1998 — Full-Time

Amy Slothower writes: "I spent the last two years founding a charter high school in Denver which opened in August. It was wonderful to have four other Kellogg alumni (Ken Glickstein '92, Melissa Edison-Barnes '93, Jon Boris and Tim Sznewajs '02) as part of the founding board. Denver Venture School is focused on entrepreneurship and college preparation. We are training and educating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, helping to create resilient problem solvers and creative thinkers at the high school level.

"We opened this year with a ninth-grade class of 80 students. About 80 percent are low-income students and approximately 90 percent are minorities. Each year the school will add a new cohort and be fully enrolled in 2011 with 450 students. We are leveraging a project based on an academic curriculum which allows for relevant and integrated teaching of core academic subjects. The top priority of the school is to send every student to a four-year college. The college focus is uniquely paired with entrepreneurship and leadership coursework which will culminate in the junior and senior years, with each student starting and running his or her own business. The philosophy behind this entrepreneurship focus is that the skills of an entrepreneur — tenacity, creativity and ability to learn from failure and management — are skills that will ensure success at any level and in any career.

"Denver Public Schools are currently struggling with a more than 50 percent dropout rate, and currently only 9 percent of incoming high school freshman graduate from a four-year college. Denver is working toward education reform and it is smaller, focused schools like DVS that are leading the way. With the help of some dedicated Kellogg alumni, we are working hard to be part of the solution."