#JustOneMore
#TheDSSDifference
“After only a week at DSS, I knew that this is where my daughter Aubree and I belonged. DSS gave me a second chance to earn my diploma by providing on-site daycare so I could attend school. I am currently attending CCD and working towards becoming a Physician’s Assistant.”
The DSS Difference
Although Denver Street School is a school, at its core it is an “alternative family.” We take in students whose families are struggling to provide stability and positive role models. Some have no family structure at all. This instability has led to the students facing academic and social/emotional issues that big public schools have not been able to successfully address, at least not in the lives of the students who come to us. The family approach informs everything we do with our students–how we relate to them, teach them, counsel them, and discipline them. Our goal is to model for them an alternative vision of life in every aspect within the context of our relationships with them.
Our program meets each student where they are and supports them through their academic and social/emotional needs.
1) Academics:
Because of family instability that leads to poor attendance and poor behavior, our students have gaps in their educational background. This, in turn, results in expulsions and further poor academic achievement and often ends in the student dropping out of school. The Denver Street School accepts students at every step in this process. We not only work with them to address the immediate issues, but we also get at the root of the problem which gives them a new academic context in which to function.
Our “small school, small class size” commitment allows us to provide the structural framework for specific programs and strategies designed to address the academic issues our students bring with them.
Gaps in
Poor attendance – First, we make DSS a place where students want to develop relationships; strict attendance policies are coupled with accountability through daily parent contact for absentees
Poor behavior – We have a “parenting” approach to discipline that takes the long-term view and allows the opportunity for students to address their inappropriate behavior with help from their teacher advocate.
Poor academic achievement – There are a variety of ways in which we address this issue: Mastery approach with opportunity for revision; mandatory study hall for all students; small class sizes; teacher availability; volunteer tutors; literacy support in all classes; weekly progress reports and missing work reports for accountability; weekly Advocate conferences to review academic and attendance progress and student-created goals. Additionally, we provide independent study “credit recovery” options.
Expulsion and dropping out – We accept students who are unable or unwilling to attend other schools.
2) Social/Emotional:
A large majority of our students are children of former teen parents who struggled to provide alternatives to their own lifestyles for their children. Therefore, most of our students engage in risky behaviors—drugs, alcohol, sex, gangs, etc.—which are reinforced by peers and family. They end up experiencing the negative consequences of these behaviors: pregnancy, jail, dropping out, lack of employment, etc.
Because our Hope Academy girls have experienced
Many of our students lack a fundamental understanding of what is appropriate behavior in various contexts such as school, work, job interviews, etc. They tend to struggle with what has been called “grit,” the ability to embrace difficulty, persevere, use their imagination to problem solve and be consistent.
Who We Are
We are a 501-c-3 nonprofit Christian high school serving the Denver metro area. We accept students who have struggled, dropped out of, or been expelled from other schools and need a more personalized approach to their education. The school is completely privately funded and recently went through its five-year review with AdvancEd, which accredits all the private high schools in the metro area. Both campuses scored above the average of the 32,000 institutions accredited by AE worldwide.
We operate three campuses: The East Campus in Aurora and the West Campus in Lakewood, serving both sides of the Denver metro area. Hope Academy, opened in June 2015, serves area girls 12-17 that have
The curriculum is based on state standards and includes courses in Math, Science, English, History, Computers, and electives. The student to teacher ratio averages 10:1. Student services include life counseling, tutoring, mentoring, athletic opportunities, individualized career counseling and testing, faculty advocacy, and health care referrals.
Our Story:
The Denver Street School, DSS, was founded by Tom Tillapaugh in 1985 in a house off East Colfax in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Inspiration
In the summer of 1979, Tom Tillapaugh, an Oklahoma educator, came to Denver to visit a group home for people taken off the streets who were recovering from addictions and trauma. Tillapaugh noted that, though those living and rehabilitating in the home were working toward more productive lives, they still had a “street mentality” which often drew them back to their old habits and lifestyles. He concluded that the missing component was an educational experience that would not only instill a sense of self-esteem but also provide the tools for self-sufficiency. Thus the vision of the Denver Street School was born.
Realization
In 1984, Tillapaugh moved to Colorado with his wife and children to fulfill the vision of providing a quality Christ-based high school education for teens who have been kicked out or dropped out of public schools due to poor choices such as drugs, alcohol, gangs, etc. The goal was to help young people get back on the right track, have a second chance to finish high school and go on to success in life. He shared his passion with others who might be able to help and on May 13, 1985, Denver Street School was opened in the dining room of a house in Denver’s inner-city with himself as the only teacher. Over the years, DSS grew and expanded, not only in the number of students that it served but also in what it was able to offer its pupils. The majority of the students were minority youth, primarily Hispanic and African-American, along with a number of suburban troubled youth. These ratios exist to this day. DSS students, for the most part, have dropped out or been expelled from local public schools. Many are former or current gang members and teen parents. A high percentage of the students have had substance abuse issues. Most suffer from a lack of motivation and quality role models (particularly male) in the home.
The Model
The Denver Street School provides a small personalized family-like environment with a strong interlocking network of relationships between the students and loving, caring adults who pour into their lives, providing that quality role model that may be missing in their own homes. The goal for our students is that they become self-sufficient, contributing members of society who love Jesus. Denver Street School has grown and evolved over the years. It currently has three campuses in the Denver metro area. It is fully accredited by AdvancEd, formerly North Central Association of Colleges & Schools. Because of DSS, many, many young people have overcome the consequences of their poor choices and the negative circumstances of their lives, and have gone on to find success in life.
The Vision for Hope Academy
Hope Academy is the newest campus of the Denver Street School specifically developed for adolescent girls who have experienced complex trauma. In an effort to bring healing and restoration to these girls the programming at Hope incorporates a variety of therapeutic elements, encourages growth and academic learning, and teaches empowerment in a safe and loving environment. All of this leads to a high school diploma and a successful future.
Hope strives to be a place where girls can heal in an environment of creativity, imagination, love, and laughter. Our goal is to remove as many obstacles to as possible to assist students in their journey toward success.
For more information on Hope Academy, please email or call the Hope Academy Principal Christina Schmitzler at
Christina.Schmitzler@denverstreetschool.org
720-926-3677
DSS Executive Director Tom Tillapaugh at
tom.tillapaugh@
720-291-3420
DSS Responds To A National Crisis
In 2012, Tillapaugh learned of an industry in the U.S., and specifically in Denver, where children were experiencing specific complex traumas which need ongoing, daily, trauma-informed practices, which are not reasonable to expect from the juvenile justice system, public education, and social services. After consulting with many law enforcement agencies and other experts in these specific traumas, Tillapaugh set about to create a safe environment for the continued education and healing of these children.
In June of 2015 Tillipaugh along with his staff had finally envisioned, created, and opened its response to this national crisis. With the help of the community and hundreds of volunteers, the vision to offer HOPE to those who desperately needed it was now a reality.
Our Students
Who they are
Youth at risk of educational and personal failure, particularly low-income minority youth, have unique academic and personal needs and require a more comprehensive approach to education that addresses not only academics but also life-skills building, career preparation, along with spiritual and emotional development. Our school is the next step in their journey. Regardless, every student who walks through our doors has a story of a difficult past and a clouded vision of a limited future.
The average Denver Street School student:
qualifies for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Programs
has dropped out, been expelled from or hasn’t succeeded in the public school system
is a racial minority (95% currently)
lives in a low-income neighborhood known for high poverty, crime and drug use
has significant academic remediation needs
has been involved in one or more of the following: illegal drug use, abandonment, physical and sexual abuse, sex trafficking, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, or gang affiliation
lacks positive structure within homes reducing nurturing adult interaction (especially w/ fathers)
has a sense of “hopelessness” and settles in life rather than striving for personal success
We strive to develop a strong trust relationship with the 100-110 students we work with each year. Through that connection, we hope to help create a well-educated adult capable of healthy relationships, equipped for a productive future and dedicated to fulfilling a worthy purpose with their lives.
Our Purpose:
Bringing hope, a second chance, and the love of Christ to Denver’s at-risk youth through quality education in a safe environment and a supportive network of loving, caring adults.
Students will become productive citizens by:
- Acquiring tools to problem solve and set goals
- Identifying and overcoming negative habits
- Having a vision for a positive future
- Working to develop and maintain healthy relationships
- Knowing the Gospel and understanding how to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ
- Finding and ethically using relevant information from multiple sources
- Mastering course content
- Earning a diploma
Our Board of Directors:
Mrs. Ann Paneitz
Chairwoman