Good Morning, DSST Team! 

In the weeks since we have returned from winter break, I have been so inspired by the energy and work you have brought to our students and our mission. We are halfway through this school year. I hope you take an opportunity to reflect on all the amazing things you do for our students. This great work is reflected in the fact that nearly all of our schools up for charter renewal in DPS and APS were renewed with the maximum contract length - speaking to the quality of our schools. A big congratulations to everyone. 

I am excited to share some updates for the 2023-24 school year regarding compensation and benefits. Many of these changes are in direct response to your feedback about how we can continue to make DSST a great place to work and what you need to remain fulfilled and healthy as a DSST team member. I hope these changes reflect our ongoing commitment to listen, to respond and to live our view of the human condition with each of you. 

Change #1: For the 2023-24 school year, teachers will receive a 7.1% average raise and all staff a 6.5% average. 

DSST continues to put every dollar we responsibly can into base compensation, with a prioritization of teachers getting the highest raise. Including last year’s raises, this will mean we have increased average teacher salaries by 19.1% and all staff salaries by 17% over a two-year period. We believe this to be one of the largest pay increases of any metro district or charter organization. However, I still believe educators are underpaid. We will continue to advocate for more funding so we can pay you more. We made every effort to be thoughtful in our decision making to ensure that we can financially support a thriving and stable organization in the long term. These raises go into effect July 1, 2023 (for all team members who started on or before March 1, 2023), and we will be sharing raise grids with the team this Friday.

Change #2: We are increasing paid personal days off in addition to a whole week off at Thanksgiving.

Over the past six months you have given two significant pieces of feedback around time off at Thanksgiving and wellness days. We want to respond to this feedback.

• Team members will have the whole week off for Thanksgiving to ensure team members can travel to be with family and make the holiday week more restful.

• All team members will receive an additional two paid personal days in the 2023-24 school year. These will provide opportunities for further wellness and team members being able to attend important events in their life.  

Change #3: We are expanding our benefits offerings to increase our investment in you and your family’s wellness.  

DSST is proud to offer one of the highest-quality and most affordable benefits packages of any district in the Denver metro area. We have a plan that is intentionally designed for team members and their families. We will continue to invest in benefit offerings to demonstrate our commitment to being an organization that puts our people and their families first. Here are a few changes we are making. 

• Open network to access more doctors: We are opening a broader network of doctors across all plans to increase the number and diversity of in-network providers. We have constantly heard this from you that you want the largest possible doctor pool. 
• Adoption support: Team members seeking adoption are eligible to submit for reimbursement up to $6,000. 
• Fertility benefits: DSST has partnered with Progyny to provide fertility support for all interested team members. 

We look forward to sharing more information around these new benefits offerings during open enrollment this May.

Your commitment, hard work and excellence make DSST a great place for students to learn every day. Thank you. It is because of you, our extraordinary team, that DSST has named a Top Workplace in Colorado 8 out of the last 10 years. We will continue to listen to your needs and find ways to invest in you. We are on an important journey together to eliminate the educational inequity that exists in Denver and Aurora. We can do this together. 

In partnership and service, 

Bill