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 support our students’ mastery of the academic skills necessary for college success through culturally-informed and relevant project-based courses across the humanities, arts, and STEM as well as a writing center and subject-based tutoring.
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.
We provide individual, small group, and community settings that engage our students and their families in cultivating our students’ physical, mental, and emotional health so they can succeed in all areas of their lives.
College Prep Meets Life Prep
At DDC, we recognize the potential in every student to succeed both in and out of the classroom.
We also recognize that getting into college is just the beginning, which is why we offer rigorous courses that cover a range of 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.
We challenge you to step into this opportunity so that you can realize your greatest potential as a student—and as a person. 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.
- Over 90% of DDC students graduate high school in four years and enter college the following Fall.
- We have helped over 25,000 NYC youth enter and graduate from college.
- Many DDC students go on to attend prestigious colleges and universities including the following Ivy League institutions: Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Yale University, Cornell University, and University of Pennsylvania.
- Collectively, students have earned 110 Masters and 12 PhD degrees.