A teacher, an idea and a new way to inspire reading
Jermaine Robinson kept coming back to one question during his first year at DSST Conservatory Green...
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10/02/26
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A teacher, an idea and a new way to inspire reading
Jermaine Robinson kept coming back to one question during his first year at DSST Conservatory Green Middle School: "What would actually make students want to read?"
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Topics: Staff Features
10/01/26
'Your predicament is my fault. But it's your problem': Mark Heffron on expectations, accountability & student opportunity
On the morning of Sept. 25, more than 100 experienced teachers from across the DSST network came to the Tivoli Student Union at Auraria Campus for Accomplished Career Teacher (ACT) Day. They came from different schools, different content areas and different chapters of their careers, but they shared something essential: at least five years in the classroom. Research consistently shows that effective teachers are the single most powerful in-school factor in student achievement, capable of generating 1.5 to 3 years of academic growth in a single year.
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Topics: Staff Features
09/25/26
Feature Friday: Inside Gina Schmid's student-centered approach to leadership
In her second year at Aurora Science & Tech High School, Associate School Director Gina Schmid has made it unmistakably clear that she's not the kind of leader who leads from a distance. Instead, you'll find her in classrooms, in the hallways, at games, or wherever her students and staff are.
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Topics: Staff Features
09/22/26
Excellence in Middle School ELA: Achieving outstanding results on CMAS Reading & Writing
In 2025-2026 middle school students across our network made exciting gains in ELA - and at AST and Cedar Middle Schools, the results were more than exciting, they were extraordinary. As we unpacked the data we spent time with a few members of both school teams, with the goal of answering the question: "What are teachers & leaders at these schools doing, and how do we replicate it?"
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Topics: Staff Features
09/18/26
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DSST freshmen spend a day exploring identity, purpose and postsecondary possibilities
Written by Melissa Mayes, DSST: College View Campus Director of College Success
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Topics: College Success, Staff Features
09/15/26
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Computer lab refreshes are giving DSST students new opportunities
There's a moment in video editing when everything clicks. The cut lands right, the audio syncs up and what was raw footage suddenly becomes something worth watching. For students at DSST: Elevate Northeast High School, that moment is finally within reach, thanks to a refreshed computer lab built for exactly this kind of work.
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Topics: Staff Features, STEM Stories
08/28/26
Introducing the Blue Breakthrough Award, and celebrating our incredible winners!
DSST is proud to introduce the Blue Breakthrough Award, a new network-wide recognition honoring teachers whose students demonstrated exceptional academic growth on eligible statewide measures. Specifically, the award recognizes teachers whose students achieved a Median Growth Percentile, or MGP, of 65 or higher on eligible CMAS ELA/Math or P/SAT Reading and Writing/Math assessments. An MGP of 65 or higher aligns with the Blue performance level on Colorado's School Performance Framework and reflects the progress students made over the course of the year, not simply where they began.
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Topics: Staff Features
08/06/26
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Grown here. Leading here. Meet DSST's newest school directors.
Six leaders. Six communities. One pipeline built to develop exactly this.
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Topics: Staff Features
07/31/26
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Preparing for a Strong Start: What to know about TLI 2026
Each year, DSST’s Teaching & Learning Institute (TLI) provides dedicated time for learning, collaboration, and preparation before students arrive on campus.
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Topics: Staff Features
07/31/26
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All In Together: Everything you need to know about Infusion 2026
Every year, Infusion gives us an opportunity to pause before students return and come together as one DSST community. It's a chance to reconnect with our shared mission, celebrate the people who make this work possible, and launch a new school year with purpose and energy.
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Topics: Staff Features