MARK T. TWAROGOWSKI | HEAD OF SCHOOL
“I AM THE LUCKIEST MAN IN THE WORLD” is a phrase I use quite often. It’s true because of all the amazing people I get to surround myself with every day at Denver Academy. From the dedicated teachers and students, to our donors and parents, it is these relationships that make our community successful. Everyone within the DA community makes me so proud to be a Mustang. During the 2019/2020 school year, we remained strong as a community, even through uncertainty. We could not have done this without your dedication and commitment to Denver Academy. With the support of a generous DA community, we were able to provide the best possible educational experience every day, no matter the circumstances. This report highlights the impact you made on all of our students, both big and small. Thank you for making it possible for us to remain Mustang Proud. Gratefully,
Mark T. Twarogowski Head of School
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FINANCIALS & FUNDRAISING 2019-2020
Annual giving from generous friends, family and organizational partners elevates all aspects of life on campus and ensures we have the resources necessary to provide a transformative academic experience. You kept DA Mustang Proud and strong last year! 8%
3%
11% 16%
REVENUE
4%
CONTRIBUTIONS
61%
8%
89% TUITION & FEES
OPERATING EXPENSES
OTHER
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE FACILITIES & MAINTENANCE OTHER FUNDRAISING & MARKETING
$12,340,810
$11,760,588
A GENEROUS DA COMMUNITY MAKES AN IMPACT: To The Fund for Denver Academy These gifts (unrestricted) supported operating expenses, helping to bridge the gap not covered by tuition alone. Net revenue from DA’s first-ever Virtual Gala on April 18, 2020, (proceeds fund tuition assistance for families in 2020-2021). Restricted to specific areas of need: Tuition Assistance $429,432* / SmartLab Grant $161,483 / Other $164,698 *Includes Gala proceeds
Board of Trustees
Participation in Annual Giving*
Faculty and Staff Current Parents
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* not including Gala
TUITION ASSISTANCE Average tuition assistance award received by families.
Denver Academy has a long tradition of assisting students with need-based financial aid. The Gala plays a major role in this tradition, as do gifts from individuals in our community, and foundation partners.
Percentage of DA students receiving tuition assistance.
7% 11%
22%
TUITION ASSISTANCE SOURCES
OPERATING FUNDS
GALA PROCEEDS
60%
ENDOWMENT
GIFTS FROM INDIVIDUALS & FOUNDATIONS
$1,407,622
GRANTS FROM OUR FOUNDATION PARTNERS IN 2019-2020: FOUNDATION
AWARD PURPOSE
Campos EPC Foundation
$161,483
History Colorado $118,591 State Historical Fund Anonymous
$100,000
Campos EPC SmartLab for Middle School division For Chapel Library historic preservation work - Phase 2
BOE* Campaign - Performing Arts Center
Anschutz Foundation
$30,000
Tuition Assistance Program
Goldsmith Family Foundation
$25,000
Annual Fund, Gala and BOE* Campaign
Virginia W. Hill Foundation
$25,000
Tuition Assistance Program
Galena Foundation
$5,000
Professional Development / Wings of the Future Award *Building on Excellence
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ALUMNI FAMILY SUPPORTS ENDOWMENT AT DENVER ACADEMY
Alumni Family Leaves a Lasting Legacy Because Denver Academy has had a huge impact on her family, Sylvia Simmons decided to establish an endowment fund at DA. The Simmons Family Fund was created in 2004 after Sylvia’s beloved husband Bob passed away. It has been a meaningful way to honor the memory of her husband and their son Rob.
from DA in 2010 and their daughter, Karen Simmons Lozow, has been a staff member for 18 years. Sylvia is well-known on campus, having volunteered in the Development Office for almost two decades. The Simmons Family Fund has provided the family a way to give back to DA and assist future generations of DA students.
Denver Academy is important to the Simmons family. Jacob Lozow, Sylvia and Bob’s grandson, graduated
DA ENDOWMENT FUND $5,314,405
BALANCE AT 6/30/19 GIFTS / TRANSFERS INVESTMENT INCOME (DISBURSEMENTS)
$31,719 $95,245 ($200,287)
BALANCE AT 6/30/20
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$5,241,082
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Since the launch of the Building on Excellence campaign in 2016, we have made extraordinary progress in raising over $19MM. We are proud to announce that DA is in the final stages of the campaign, focusing on raising funds for a new Performing Arts Center. We are so appreciative to our generous donors
BUILDING ON EXCELLENCE
who have helped us raise $4.6MM out of the $10MM needed to complete Phase I of this building. Thank you for staying Mustang Proud throughout this campaign and providing our students with the building blocks to grow and learn, the way they know best!
GOAL:
AS OF JUNE 30, 2020:
$25MM
$19.4MM
50th Anniversary Campaign
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Let’s give them a space worthy of their talent! 250 THEATER SEATS FOR MOM, DAD, GRANDMA, GRANDPA AND MORE!
LOBBY FOR PERFORMANCE BREAKS WITH DRINK AND SNACK OPTIONS
BLACK BOX THEATER FOR A PRIME VIEWING EXPERIENCE
VOCAL MUSIC CLASSROOM
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC CLASSROOM SCENE SHOP SO OUR BUILDERS CAN HAVE A SPACE TO CREATE
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SMARTLAB At Denver Academy, technology has always been a critical learning tool. Last year, we were able to make a huge leap in our use of technology with the generous support of the Campos EPC Foundation.
I am proud to be part of a community that accepts everyone for who they are and always pushes me to do my best. KATE LEVINSON, 10TH GRADE
The doors opened to the Campos EPC Foundation SmartLab in August 2019 for the Elementary and 6th grade students. They enjoyed a full year of experimenting, hypothesizing and learning. Students learned computer coding, problem-solving, project management, and much more.
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Thanks to Marco Campos and the Campos EPC Foundation for their commitment to Colorado students, Denver Academy students, and to leveling the playing field for more children to have a head start towards engineering skills.
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MOUNTAIN BIKING AT DA
My teachers challenged and encouraged me to reach hard goals. At Denver Academy, I learned that I was capable of a lot more than what I had thought before. SCHUYLER PARKER, 7TH GRADE
Riding Proud In 2018, Denver Academy was one of 37 schools selected nationally to receive a Riding for Focus grant from The Specialized Foundation to launch a Mountain Biking program designed for Middle School students. Under the grant, DA was supplied with the Riding for Focus curriculum, a fleet of Specialized bikes, a starter maintenance kit, helmets, and teacher training. Riding for Focus was inspired by the promising results of a pilot program back in 2012 with a group of middle school kids with ADHD, leading Mike Sinyard, Specialized Founder and CEO, to launch the Specialized Foundation* in 2015. Mike’s vision, as someone with ADHD himself, was to support cycling research and programs that help improve the social, emotional, and physical well-being of children. The enthusiastic response to the Riding for Focus Middle School program at DA led to expansion of mountain biking opportunities with a program for High School students.
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The High School mountain biking program was built on the skills and training provided for the younger students, but is held after school and usually off campus. During practices, the team loads up the van and the trailer and then heads to a nearby trail system. During the 2020 season, the team experienced four types of practices: skills, endurance, race simulations, and trail rides. They were also able to compete against other Mountain Biking teams across the Front Range. The visionary who champions mountain biking at DA is Coach Ben Ollet, a skilled cyclist himself. He has coached Olympic champions for more than 15 years and is thrilled to share his passion for mountain biking with the students of DA. “For many students in our Riding for Focus program, riding bikes in their PE elective became the highlight of their day. Overall, it’s just a really fun, cooperative, energetic atmosphere where fitness is part of the fun,” said Coach Ollet. *In 2019, the Specialized Foundation separated from Specialized and became Outride, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
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VIRTUAL GALA April has always been a busy time for DA, as volunteers and staff carefully prepare for the school’s biggest fundraising event, the Denver Academy Gala. The proceeds of the DA gala are vital to our Tuition Assistance Program and a treasured community event.
A Denver Academy Roaring ‘20s Ball
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In spring 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting Colorado and Denver regulations, we were not able to host our typical in-person Gala dinner and auction. Thanks to our Gala volunteers and the Development Office the event was reimagined as a virtual event with only a month of lead time. We invited over 2,000 guests to join our Head of School live on Zoom, April 18, 2020. The silent auction shifted to open online a week early and stayed open the entire week until after the live program. Due to the tenacity of the Gala acquisition team, the silent auction had a wealth of items for sale. Our sponsors generously committed to fulfilling their pledges of support as the event shifted to virtual.
his captivating humor and presence on screen. The program featured a video of four alumni who all graduated from DA 10 years ago. Each told their story of how Denver Academy prepared them for success and why they remain Mustang Proud. By the end of the evening, thanks to our dedicated committee members, Head of School Mark Twarogowski, auctioneer Debbie Scheer and The Gala Team, the DA Virtual Gala was broadcast successfully. We are incredibly grateful to our wonderful guests and supporters, who helped us meet our goal, raising nearly $350k for students who would need tuition assistance for the 2020-21 school year!
The live auction went forward as planned and Head of School Mark Twarogowski stole the show with
DA has helped me figure out my true passions in life and allowed me to be a part of things I enjoy doing. ROMAN WHITE, 10TH GRADE
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DISTANCE LEARNING
Transformative education still happens in a virtual world. We are so proud of our students and teachers for taking this challenge and adapting to online learning in March of 2020. Your gifts to DA allowed us to react quickly to the necessities of distance learning, and to secure the resources that were needed to ensure that all students and teachers were set up for success! Our faculty, staff and most importantly, our parents, thank you! Distance learning started on March 30th and continued until the end of the school year. Each teacher took the approach differently and created an innovative online learning experience for their students.
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We just want to say thank you for keeping us all in the loop and charting new territory with our kids. We appreciate what you, and all the faculty and staff are doing to keep things moving. DA PARENT
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2020
Samuel Adams Jamie Anderson Annah Bender Jackson Bennett Rachel Berke Ethan Bolin Sophia Bolshoun Keegan Bond Joshua Buccino
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Natalie Bullen Finley Burns Paige Cherubini Calvin Conger Emma DeHaven Justin Diak Jack Ferrie Dillon Flinchpaugh Natasha Fournier
Sam Goldberg Brynn Johnston Kristoff Kerr Oscar Krumbhaar Jeffrey Landis Taylor Lester Jake Levinson Lily Lowe Jack Manning
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Zachary McLeod William Miller Colin Munroe Johnathan Ochtera Benjamin Patten Emily Pedley Parker Shaw Robert Shehan Mark Sippel
Jack Tasker Magdalena Tisher Elena Van Horn Harry Voigt Kristian Wat Joseph Wogsland Jack Zegers Casey Zickerman
CLASS OF 2020
At DA, we have tremendous respect and love for our students. We understand that most have experienced previous learning environments where they were often
not valued and felt unsuccessful. It is a tradition and a right of passage at Denver Academy for every student to be celebrated in a personal and meaningful way.
Graduation 2020 consisted of 44 separate ceremonies! The ceremonies took place over two full days, each graduate having their own separate ceremony. They marched up to the stage to Pomp and Circumstance and were greeted by High School Head Mark Wood and Head of School Mark Twarogowski. Videos were shown at each ceremony, featuring a DA teacher selected by the graduate to talk about their academic journey. Each graduate picked up their diploma, and their parents moved their tassels from the right to the left of their caps. All of this was accomplished safely and in compliance with Safer at Home rules.
After the last graduate officially became an alum, the DA community gathered for a parade. Parents and seniors jumped in their cars and teachers and staff lined the parade route - the street through campus and the celebration continued, safely distant from each other. Even our neighbors at Clermont Park Retirement Community celebrated our grads from their balconies. It was an exceptional year, an exceptional class, and an exceptional celebration.
Senior Award Winners
Maggie Tisher VALEDICTORIAN
Colin Munroe SALUTATORIAN
Joe Wogsland SENIOR OF THE YEAR
Annah Bender
PHIL JOHNSON/LOU RADERS COMMUNITY SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
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FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOLADES Denver Academy takes pride in our incredible faculty and staff. They are passionate and dedicated to helping each student reach their potential. With extensive training on teaching diverse learners, they are the reason our students are taught the way they learn best, and their accomplishments are to be celebrated.
My favorite things about DA are my friends, the small class sizes, the campus, and the amazing teachers. Wings of the Future Award
Staff Member of the Year Award
KATIE BRADFORD Dean of Arts and Media
DIANE BERRY Assistant to Head of High School and Registrar
ROMAN WHITE, 10TH GRADE
Year of the Teacher This year, in honor of the vast challenges that each of our teachers faced during the COVID-19 transition to distance-learning, we are celebrating every one of our teachers for their hard work, dedication, flexibility and adaptability.
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2019-20 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Kristy Taddonio Mullins, Chair - Class of ‘94 Kent Berke, New Facilities Committee Chair Erica Bissette Carrie Burns Nikki Cady, Strategic Planning Committee Chair John Farnam Dylan Geller - Class of ‘92 Adam Goldsmith Bryan Hassler, Head Support & Evaluation Committee Chair Tim Healy - Class of ‘06 Mary Lester Steve Lockton Karen McNeil-Miller Amy Messenger, Development Committee Chair Kim Pankratz - Class of ‘89 Lisa Patterson, Vice Chair, Governance Committee Chair Steve Petrie Sheryl Stefaniak Barb Van Hare Barney Wilson, Finance Committee Chair
DA helped me gain confidence in myself and taught me that I am my biggest advocate. No dream is too big if you want it enough. If you work hard, you can achieve anything! MEGAN BLOOD-MARUYAMA, ALUMNI 2016
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I began at DA in the fall of 2017 and it immediately felt like the right school. I really appreciated how DA’s teachers adjusted the curriculum to keep me engaged yet challenged. ZOE MANNING, 10TH GRADE
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