Following last week’s post on our efforts to secure a high school for DSST @ Noel, we’ve received some questions about the status of a DSST: Henry high school, so we wanted to take a moment to give an update and, importantly, give you an opportunity to help.  As you may remember, last year, when we advocated for a DSST: Henry High School, we ran into numerous obstacles- primarily, an unwillingness from the school board to entertain serious conversations around a high school. Having strong community support is essential for our success, and we continue to engage our network, parents, and the larger community to help us do this difficult but important work.

So much centers around relationships, and we continue to work on building a strong relationship within the community and with the Southwest DPS Board representative Angela Cobian, who will be an integral partner as we work to secure the high school. 

However, the most compelling advocacy case for a high school is a clear demand for a high school, meaning strong enrollment at the middle school. We have a very clear school and network support priority around student recruitment and enrollment at Henry, and even before we’ve entered into Round 1 of School Choice today, January 15, student recruitment efforts have been kicked into high gear.

Last Saturday, DSST: Henry teachers and Home Office members engaged in the first round of door knocking. They visited over 100 homes and connected with around 35 families who were super appreciative to hear more about the DSST: Henry campus. Our network leads in providing high quality schools in every region we operate, so the more we can educate families on the great things our schools do, the better we are able to serve students and families in DPS 

If you would like to support DSST: Henry or engage with Southwest families to ensure they are educated and participating during the School Choice window, reach out to Brittnee Merritt. A great way to help is joining our next door knocking excursion on Thursday, January 30th, starting at 2:30 p.m. We hope to see you there!