02 · Programs

Three pillars.
One posture.

Find a Way is the seminar. Entrepreneurship is the studio. Design is the workshop. Together they form the spine of how DCCS Upper Schoolers learn to make things that matter.

Pathway · 01
Anchored by Jeremy Donovan, Upper School

"Find a Way"

Our problem-solving ethos, woven through the Upper School: design thinking, real stakeholders, and the posture that every broken system is an invitation to build.

Find a Way is more than a class — it's the philosophical and practical spine of the Center. Students learn to discern problems clearly, prototype solutions in real materials, and ship to real users. Faith, craft, and consequence sit in the same room.

9–12
grades served
7
core values
K–12
long-term vision
Studio · 02
Coached by the Innovation Center faculty

Entrepreneurship

Ten student-run incubator teams — apparel, media, hospitality, engineering, finance — take on real customers. Revenue is the report card; ethics is the constraint.

The DC Innovation Incubator runs ten venture teams led by 2–3 student executives each. Students answer to real customers, manage real margins, and build the muscles of stewardship under market conditions. The work is graded on outcome, not effort.

10
incubator teams
2–3
execs per team
$10K+
assets under student management
See all 10 incubator teams →
Studio · 03
Led by the Center Director, Matthew DeFranza

Design

A maker-forward studio — audio/video, 3D printing, laser cutting, screen printing, robotics — where students move from sketch to shipped artifact.

The Design studio gives students the tools and the room to make. A 4,000 sq ft new build with conference rooms, hoteling stations, a wet lab, and a small auditorium opens the door for serious craft. Existing kit includes a professional A/V studio, 3D printers, a laser cutter, drones, robotics, and screen-printing gear.

4K sq ft
new build
4
MacBook Pros
12
hoteling stations