Enrollment hits lowest level in a decade

Statewide numbers fell by 1,800 students — less than 1% from last year — in October

Enrollment in Colorado’s public school districts has reached its lowest point in a decade as fewer children registered to attend the state’s schools last fall, continuing a multiyear decline through the pandemic that largely is the result of falling birth rates.

Statewide enrollment in preschool through 12th grade fell by 1,800 children in October to 881,464 students, according to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Education.

The decline is smaller than the drop recorded last year, with enrollment falling less than 1% from the 2022-23 school year. But it comes as enrollment in the state’s public school system has fallen in three of the past four years.

The last time Colorado’s public school enrollment was this low was in 2013, when there were 876,999 pupils statewide, according to the education department.

“Public school systems across the country are experiencing declines in student enrollment, particularly in the early grades,” said Susana Córdova, the state education commissioner, in a statement.

Elementary schools have been hit hardest by declining enrollment, but state data shows there are also fewer middle schoolers than during the last academic year.

Declining enrollment has placed financial pressure on school districts, including those in metro Denver, as fewer children means less funding. In recent years, the state’s two largest school districts — Denver Public Schools and Jeffco Public Schools — have begun closing schools. The Douglas County School District, the state’s third-largest district, also is preparing for potential school closures in the coming years.

“We’re just learning to live with the reality of new low enrollment,” said Superintendent Tracy Dorland of Jeffco Public Schools, which saw districtwide enrollment drop by about 900 students.

By the end of this academic year, Jeffco Public Schools will have closed 20 schools since 2021.

But the district is still serving about 90% of school-age children living within its boundaries, meaning that falling enrollment is being driven by declining birth rates and high home prices — and not by more students being homeschooled or going to private schools, she said.

Although public school enrollment declined, the number of students homeschooled in Colorado increased 8.4% to 9,406 and the number of children registered in online educational programs rose by 3.4% to 31,839.

Public school enrollment is falling for several reasons.

Fewer babies are being born, more people are dying and not as many people are moving to Colorado, state demographer Elizabeth Garner said in a presentation to the state Board of Education last week.

Nationally and in Colorado, births peaked in 2007 and have dropped since because of falling teen pregnancy rates and women waiting until they are older to have babies, she said.

And as DPS has discovered, enrollment is also tied to housing — in terms of home prices and the type of homes built. In Denver, gentrification and rising home prices have contributed not just to fewer children attending the city’s schools but also to the changing demographics within DPS as classrooms have grown whiter and richer in recent years.

But in a surprise, enrollment increased by 371 students in Colorado’s largest district, with 88,235 pupils registering to attend DPS schools for the 2023-24 academic year, according to state data. Last school year, DPS lost about 1,000 students.

DPS expected enrollment to decline again this academic year, but it saw more students from outside of the district register at its schools and a decrease in pupils leaving, said Russell Ramsey, executive director of enrollment and campus planning.

However, DPS’ enrollment was mostly boosted by the arrival of more than 2,700 migrant students, he said.

The district is seeing about 100 new newcomer students — which is what DPS calls pupils who are new to the country — register each week. However, DPS had almost 300 new students join the district last week, he said.

“This was definitely a curveball,” Ramsey said of the influx of new students. “It’s kind of slowed the speed of the (enrollment) decline.”

DPS officials don’t know exactly how many of the children will stay in Denver and how their arrival will affect enrollment in the long term.

“We think this will maybe change the trajectory or slow the trajectory” of declining enrollment, Ramsey said, adding “It’s still something we have to prepare for.”

Overall, 113 of Colorado’s 178 public school districts saw enrollment declines during the 2023-24 academic year. Two Boards of Cooperative Educational Services — or BOCES — and the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind also saw fewer students enroll, according to the education department.

Jeffco Public Schools and Douglas County School District lost more than 900 students each, with total enrollment counted at 76,172 and 61,964, respectively.

The Cherry Creek School District, the fourth-largest district in the state, lost 529 students, recording a total student count of 52,419.

And enrollment remained relatively flat at Aurora Public Schools, with the state’s fifth-largest district reporting an increase of 97 students for a total count of 39,148 pupils.