Description
DSST is an innovative 425-student public charter high school located on a 10-acre site in the newly redeveloped Stapleton neighborhood in northeast Denver. DSST opened its doors for the first time on August 31, 2004 to 131 ninth-graders at a temporary location and moved into its new state-of-the-art facility on January 4, 2005. In the fall of 2006, we admitted our third class of 9th graders in addition to our continuing 10th and 11th graders. DSST will continue to add a new class of freshman each year and will be fully enrolled with grades 9-12 by fall 2007.
With a student population of 29% African-American students, 28% Hispanic students, 29% White students, 1% Asian students, 9% Multi-racial, 4% other, and 40% low-income students, DSST reflects the racial and economic diversity of Denver. Our students also come from 50 different middle schools in the Metro area, including parochial and private schools.
Begun as a cooperative initiative in 2001 with the support of Governor Bill Owens and the Colorado Small Schools Initiative along with early funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Denver Public School Board approved the charter of the Denver School of Science and Technology on September 16, 2002. Construction of the new campus began in February 2004 and was completed in January 2005, which provides a learning environment that matches our academic commitment.
The unique focus of DSST is to create a community of learners and a school culture that fosters academic and personal success for each of our students by emphasizing a set of six core values that students, faculty, and staff are expected to live by everyday. The core values are Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Doing Your Best, Courage, and Curiosity. These values merge academic learning and character development into a common endeavor that serves as the foundation of DSST's mission, vision, and guiding principles.
