Denver school closures: These 10 schools are listed for permanent ‘consolidation’
Denver Ite
Seven schools could close and three others will be restructured under a new plan released by Denver Public Schools on Thursday.
The schools identified for potential closure are:
- Columbian Elementary School
- Castro Elementary School
- Schmitt Elementary School
- International Academy of Denver at Harrington
- Palmer Elementary School
- West Middle School
- Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design
The schools that could be restructured are:
- Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy could lose its 1st through 5th grade classes, keeping only 6th through 12th grades
- Dora Moore ECE-8 School could lose its 6th through 8th grade classes
- DCIS Baker 6-12 could lose its high school classes
Denver’s school board has two weeks to digest the recommendations before it is set to make a final decision on Nov. 21. The planned restructured are considered program changes, and do not require a board vote.
This is Denver’s second round of school closures in recent years. In 2022, Denver’s school board received a list of ten schools recommended for closure. After a months-long process, it voted only to close three of them — Fairview Elementary School, Denver Discovery School and the Math and Science Leadership Academy — citing “critically low enrollment” at each campus.
Why are more schools on the chopping block?
The last round of closures didn’t solve the district’s financial problems, district leaders said..
Across the district, enrollment is trending downward. While enrollment ticked upward this year as immigrant students arrived, many schools are operating well below capacity. Elementary schools are only using 69 percent of their capacity on average, according to district data.
That’s expected to get worse in the coming years, with the district blaming declining birth rates and families leaving Denver due to high costs of living. DPS officials say operating schools with low enrollment comes at a high cost — at those schools, the district pays significantly more dollars per student.
DPS leaders say closing schools is a way to get ahead of the curve. Instead of waiting until enrollment declines in the future, they’re opting to consolidate schools now..
How did DPS decide which schools might be closed?
In addition to schools with low enrollment, DPS took a look at several other factors, according to Chalkbeat:
- How many local students are “choicing out” of their neighborhood school to attend other schools.
- How many students who live in other areas “choice in” to each school. Schools closed in 2023 were historically not “choice in” schools.
- Programs available at each school, like English-as-second-language programs
- The quality of infrastructure, like whether it has air conditioning or enough space for students
- Academic performance
While infrastructure is a factor, many schools across Denver Public Schools will be getting critical renovations funded by a bond measure passed by voters earlier this week.
This is a developing story and may be updated.