A new report by Denver Public Schools predicts that enrollment will decline by 8%, or 6,005 students, by 2029. As a result, more school closures could be needed by 2030, the report says.
The district is most likely to recommend school closures in the northwest, southwest, and central parts of the city, because those regions will experience the steepest enrollment declines, says the annual report, known as the Strategic Regional Analysis. DPS released it Thursday.
Southwest Denver is expected to lose nearly 2,720 students by 2029, according to the report, while northwest Denver is expected to lose nearly 1,200 students and central Denver is expected to lose nearly 900 students.
The predictions come just days after DPS closed seven schools with low enrollment at the end of this past school year and partially closed three more by removing some grade levels. The process that led to those school closures, like most, was marked by fierce community pushback.
Enrollment in DPS peaked in 2019 before steadily dropping for several years. Student counts ticked up slightly in the last two school years, driven by an influx of migrant families.
But decreasing birth rates and continued gentrification that pushes families out of the city are expected to lead to enrollment losses in the coming years, the report says.
The report highlights other trends:
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
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