The Century Foundation profiles DSST in a new report which was part of a case study on charter school diversity. The report looks at the network's diverse-by-design is working to prove "school integration, educational equity, and academic quality function as complementary."
Below is an excerpt from the report and a link to the full report.
DSST’s schools are no strangers to academic accolades. In its first year of eligibility, the network was one of three finalists for the $250,000 Broad prize, which recognizes highly successful charter school networks. In its most recent listings, U.S. News and World Report named DSST’s flagship school, Stapleton High, as the number two high school in the state of Colorado. And to put the icing on the cake, the network has enjoyed shoutouts from public figures as varied as former education secretary Arne Duncan, to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, to philanthropist and media personality Oprah Winfrey.
Much of this recognition stems from DSST’s impressive college acceptance record and high average test scores (see “Student Outcomes,” below). Nearly every school in the network outperforms other schools in both the district and the state, and students of color and low-income students consistently outperform state and district subgroup averages.
But DSST, which serves an intentionally diverse yet generally low-income student population, prides itself on more than just its performance on state assessments. Its teachers and leaders emphasize that the network’s six core values — respect, responsibility, integrity, courage, curiosity, and doing your best — impact the choices of students and staff alike. From every high school in the network committing to scheduling and completing home visits for each incoming child, to students establishing peer-tutoring to help one another, DSST’s balancing of challenging academics and caring philosophy is worth the attention of researchers and educators.
