Pros
It is admirable how DSST pushes the boundaries to ensure college is accessible for all who wish to attend.
Cons
DSST, truly, is one of the most callous institutions to its employees. There are consistent violations of workers rights and contractual violations including disclosure of employees' salaries to non essential personal, allotting unqualified teachers to instruct subject areas they are not capable in succeeding, non support when employees are harassed or verbally attacked by parents and members of the community, and altering employee contracts to fit their financial, positional, and statistical needs during the school year even if the employee does not desire change. DSST also consistently illustrates contempt for any subject areas outside of the STEM ideology, even when these subjects are requested to be part of the core classes such as PE, Music, Theater, Art, foreign langues other than Spanish, ect. They state they are "eliminating educational inequity," but really they are reaffirming that these subject matters are only for the elite, or these subjects hold no importance in our society, thus denying students in low income areas the right to discover and explore during their high school tenure. Bill Kurtz, as CEO, is out of touch with his employees and community situations. He repeatedly insults other education institutions in the Denver/Metro area where some DSST employees acquired their education, highlights DSST pays its teachers less than what the average Denver teacher earns and average salaries for Baccalaureate degree holders, and shamelessly self promotes himself at school community meetings, educational clinics, and fundraising events. The path for advancement is laughable at DSST. there is no salary schedule, only a program called Teacher Career Pathway. This program rewards how well teachers execute lessons to their observer's liking over an extended period of time, likability from other staff who may never have witnessed a class of the person they are reviewing, and requirements of teachers to build programs without any assistance from the home office or supervisors. This is all under the guise of 'growth' for educators. Their pay does not take into account experience and educational achievements of their employees, however, the message they deliver to communities and students is those two factors is how we are rewarded in our county, however they cannot afford that courtesy to their own teachers. At DSST there is no teacher's union, no support from Denver Public School, and contracts can, and are, modified at a moment's notice with immediate termination if the employee does not conform to the changes. DSST spends a gargantuan amount of funds on tiny gifts, parties, mandatory retreats, and conferences with funds that could go to assisting the advancement of programs, developing a substantial pay, retirement, benefit increase for teachers, or going back into the financially limited communities they serve. DSST also thrives off the hot button press issues to gain notoriety for their institutions. Shamelessly they connect themselves to political issues where educational institutions are ethically to remain in a place of neutrality. They use student achievement for self promotion to promote their institutional propaganda, and impress their their way is the best and only way to serve the communities of Denver. To questions their methods and policies ostracizes employees, and non renewal of contract is common because these employees just "aren't a good fit."
