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Enrollment in Denver Public Faculties is up for the second 12 months in a row, reversing a years-long development of declining pupil counts in Colorado’s largest college district. However Superintendent Alex Marrero mentioned the increase isn’t sufficient to cease plans to shut some colleges with low enrollment.
A preliminary rely confirmed 85,313 college students had been enrolled in kindergarten by twelfth grade on Sept. 30, up 2% from 83,410 college students in 2023 and up almost 3% over 82,997 college students in 2022. District employees offered the preliminary enrollment information to a college board committee Monday, cautioning that the official pupil rely from Oct. 1 gained’t be finalized till December.
Like final 12 months, the enrollment increase is because of immigrant college students, many from Venezuela and different South American nations, who’ve arrived — and stayed — in Denver, employees mentioned.
Of the 4,763 migrant college students who enrolled in DPS at any level final college 12 months, 68% had been nonetheless enrolled as of Sept. 30, in line with a district presentation. Of the three,941 migrant college students who ended final college 12 months with DPS, 80% had been nonetheless enrolled as of Sept. 30.
That’s larger than the 75% retention price the district was predicting based mostly on earlier years’ tendencies, mentioned Katie Hechavarria, DPS govt director of finance.
Nonetheless, Marrero and faculty board members have signaled that they are going to transfer to shut some colleges with low enrollment on the finish of the varsity 12 months. Regardless that total district enrollment is up for the final two years, it’s nonetheless decrease than it was earlier than the pandemic, when DPS had 86,949 college students in kindergarten by twelfth grade.
“Though we had a spike final 12 months due to our new-to-country (college students) and we now have just a little bit greater than we projected, it’s to not the tune of the 5,000 to eight,000 college students we misplaced,” Marrero mentioned in an interview Monday.
Marrero will make suggestions for which colleges to shut, and the varsity board can have the ultimate say. Marrero has mentioned he’ll current his suggestions on Nov. 7. The board is scheduled to vote two weeks in a while Nov. 21.
A part of the necessity for varsity closures, officers have mentioned, is that enrollment is uneven throughout the district. Some areas are experiencing progress whereas others are seeing declines.
That’s true on the college stage, too. The preliminary information reveals that some colleges, together with East Excessive, South Excessive, and Montbello Center, enrolled extra college students than anticipated this fall and can obtain additional per-pupil funding by a course of DPS calls “fall adjustment.”
Different colleges enrolled fewer college students and must give again some per-pupil {dollars}. They embrace Responsive Arts and STEAM Academy, or RASA, a model new elementary college in far northeast Denver that enrolled simply 109 college students, a lot fewer than the 225 the district anticipated.
RASA was speculated to open with kindergarten, first, and second grades this fall. However on account of decrease than anticipated enrollment, Hechavarria mentioned the varsity as a substitute opened with simply kindergarten and first grade, with plans so as to add further grades in future years.
DPS’ Okay-12 pupil rely determines how a lot funding the district receives from the state. The district has estimated it should obtain about $11,720 per pupil this college 12 months.
Preschool is funded in another way, however enrollment in DPS preschool can also be up from final 12 months, in line with the preliminary information. As of Sept. 30, DPS counted 5,125 preschoolers — greater than in any 12 months since 2019 — and nonetheless had “ample capability” for extra younger college students to enroll.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org .
