Cherry Creek’s MIKE DEGITIS shares the success of the school district’s new program
By Kastle Waserman
Traditionally, career success meant graduating from high school, earning a college degree and securing a good job. However, college graduates currently face an increasingly challenging job market, along with being saddled with student debt.
Seeing the writing on the wall, the Cherry Creek School District recognized that there are other routes to a successful career.
“The school district made a bold move to break the mold and build the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC),” says Mike Degitis, the infrastructure engineering pathway lead at CCIC.
Degitis worked as a math teacher in the district. He jumped at the chance to be part of the new campus when it opened in 2019, offering pathways such as construction, automotive and aviation maintenance, hospitality and culinary arts, IT and cybersecurity, aerospace manufacturing, and health and wellness.
They based the pathways on what the job market needs, Degitis says. With his background as a math teacher, the construction pathway was a natural fit for him to lead. “I identify the math skills needed for trades such as a machinist or business entrepreneur.”
He helped oversee the birth of the center’s construction project, which involved building tiny homes as part of Denver’s Colorado Village Collaborative to create micro-communities for individuals transitioning from homelessness.
“I was heavily involved in working with nonprofits and helping the homelessness effort in Denver,” says Degitis. “My colleague and I were putting our heads together and thought it would be great if we could find a project that was suitable for the students, but also community-centric. The two worlds just collided.”
The students contributed 25 tiny homes over five years, until the initiative came to a close in 2024. Then, Degitis says he scrambled to find another project for the students. Eventually, he connected with Habitat for Humanity in Berthoud.
“They were open to receiving modular units in their habitat communities. So, I pitched the idea of building a 1400-square-foot double-wide,” said Degitis. “We can build it in the school’s parking lot, then ship it to put in a finished basement. A new family will get a beautiful home that’s fully student-built.”
Degitis says the project allows students to fully experience every aspect of home building, from the structure to the plumbing and electrical systems. “It’s a really valuable project for the students, especially since we see a lot of growth of modular homes in the construction industry,” he says.
The program has become so popular with students that there are often more applicants than can be accepted. To address this, they’re adding more pathways to CCIC 2.0, including HVAC, welding, veterinary sciences, and media arts. They also started evening classes for adults to train as a nurse aide or pharmacy technician.
Degitis says the best part is seeing kids take their skills into the real world. “I’ve had students come back and say, ‘I haven’t made less than $125K since I graduated high school,'” he says proudly. He and the staff at the center are ahead of the curve in addressing the labor market’s needs. “We know sixty percent of the workforce is going to retire out in the next ten years,” says Degitis. “We’ve got one hundred and fifty kids that are ready and eager to go to work!”
Cherry Creek Innovation Campus
8000 S Chambers Rd.
Centennial
720.554.2600
ccic.cherrycreekschools.org
