DSST CIRCUIT

In Josh Wright’s Algebra 2 class, missing a linear equation question during Do Now practice comes with an unexpected accountability measure: students start apologizing, not to Wright, but to Mr. Barraza, who teaches down the hall.

Thirteen years is long enough to know a network’s rhythms. Long enough to stop reinventing systems every August and start seeing patterns before they emerge. Long enough to recognize that the real work of teaching is in the space that opens up when logistics finally become second nature.

At DSST: Montview Middle School, STEM Lab teacher Bryce Enger is leading students through a curriculum designed to do more than check off science standards. His class, along with all other middle school STEM Lab courses, align directly with the pathways offered at DSST high schools, exposing...

Peek into a DSST classroom, and you'll find students fully immersed in programming drones to navigate obstacle courses, designing solutions on 3D modeling software, and building robotic systems that respond to their commands. This isn't a special event, this is a STEM Lab classroom, where DSST...

Middle school is when everything changes. When friendships shift overnight. When a student discovers they're good at something they never knew existed. It's messy, electric and full of possibility.

Ask four school directors what leadership means in 2025, and you won't get the same answer twice. But spend time in their schools, watch how they move through hallways, listen to how they talk about students, notice what they celebrate and you'll start to see something deeper than words can capture.

There's a kind of leadership that doesn't announce itself with fanfare. It shows up early, stays late, and finds joy in the small, steady work of making schools better, one conversation, one decision, one percent at a time. At four of DSST's high schools, that's exactly the kind of leadership...

There's a moment that happens in classrooms across DSST, a moment that can't be scripted or manufactured. It's when a teacher anticipates exactly where a student will stumble before they do. When they reference a lesson from two years ago that connects perfectly to today's challenge. When they know...

This week, for National Principals Month, we are spotlighting three middle school leaders who show up every day to build learning communities where students can grow, where they can belong, where they can thrive.

October is National Principals Month. Throughout the month, we will be celebrating our school directors in our Feature Fridays, and we are kicking it off by highlighting our two incredible leaders who are new to DSST but already making a lasting impact: Emily Felsenthal, School Director at DSST:...