Enrollment in Denver Public Schools dropped by about 1,200 students this year as the arrival of new immigrant students slowed, district officials told the school board Thursday night.
For the first time in three years, more immigrant students left the city’s schools than entered this summer and fall, district data shows. That outmigration is a sharp reversal and compounds the longstanding problems of falling birth rates and gentrification that have caused DPS enrollment to decline from a high point in 2019.
The district is predicting its enrollment will continue to decrease by an additional 8%, or more than 6,000 students, by 2029. The pattern sets the stage for some difficult decisions in the years ahead…