Our Program Model
It’s our responsibility, and our privilege to do more.
DDC works across our participating 9th–12th graders to engage students in small groups and/or individual skill-based enrichment work. Our comprehensive college success programs and rigorous academic enrichment courses provide our students with the academic skills needed to achieve mastery in key academic content areas and to deepen an enthusiasm for learning through independent and collaborative activities.
DDC’s program has three major components that, together, help our students succeed in and out of the classroom:
We offer College Prep Courses, Individual College Counseling, Near-Peer College Mentoring, College Tours, Financial Literacy for College & Beyond, Career Exploration & Immersion, and other enrichment activities to support our students to achieve postsecondary success in collaboration with their families.
College Prep Meets Life Prep
At DDC, we envision a world where all students have access to the resources they need to achieve their academic aspirations and beyond.
We also recognize that getting into college is just the beginning, which is why we offer a wide range of courses with topics that go well beyond studying for the SAT. This includes financial literacy workshops and college-level writing sessions.
Our dedicated and passionate staff, instructors, and volunteers are rooting and working for your success. We truly care about providing every student in our program with a comprehensive and personalized support network.
All of our college-bound students are empowered to bring their unique perspectives and experiences to the classroom and speak their truth, because we know every student has just as much to offer in our collective growth as our instructors and Columbia student volunteers. At DDC, we all learn from each other as we seek to improve ourselves and our world