Craft Category: Examples from the field

Denver Online is an innovative online middle school and high school serving 6th-12th grade students in Denver Public Schools. The school was established in 2003, originally serving only high school students. In 2021, the school expanded to include both middle school and high school options. Denver Online is designated as a Pathways school and is home to roughly 650 students with a common need for a flexible learning environment.

Valley New School offers 68 students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to learn in an integrated, project-based environment. VNS provides unprecedented access to technology, an active focus on the community, and a student-advisor ratio of 17 to 1. The school has been designated as a national “lab school” for project-based learning by the Gates-EdVisions organization and, as such, provides an example and leadership in best practices for this learning model.

DSST Public Schools is a network of public, open enrollment, free charter schools in Denver and Aurora. Their eight campuses serve middle and high school students and are widely considered to be among the leading open enrollment STEM schools in the U.S., and have become a destination for educators nationwide. DSST schools are home to the highest performing and highest growth secondary schools in Denver and Aurora Public Schools.

At Denver Public Schools, leaders and educators are focused on building a system that’s designed to help every student thrive. They focus on creating classrooms that are vibrant centers of learning, where caring teachers are engaging their students in rigorous, culturally responsive experiences in order to lift all students toward a bright horizon.

Located near the Estrella Mountains, Desert Edge High School is the third high school in the Agua Fria Union High School District, opening in the Fall of 2002. Desert Edge was the first “Green” Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certificate high school in Arizona, and the fourth in the nation.

The mission of Lynwood Unified School District, the model urban school district, is to ensure each student fearlessly achieves their highest academic and personal aspirations while contributing to a diverse, global society through an evolving system distinguished by: people of great character who inspire and lead by example; the instilling of courage to be creative; the transformative uses of technology; safe and clean environments; and the inclusion of all voices in our community through equity, access, and justice.