Devinny Elementary School - Lakewood, CO

At Devinny, we have a long-standing belief that teachers' and students' abilities are developed through hard work and dedication - a growth mindset. Our staff strives to ensure the success of each and every one of our students by modeling the characteristics of Carol Dweck's growth mindset to embrace challenge, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as a path to mastery, and learn from feedback.

Our teachers create a love of learning for our students which transfers to resilience and grit. When our students are faced with challenging problems, they do not give up or quit but believe in their efforts and strive for excellence. Teachers provide opportunities for students to construct their learning and struggle through problem solving. At times, discovery can be frustrating. However, our teachers model resilience, showing students that through perseverance, mastery of learning will occur.

In addition, we believe it is essential to consider the whole child, not just their academic progress. For children to be successful in school, they must have their emotional and social needs met. In order to meet these needs we follow the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports framework (PBIS) which has had a profound impact on the climate and culture of our building. Together with our growth mindset and our positive school culture, Devinny's students are empowered to achieve to their highest potential.

We believe excellence is not a destination; we believe excellence is truly achieved by daily efforts of life-long learners.