Spring 2026 · 931 responses · 87.7% completion
Every year, the Quantum 5 survey gives us something deeply valuable: an honest, unfiltered look at how our team members are doing, what's working, and where we need to do better. This spring, 931 of you participated, an 87.7% completion rate, and we're grateful for every response.
What follows is our honest read of what you shared, what it means, and what we're committing to do next.
That's up from 77.4% in the fall, a nearly 8-point jump. In a national landscape where teacher turnover is one of the most serious challenges facing public education, this number matters. It tells us that despite the hard days, the complexity of the work, and the very real frustrations you've named, the people of DSST believe in this place.
That's not something we take for granted, especially because we know that teacher consistency and school stability lead to stronger learning outcomes for students.
Three things rose clearly to the surface as universal strengths - elements of the DSST experience that nearly everyone, regardless of school or role, seems to share.
88% of staff say they feel pride in the work they do. 86% say their work is full of meaning and purpose. These aren't small numbers. They represent a deep, persistent belief that what happens in DSST classrooms and hallways matters. You show up because the mission is real, and that's the foundation everything else is built on.
89% of staff say their supervisor, or someone at work, genuinely cares about them as a person. This is one of the highest scores across the entire survey, and it's held steady over time. The relationship between a staff member and their direct manager remains one of the most powerful levers we have for retention and satisfaction, and your managers are showing up for you.
More than 84% of staff say they've had opportunities to learn and grow in the past year. 86% say there's someone at work who actively encourages their development. You feel seen, coached, and invested in, and that's not accidental. It reflects years of building a culture where coaching and development are core, not optional.
Together, these three cultural anchors, purpose, relationships and growth, are meaningful, measurable drivers of why people stay at DSST year over year.
You were honest with us about the hard stuff, and we're going to be equally honest with you about what we heard.
At 44.4% positivity, Compensation & Benefits is the lowest-scoring category in the survey. In a state where the cost of living keeps climbing, the compensation gap feels bigger every year.
We hear you. That's exactly why we've committed to a 2.6% raise increase for all staff next year, along with salary rebenchmarking for select roles. We know that's not enough on its own. We're going to keep pushing on compensation as a strategic priority by prioritizing our staff's pay, and advocating for better funding and benefits for educators. And, we will continue to pursue and communicate opportunities that enhance your total rewards, so that the value of what DSST offers is visible and real, not hidden in fine print. We hope you’ll take advantage of some of our Thriving in Colorado partners who are joining us at TOAST tonight to learn more about housing, grocery and financial literacy resources already available to you.
38% of staff say their workload is sustainable over the long term. That number is low, and it reflects something real: being an educator is demanding. This is compounded by an ever-changing Ed landscape, which can lead to long task lists and competing priorities that can feel relentless. We're committed to prioritizing and focusing on the moves that have a direct impact on student learning, and helping you find ways to work smarter, not harder.
Our highest-need students deserve more, and you're asking us to lead
The data reveals that while we've made meaningful progress in the three years of our MTSS system, we are still not consistently serving our students with the highest needs at the level they deserve. You told us you're looking to the network for clearer solutions and stronger supports, and that's exactly the right ask.
We want to be direct about what this means: this is not new work, and it is not more work. Our MTSS expansion is designed to help you do the right work by giving you better tools, clearer strategies, and more targeted supports, so that the energy you're already putting in lands more effectively. The goal is to amplify what you're already doing, not pile on.
One of the most important findings in this data is also one of the most actionable: your experience varies significantly depending on where you work.
Workplace Culture scores range from around 35% positivity at some campuses to 78% at others. Middle schools consistently outperform high schools across multiple domains. Where workplace culture is strongest, overall satisfaction tends to follow.
This tells us something not surprising but important: right now, where you work shapes your experience more than the network as a whole. We have a real opportunity to raise the floor of what we all experience while leveraging the best practices and bright spots that are already happening across all our campuses. This is a real signal that we have pockets of genuine excellence to learn from and scale.
What we're committing to next
We're not sharing this data and moving on. Here's what you can expect to see happen:
On MTSS and student supports: We are deep in this work and want your voice to continue to shape it. We have an MTSS Working Group in place heavily guiding this work, and have already leveraged the Transformational Teacher Working Group for feedback.
On cost of living and sustainability: We continue to find ways to help offset the high cost of living in Colorado. We also want to make sure you know about the resources that already exist, and we recognize we haven't done a great job of that. Expect a clearer, more accessible rollout of what's available to you. In the meantime, we encourage you to take advantage of three existing resources that help target some of the gaps you most want to see resourced (including housing and grocery costs):
On compensation: The 2.6% raise for all staff is confirmed for the 26-27 school year and we continue to look for innovative and responsible ways to prioritize putting dollars toward compensation and meaningful Total Rewards.
On campus culture variation: We're going to focus on scaling what's working. That means identifying high-performing practices across our campuses and codifying what they're doing — so every staff member, regardless of school, has access to the conditions that make this job great. The beauty of DSST’s scale is that we can learn from one another and benefit from one another’s brilliance.
Thank you
Surveys only work when people are honest and thoughtful - you were both. Whether you shared your enthusiasm or your frustration (or both), you gave us something real to work with.
We're listening. We're acting. And we'll keep coming back to share what we're learning.
— The DSST Leadership Team