One of the largest charter school networks in Denver, DSST, is very close to receiving the $250,000 national prize.
The Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools is meant to honor the charter school organization that gives students of color as well as students who have low-income a good academic system.
It is meant to appreciate the best organizations of excellent public charter school systems. The winner of the Broad Prize will be held as an example to other schools to learn from and add on to their academy.
The first time it was awarded was in 2012.
This year, DSST along with 2 other finalists are candidates for the prize.
DSST manages about 13 Denver middle schools and high schools. Their academic success is what gave them the chance to win the national prize.
Charter schools must use the award money for college preparation work for the students.
How do they choose this national prize?
Different factors are taken into consideration when choosing finalists for the prize.
The National Alliance committee looks at the test scores of each charter school as well as the amount of progress the students of each school are making.
DSST qualifies for the prize because their low-income students have the highest results in the state in SAT.
Over the last decade, all students from DSST have been accepted to universities.
This year’s qualifications for the prize require charter networks to have over 5 active charter schools for the past three years. They must also have over 2,500 students. At least 33% of the students must be “students of color,” and 40% must be low-income students.
This year, DSST has had over 5,000 students. Almost 80% of the students have low-income and are students of color.
The charter network is planning to open a middle school in Denver later this year.
The winner of this year’s Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools is going to be announced on June 18.
Good luck to all the finalists!
