Introducing DSST Lab Classrooms: A new pilot program that focuses on learning from real classrooms

When we talk about great teaching, we often describe it through frameworks, videos or carefully curated examples. But the reality of teaching lives in the middle of a lesson, with real students, real curriculum and real decisions unfolding moment by moment.

That is why DSST is launching a new program, starting with a cohort of 10 teachers across middle and high school content areas, that reflects the belief that great teaching is leadership.

DSST’s new Lab Classrooms pilot is designed to elevate accomplished teachers by opening their classrooms as live learning spaces for colleagues across the network. Lab Classrooms turn individual excellence into shared practice, strengthening instructional consistency and professional learning across DSST. Rather than relying on external models or staged demonstrations, they invite educators into DSST classrooms.

As part of a planned and facilitated learning experience, participating teachers host structured classroom visits for DSST educators, including classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders. These visits include preparation, live observation and facilitated debriefs, leaving visitors inspired and with practical takeaways they can adapt, questions they can ask differently and strategies they can use the very next day. In addition to live observation, the classrooms create professional learning artifacts such as lesson materials, student work and video clips, which continue the learning beyond one visit.

Meet the inaugural cohort:

• Justice Martinez, Math Intervention Teacher at DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School

• “Success as a teacher means equipping students with the agency to choose their own path.”

• Ricardo Lane, ELD Teacher at DSST: College View Middle School

• “I teach because learning brings me true joy, and I want to share that joy with students every day.”

• Morgan Lorenz, 8th Grade Science Teacher at DSST: College View Middle School

• “Teaching is where my love for science and my purpose came together.”

• Amy Sheren, 6th Grade Math Teacher at DSST: Elevate Middle School

• “Every student can be successful in math, and middle school is where we rewrite the narrative.”

• Giselle Garcia‑Gonzalez, Math 2 Teacher at DSST: Elevate High School

• “Education changed my life, and I see that same possibility for my students every day.”

• Gracie Grant, ELA Teacher at DSST: Conservatory Green High School

• “My greatest success is helping students reimagine what their future can be.”

• Gretchen Pearson, 7th Grade ELA Teacher at DSST: Aurora Science & Tech Middle School

• “Helping students take pride and accountability in their learning is what matters most.”

• Rachel Urenda, 7th Grade ELA Teacher at DSST: Aurora Science & Tech Middle School

• “Being a successful teacher means staying malleable and always improving our craft.”

• Tyler Randolph, 8th Grade Social Studies and Literacy Lab Teacher at DSST: Cole Middle School

• “The most meaningful work in this profession comes from long‑term relationships with students.”

• Leonardo (Leo) Leyva Jimenez, 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher at DSST: Cedar Middle School

• “Success means students leave my classroom knowing they learned something meaningful.”

The Lab Classrooms Pilot brings together educators who, instead of offering polished performances or perfect lessons, are sharing their practice as it truly is: reflective, evolving and grounded in the belief that all students can learn at high levels.