Denver School of Science and Technology
Denver, Colorado
www.scienceandtech.org
Profile for Learning Tour conducted on
Monday, May 14, 2007
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“To provid[e] a diverse student body with an outstanding liberal arts high school education with
a science and technology focus”: This is the mission of the Denver School of Science and
Technology, which opened in fall 2004 as a charter school in a redeveloped area in northeast
Denver.
The Denver SST began with a group of approximately 130 ninth-graders, who studied in
temporary classrooms until the school’s permanent facility, designed to support and enhance
learning with a comprehensive technological infrastructure, was completed in 2005. Denver SST
is committed to helping all its students reach their maximum academic potential and prepare for
and successfully complete college.
The school has added a new class of 140 ninth-graders each year and now enrolls about 430
students in grades 9–12. In 2007, Denver SST opened a middle school, which now has about 135
students. In June 2008, 100% of the school’s seniors—from the inaugural group of ninth
graders—graduated, and all are headed to four-year colleges and universities.
Why we visited
We visited Denver SST on the basis of recommendations from experts in the STEM field and
because it was featured in the 2006 edition of Newsweek’s “Great American High Schools,”
which singled out the school for its emphasis on science and technology.
What we learned
We have chosen to highlight, as a guide to future visitors who want to learn from the work of
Denver SST, the following innovative features of the school: culture, teaching and learning, and
technology.
1. Culture — Establishing and maintaining a healthy school culture was the primary force
driving the creation of Denver SST. Most people familiar with the school, including Head
of School Bill Kurtz, credit the culture as being most responsible for the school’s success.
In our talk with Kurtz, he emphasized that he and other of the school’s supporters believe
that with a strong, positive school culture as a foundation, other components of school
success are much more likely to fall into place.
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Values — Six core values—respect, responsibility, integrity, courage, curiosity, and
doing one’s best—provide the foundation for the school’s culture and inform all aspects
of its operating principles, rules, and curriculum.
These values are passed to the students in a variety of ways. At the beginning of each
school year, teachers and administrators devote the first couple of days to discussing the
core values and working to create a sense of community among students, teachers, and
administrators.
The most notable manifestation of how the school embodies its core values is the
morning meeting. The entire school community—students, faculty, staff, and
administrators—gather in the school’s common area two times a week to connect as a
community and to recommit to supporting the school’s core values. Students and faculty
alike step forward to make announcements, read poems, and share achievements.
Students who have violated any of the school’s values must apologize to the entire
community; the whole student body then determines whether that student can be
readmitted to the community. Students thus play an active role in maintaining the
school’s values, making them more invested in the school’s success.
“As soon as we walked into the school, the culture of student centeredness and group
accountability was striking,” reported Dana Center staff member Darlene Yañez. “One
member of the tour group said that she had never been in a school environment that
reflected such a strong emphasis on student success and college readiness.”
College readiness — The other key element of the school’s culture is its emphasis on
college readiness and college success. Whether Denver SST students will go to college is
not a question—the foundational assumption of the school’s faculty and administrators is
that every one of their students will graduate from college.
This assumption is reflected in the language teachers use, which makes constant
reference to college, and is reinforced by the school’s décor—college posters and
brochures festoon the walls, teachers’ homerooms are identified by the mascot of the
teacher’s alma mater, and once a week students and teachers wear T-shirts from their
favorite colleges and universities. By October, all seniors must have completed at least
three college applications.
2. Teaching and learning — Denver SST’s curriculum reflects its commitment to preparing
students for college and the demands of the 21st century, particularly the need for
advanced knowledge of science, technology, and mathematics. As Yañez observed, “An
accelerated approach in science and mathematics is central to the school’s academic
program, and it’s well thought out and clearly engages the students.”
Two academies — The expectation is not only that the school’s students will attend
college, but that they will succeed there. To fulfill this expectation, Denver SST has
instituted a rigorous curriculum and a comprehensive academic support system. The
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school is divided into two academies—the Prep Academy for ninth and tenth graders and
the Senior Academy for juniors and seniors. A Denver SST academic counselor
explained that the two academies were created so that the school could target the agespecific needs of the students. In both academies, the school’s curriculum aligns with
state standards.
The Prep Academy concentrates on developing students’ core skills in reading and
writing, critical thinking, mathematics, science, and technology through a rigorous liberal
arts curriculum. At the end of each year, students demonstrate their mastery of the
curriculum by producing a digital portfolio, which is judged by classroom teachers and
experts from outside the school.
In the Senior Academy, the curriculum focuses even more intensely on college readiness.
Eleventh and twelfth graders take more rigorous courses, including Advanced Placement
courses, and work toward designing and completing a senior project, which serves as a
culminating learning experience. In designing and producing the project, students are
expected to synthesize the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their
high school careers and use their technological skills to present the project. The school
recruits outside experts to serve alongside Denver SST faculty as project judges.
Curriculum — The school uses a project-based curriculum, meaning that students work
on projects drawn from the real world that develop their skills in a number of subjects.
Denver SST often brings in outside experts to advise the students on these projects.
An example of such a project is the robotics competition. Students work side by side with
physicists and other scientists to design and build a robot. The robot is then entered in the
competition, in which it fights to disable other robots. The last robot still running wins.
The first rounds of the robotics competition take place at the regional level, and students
then progress to state and national competitions.
After observing this project and learning about others, Yañez was impressed by how
“purposeful and well-planned” the school’s project-based curriculum is.
Denver SST teachers also work collaboratively to ensure the viability and rigor of the
curriculum. Grade-level teams of teachers create integrated activities across subject areas,
and teachers also work in content teams to ensure vertical alignment of each subject.
Student support — The Prep Academy has rigorous standards, and many Denver SST
ninth graders arrive without being up to grade level in all subjects. The school addresses
the needs of these students—and all students who are struggling in their classes—by
requiring that they attend after-school college-preparatory sessions. As the name
indicates, these sessions are not remedial, but are part of the school’s overall collegereadiness curriculum.
Further, teachers regularly assess student progress and provide help when students are
struggling. Since all students and teachers have laptop computers linked to the school’s
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network, teachers can communicate with students throughout the day and before and after
school. The technology enables teachers to intervene “just in time”—that is, thanks to the
network, teachers know almost immediately when a student is having trouble with
something and can provide timely support.
Internships — Denver SST also emphasizes career exploration by partnering with
community organizations and businesses to provide opportunities for students to explore
their career interests. Starting in their first year, students receive structured guidance in
exploring professional fields. In their senior year, all students participate in a purposeful
internship program two times a week. The academic experience at Denver SST develops
the skills students need to find and complete an internship. In turn, the internships teach
students new skills that they are expected to bring to bear on their academic work.
Shadow program — To recruit students who are excited by the educational opportunities
Denver SST provides, the school has instituted a shadow program for middle school
students in the Denver area. These students spend an entire day at Denver SST, attending
the morning meeting, going to classes, and experiencing the school culture. As one senior
put it, “they live a day in the life” of the school. Students who participate in the shadow
program gain a clear understanding of what Denver SST expects of its students and can
make an intelligent choice about whether they wish to apply for admission.
The Denver SST middle school was launched to provide comprehensive preparation for
the Denver SST high school. The middle school allows for even more extensive vertical
alignment of the school’s curriculum and further supports the school’s accelerated
academic program. The shadow program is expected to continue.
3. Technology — As the school’s name suggests, technology is a key component of Denver
SST. The school is the first public high school in the nation to provide every student with
a laptop computer. The physical plant has a comprehensive technological infrastructure,
including a wireless network that allows students and teachers to work together wherever
they happen to be. The campus also includes fully equipped physics, biotech, chemistry,
and engineering labs.
The school’s founders did not want technology to simply replace pen and paper; they
wanted to use technology to enhance learning. To this end, the school uses the web as an
instructional tool to keep students engaged. In addition, all assignments and lectures are
posted on the web for students as well as their parents to view.
Students use the school’s wireless network to stay in contact with their teachers and each
other. Because Denver SST students come from the entire Denver area, getting together
outside of school hours to work on projects with team members can be a challenge. The
school’s technology infrastructure overcomes this obstacle, allowing students to
collaborate via the web. The students also receive instruction and support via the
network; the network also facilitates homework assignments, communication, and
teamwork.
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During our visit, we asked teachers and students if students ever use their computers
inappropriately. Both groups replied that students appreciate how critical the laptops are
and know that without them, they could not successfully participate in the program at
Denver SST. Student misuse of computers is very rare, and in four years, only one
computer has been lost.
Who is the Denver School of Science and Technology?
Students:
Students are admitted to Denver SST through a lottery, which is random except that 40% of the
openings are reserved for students from low-income families (this percentage is derived from the
number of students who qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program). Denver SST
students represent a diversity of racial and ethnic backgrounds, with 35% white, 29% African
American, 25% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 2% Asian, and 1% from other ethnic groups.
Leadership and instructional staff:
The school’s leadership team includes the head of school, a dean of students for each academy, a
special education coordinator, a social worker, and directors of development, technology,
business operations, curriculum and instruction, athletics and internships, and college placement.
The teaching staff bring a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences to Denver SST.
Many have worked professionally as writers, chemists, scientists, and mathematicians, as well
as in other technology fields. They therefore possess first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be
successful in a technical field, and they bring their career experience into the classroom to add
relevance and rigor to the curriculum.
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