DENVER — As hundreds of new migrant students continue to enroll in Denver Public Schools, the district is making some changes to keep up and plan for the next school year.
Thursday night, district leaders shared an update with the DPS Board of Education – something they’ve been doing regularly over the last few months. The presentation, titled “Update: New Arrivals” covered enrollment, support for schools and community engagement.
DPS categorizes new migrant students as “New to Country." In their February report, the district says:
- 3,402 New to Country students have arrived since July 2023.
- Since the beginning of the school year, 200-250 New to Country students have joined DPS per week.
The official school count that determines funding happens in October, but many of these children enrolled after that deadline. Because of that, the district said they are missing out on more than $17 million dollars in state funding.
DPS already amended its budget this year to support schools receiving migrant students, and the district is starting to build next year's budget with a lot of uncertainty ahead.
“That’s a 1,200, almost, student increase since winter break,” said Chuck Carpenter, chief finance officer for DPS. “We were talking about how this was unprecedented when we were here in December, then the curve steeped upward. It's hard to overstate that. If that keeps happening, this is going to continue to be even more of a challenge.”
During Thursday night’s meeting, the district shared updates on some of the changes already made: new school bus routes, schools hosting welcome meetings, hiring more staff and coaching teachers in hopes of helping integrate migrant children.
“What is happening in every one of these schools, and I wish I could call out every one of them, is showing a tremendous amount of humanity,” said board member Scott Esserman. “We’re pivoting and we’re doing right by kids and it's exactly what Denver Public Schools should be doing.”
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