蜜桃影视

To the long list of accolades DSST Public Schools has amassed over its 14-year history, add one more: The Denver network of diverse-by-design schools is the 2018 recipient of the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. Conferred by 听and the听, the award was announced Monday at the听 in Austin, Texas. It comes with $250,000 for DSST to spend on college-readiness efforts.

The first Denver School of Science and Technology opened in 2004. Starting with its inaugural class 10 years ago, 100 percent of graduates of the network鈥檚 13 schools have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities. from Stanford University鈥檚 Center for Research on Education Outcomes found that DSST schools posted some of the biggest gains in reading and math of all the charters studied, equivalent to more than 100 additional days of learning.

鈥淒SST is a great example of the much-desired and elusive combination:听a network that ensures outstanding results for all types of students while growing to serve more students,鈥� CREDO director Macke Raymond, a member of the Broad Prize review board, said in a statement. 鈥淭hey have cracked the code for success.”

DSST was one of three finalists for the award last year, the first year in which it was eligible. The 2017 prize went to Success Academy. This year鈥檚 three finalists were DSST, Achievement First, and Uncommon Schools. Uncommon Schools is the first recipient to be nominated again after winning.

On state assessments, most DSST schools score well above Colorado鈥檚 mean test scores. Impoverished students, who make up 66 percent of the student body network-wide, posted higher average SAT scores in 2017 than their affluent Colorado peers. The network boasts four of the top five high schools and five of the top eight middle schools in Denver, based on the district鈥檚 school performance framework.听And 听ranks the flagship Stapleton campus as the second-best high school in Colorado and No. 97 in the country.

Right now, DSST serves 5,300 Denver secondary-school students. Under the terms of a 2015 contract with the Denver School Board, which oversees the city鈥檚 charter schools, the network is expected to grow to 22 schools across 11 campuses by 2025.

It will eventually serve one-fourth of Denver鈥檚 middle and high school students.

DSST has said it hopes to send 60 percent of next year鈥檚 senior class to 鈥渕atch schools,鈥� colleges that offer support and strong financial aid to students from low-income families and that graduate two-thirds of students. More than half of DSST鈥檚 2016 graduates were the first in their families to attend college.

In addition to its strong academic performance, the 10-member Broad Prize review board cited DSST鈥檚 integration model, recently featured in a Century Foundation report.

A graduate of DSST鈥檚 Cole campus, Charles Kendee will attend Yale in the fall, according to the school network. Prompted by exposure to the field during a summer engineering course, he is considering studying electrical engineering.

鈥淚 am excited about my future because I鈥檓 going to be able to leave the state I鈥檝e lived in for my entire life and experience a ton of new things,鈥� Kendee said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be able to meet new people, learn about other cultures, and explore things that interest me. The possibilities are endless, and I can鈥檛 wait to explore all of them.鈥�

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Walton Family Foundation have provided funding to both DSST and 蜜桃影视; the Walton Family Foundation also provides financial support to the Century Foundation鈥檚 project on charter school diversity. 蜜桃影视 also receives funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which funds the Broad prize.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.