Colorado’s student count continues to fall in many parts of the state, with overall enrollment in public schools plummeting by more than 10,000 this school year to 870,793 kids in preschool through 12th grade classrooms.
The drops first hit Colorado schools during the pandemic, when enrollment saw a serious decrease of nearly 30,000 kids, a 3.3% drop in overall enrollment. Student counts dipped again during each of the past three school years, according to state data.
Declining enrollment is a trend that’s happening beyond Colorado, with schools across the country also seeing fewer kids showing up to classrooms. The National Center for Education Statistics projects that by 2032, enrollment will drop to 46.9 million kids from 50.8 million in 2019.
A range of factors has fueled the freefall in Colorado, including a drop in births in the last 20 years, a dwindling population in 30% of Colorado counties over the past decade and an uptick in the number of kids switching to part-time, online and homeschool programs.
This school year, declining enrollment impacted the state’s largest school districts and its smallest. All 10 of Colorado’s biggest districts and nine out of the state’s 10 smallest districts have fewer students compared with last year.
Denver Public Schools, the district with the most students, dropped by 1.4%, or 1,240, to 89,210.
But declining enrollment is not universal — 46 of the state’s 178 districts gained students this year, primarily in suburban and rural districts. In Weld RE-4 School District in Windsor, for instance, enrollment jumped by 150 students this year, a 1.7% increase. Meanwhile, enrollment in 27J Schools in Brighton climbed by 276 students, up 1.1%.
What’s happening to enrollment at your school and in your district? Drill down into specific numbers using this interactive map created for The Colorado Sun by the Keystone Policy Center.