DSST Schools Named Top Two Secondary Schools In Denver

DENVER - Two DSST schools were ranked the top two secondary schools in the city based on the School Performance Framework (SPF), released yesterday by Denver Public Schools.  DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School was the top high school in Denver and DSST: Cole Middle School was the top middle school in Denver last year. Both schools opened in the fall of 2011, posting outstanding results in their first year of operation.  The SPF evaluates school performance in six categories including growth, achievement, readiness, student engagement, parent engagement and demand.  

 

DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School had the highest growth scores of any Denver Public School this past year, posting median growth percentile scores of 98 in mathematics, 77 in reading, and 77 in writing.  These scores make it the second highest growth school in the state of Colorado. DSST: Cole Middle School also posted outstanding growth results, including a median growth percentile score of 83 in mathematics.

 

Both schools were opened last fall in neighborhoods that have historically had large achievement gaps.  DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School and DSST: Cole Middle school are Title 1 Schools, both serving over 70% low income students.

 

"DSST Public Schools is proud to continue to serve Denver students with extraordinary excellence.  For the last eight years, DSST has demonstrated that all students, regardless of their background can achieve at the highest level.  It is gratifying to see this tradition continued in the Cole and Green Valley Ranch neighborhoods," said Bill Kurtz, CEO of DSST Public Schools.

 

About DSST Public Schools

DSST Public Schools (DSST) operates open-enrollment STEM charter schools and is part of the Denver Public Schools (DPS) district. In 2012-13, DSST will serve approximately 2,100 students in six schools on four campuses throughout Denver. DSST has been approved to open four additional schools on three campuses over the next five years. At full enrollment, DSST Public Schools will serve over 4,500 students, and will help to nearly double the number of four-year college-ready DPS graduates by 2020.  100% of DSST seniors have earned acceptance to four year college. DSST students have the 5th lowest remediation rate of all public and private schools in Colorado.

 

DSST Public Schools was founded as the Denver School of Science and Technology in 2004. DSST: Stapleton serves students from all parts of Denver with a student population of 68 percent minority and 43 percent low income. DSST: Green Valley Ranch, which opened in August 2010, was the network's second campus. Its student population is 85 percent minority and 68 percent low income. DSST opened its third campus, DSST: Cole, in the Whittier neighborhood in July 2011. Its student population is 80 percent minority and 74 percent low income. DSST's fourth campus, DSST: College View, based in southwest Denver, opened in summer 2012 with 145 sixth graders.

 

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.