DSST BLOG

Reporting on 2021-22 Results and Looking to the Future

Written by DSST Public Schools | 09/26/22

As we start the 2022-23 school year, we are thrilled to share some highlights about the hard work done across our network over the past year and outline our plans to address areas of needed growth.

 
Much to celebrate
DSST continues to be the top public school option in Denver and Aurora: Despite a very challenging past few years, all 15 DSST Public Schools earned a green rating on the Colorado School Performance Framework, which is the highest rating given in the framework. There’s so much to celebrate here, including Aurora Science & Tech MS being rated the top secondary school in Aurora Public Schools and a move into green rating for our Cole campus!

We are focused on supporting our students to and through college: We continued our track record of 100% college and postsecondary admittance for all our Class of 2022 graduates. Our graduates earned an average of seven college admittances each. This class also included our largest number of graduates from our Special Education Centers programs going onto 18+ programs, career training programs and college.

Despite pandemic-related challenges, we saw SAT growth: A few highlights from our SAT results include:
      • All seven of DSST’s high schools rank in the top eight in Denver for SAT math growth.
      • DSST had the top two schools for combined SAT scores for Black students in Colorado and four out of the top seven.
      • DSST had the top five schools in Denver for combined SAT scores for students qualifying for free and reduced lunch.
Amid declining enrollment across the
 district, we have a strong community brand:
We see strong demand for our schools in the community through student enrollment, with a 116% community demand (# of first choice preferences vs. available seats) for spots in our 6th and 9th-grade classes across the network. Based on family survey results, 9 out of 10 of our families would recommend DSST to a family member or friend.

 
Our commitment to our students and families

After the last two pandemic years, DSST has a lot of work to do to strengthen student achievement. The student data and the learning gaps it represents are real and we take them very seriously. It is clear we must get better on behalf of our students. As a network, we are doubling down on strengthening literacy and math achievement, recommitting to better instruction and closing proficiency gaps for our multi-language learners, students with disabilities, and Black and Hispanic/Latino/a/x students.  In all aspects of instruction, we are focused on providing high quality, grade level instruction with the necessary student support. Lastly, we are re-grounding ourselves in STEM as we think about our future as a network and future college and career paths for our graduates. 

We make a commitment to provide a world class education to our students and families each year.  We have fallen short of this commitment over the last several years and are determined to change that.  

As DSST enters its 19th year as an organization, there is a huge opportunity to make a difference in the educational journey of our students. DSST is ready to rise to this challenge.