Denver-based DSST Public Schools has been named one of three finalists for a national prize recognizing large charter school networks with records of high academic achievement, especially with low-income students and students of color.
The $250,000 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools is presented by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Winners will be announced June 12 at the National Charter Schools Conference in Washington, D.C. The other finalists are New York-based Success Academy and Harmony Public Schools in Texas.
DSST is an integral piece of Denver Public Schools’ nationally known “portfolio model” that gives families choices among traditional district-run, charter, magnet and innovation schools, which get many of the freedoms afforded to charters.
DSST is in major expansion mode. By 2024-25, the network plans to have 22 schools in Denver enrolling as many as a quarter of the city’s secondary school students. DSST is also seeking to open two new schools in neighboring Aurora Public Schools.
DSST seeks to build integrated schools, and offers a liberal arts education with a strong science and technology focus. For 10 straight years, 100 percent of its graduates have been accepted to a four-year college, school officials say.
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