “community center and multi-faith worship space that celebrates religious and cultural diversity by creating an inclusive environment where residents from all backgrounds can practice, interact, share, and develop together.” The center seeks to assist the immigrant and refugee population to feel empowered to use their existing strengths and unique perspectives to enrich the city’s diverse and inclusive community. There are so many services the Village Exchange does. From the Village food pantry, to low wage relief support, vaccine equity, and community theatre, the Village Exchange Center is critical for many in Aurora. I am proud that DSST will donate to this organization on my behalf and it will go toward so many families in Aurora who rely on them for services.

What you need to know about the staffing compensation updates

As a people first organization, we are deeply committed to valuing you as much as we possibly can. Compensation is one way we value you, and an important one as many of you have shared this fall. As a result, we are going to make our largest investment EVER in DSST history in teacher and staff compensation for the 2022-23 school year.    

Giving & Cheer Day 4 Core Value: Respect

Hello DSST Family, my name is Eric Hill, I am the recipient of the 2020 Core Value Award for respect. This is my fifth year at DSST, and my role is Dean of Students/Culture. I have been serving at the Cole High School Campus my entire time in the network. Respect is one of the network's core values but respect is also at the core of my work. Respect is not only something you say, teach, or expect but it is something that has to be consistently practiced. In my role, I have the opportunity to impact staff, students and families every day. Having these opportunities to practice and model respect through interactions contributes to the development and growth of a person as a whole.

The DSST values are important to me because they help us live in a way where accountability and expectations matter professionally and personally. We have to lead by example through our actions and the core values serve as guiding principles that support us in governing ourselves first so that we are able to help support others.

Denver mourns death of education staple Sharon Bailey

The Denver community is mourning after Sharon Bailey, a former Denver school board member and advocate for equity in education, died Friday night.

Bailey, 68, died suddenly in her Denver home, according to Denver Public Schools. She was a Denver native, having graduated from East High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver.