Duluth Edison Charter Schools (DECS) is a public charter school located in Duluth, Minnesota. As a public charter school, we serve students from Kindergarten through Grade 8 free of charge.
Our mission is academic and personal excellence for every student. We are a PBIS (Positive Behavior and Intervention Systems) school focused on the core values of respect, responsibility, compassion, justice, courage, integrity, wisdom and hope.
In addition to quality offerings in math, language arts, science and social studies, we offer an array of specialists subjects. Visual arts, physical education, outdoor science, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and music), Spanish, and music are offered in some combination to all of our students on an every other day basis. Students in grades 5-8 have three music choices — band, choir and music appreciation. With these offerings, possible because we have a longer school day, we are truly seeking to address the whole child.
DECS opened in the fall of 1997 as a joint effort of Duluth Public School District 709 and the Edison Project. Our founders include former Superintendent Mark Myles and parent Dawn Silvestrini.
When we opened, DECS served 500 students in two locations — grades K-5 at Kenwood School and grades 6-8 in the district administration building. In the fall of 1999, because of increasing demand, the Raleigh building opened in West Duluth to approximately 300 K-5 students. That same year, students in grades 6-8 moved to the former Washburn School to help ensure both more space and green space for the students. In the fall of 2011, DECS opened North Star Academy — combining the K-5 grade population from Kenwood and the 6-8 students from Washburn. At this time, North Star has approximately 1000 students grades K-8 and Raleigh 300 students in grades K-5.
The school maintained a long and positive relationship with the Edison Project until assuming self management on July 1, 2016. The school now operates as an independent public charter school governed, per Minnesota charter law, by our own Board of Directors made up of parents, community members and teachers.
We encourage you to take some time to further explore our website and learn more about us.