DSST Public Schools Testifies in Congress on STEM Education

 

For Release on:  October 12, 2011    

Contact:  Jenny Meyer, 303-524-6363, jenny.meyer@scienceandtech.org

DSST Public Schools Testifies in Congress on STEM Education

 

DENVER – DSST Public Schools, represented by Mark Heffron, Campus Director at Stapleton, testified today before the Research on Science and Education Subcommittee of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology in the United States House of Representatives. 

The subcommittee hearing, “What Makes for Successful K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education: A Closer Look at Effective STEM Education Approaches,” discussed the findings of a recent report issued by the National Academy of Sciences on effective practices in STEM education.  DSST Public Schools was highlighted in the report as a model for STEM schools where enrollment is open to all students. 

“We urge this committee to stress the creation of open-enrollment access for all STEM schools.  Only through these schools will we tap into the potential of all children in our country to create new labor markets for our STEM sector,” Heffron stated in his testimony.   More than forty percent of recent DSST graduates are currently pursuing STEM fields of study at college.

DSST: Stapleton is widely considered to be one of the leading open enrollment STEM schools in the U.S. and has become a destination for educators nationwide. DSST: Stapleton has consistently been the highest performing high school in Denver Public Schools, based on growth and absolute performance. DSST: Stapleton’s first four graduating classes earned 100% acceptances into four-year colleges. 

About DSST Public Schools

DSST Public Schools (DSST) operates open-enrollment STEM charter schools and is part of the Denver Public Schools (DPS) district. DSST currently serves approximately 1,500 students with five schools on three campuses. DSST has been approved to open five additional schools on three campuses over the next five years. At full enrollment, DSST Public Schools will serve over 4,400 students, and will nearly double the number of four-year college-ready DPS graduates by 2020.

DSST Public Schools was founded as the Denver School of Science and Technology which opened in 2004. DSST: Stapleton serves students from all parts of Denver with a student population of 65% minority and 45% low income. At DSST’s second campus, DSST: Green Valley Ranch, opened in August, 2010, the student population is 83% minority and 60% low income. DSST opened its 3rd campus at Cole K-8 in the Whittier neighborhood on July 5, 2011.

Students are selected to attend DSST through a random lottery; there are no admissions criteria. Additional information about DSST Public Schools is available at www.dsstpublicschools.org.

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