Denver Public Schools announces which schools it plans to close, merge

DENVER — After months of community meetings, Denver Public Schools — the largest school district in Colorado — released the list of schools it plans to close and merge.

Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero presented the list at a Board of Education work session Thursday. The list includes: 

Elementary Closures

• Columbian Elementary
• Castro Elementary
• Schmitt Elementary
• International Academy of Denver at Harrington
• Palmer Elementary

Grade Level Restructures

• Kunsmiller becomes 6-12 only (remove 1-5)
• Dora Moore becomes ECE-5 only (remove 6-8)
• DCIS Baker 6-12 becomes DCIS Baker MS (remove 9-12)

Secondary Closures

• West Middle School
• Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design

A public meeting to hear from community members will be held on Nov. 18. Then, on Nov. 21, the board is set to vote on the plan. Marrero has said that once it’s published, the list of school closures is final.

From September: Citing enrollment decline, Denver Public Schools weighs another round of consolidations, closures

In March 2023, the Denver Board of Education voted to close three schools due to “critically low enrollment.” Later, in September of this year, DPS announced it was once again considering closures and consolidations for the same reason: The school district reported that housing development trends and falling birthrates resulted in a decline of school-aged children in the city.

The number of students within DPS has increased over the past 20 years. Despite this, since 2019 — when 86,949 students were enrolled — the school district has seen a slight decline. DPS reported 85,238 students in 2020, 84,100 students in 2021, and 82,997 students in 2022.

RELATED: DPS says regional enrollment declines are making closures necessary

The arrival of more than 4,000 migrant students in 2023 helped increase those numbers, but DPS said they are not seeing the same influx this year.

Enrollment patterns are not homogenous, however. While growth in some regions has allowed DPS to open new schools, other parts of the district are seeing population declines. According to regional data from DPS, enrollment in the northwest region is down 9% over the past five years. It’s down 7% in the central region, and in the southwest region, it’s down 19%.

RELATED: DPS families worry about possible school closures ahead of final consolidation meetings

Following its announcement in September, the district organized six public information meetings to discuss the changes. According to its school consolidation and closure plan, DPS considered factors like the number of students on free and reduced lunch, how much changes would impact families’ distance to and from schools, and whether closures would segregate kids by race, language or economic class.

Rachael Krause and Janelle Finch contributed to this report.