Denver Public Schools sees "unprecedented" surge in enrollment of migrant students

Superintendent of Denver Public Schools Dr. Alex Marrero is sharing details on the impact that migrants from Venezuela and other countries are having on schools across the district. Since summer, DPS has enrolled more than 2,200 students who are new to the country.

Thursday night was the first regular meeting of the new DPS Board of Education. The superintendent's team reported that 924 students have arrived since the October count day. 

That means schools receiving migrant students are underfunded by nearly $14 million.

And are seeing some class sizes grow beyond sustainable levels.

Board member Xochitl Gaytán who represents southwest Denver said, "I'm looking at this through the lens, Dr. Marrero, of declining enrollment."  

Gaytán said she was not seeing significant enrollment of the newcomer students in her district and considered the new arrivals could help fill schools in her district, where 10 schools had previously been placed on a list to be considered for closure or consolidation.

Adrienne Endres is the executive director of Multilingual Education for DPS. She has a team of people who're trying to help redirect resources, but points out that some schools are getting significantly more enrollment than others, given the migrants are using word of mouth to find affordable housing, or attending schools near city-run shelters. They also are drawn to schools where they hear teachers speak Spanish.

About 75% of DPS schools have received 10 or fewer new-to-country students this entire school year (since July 2023), while 13 schools have received more than 50 students.

Endres said her team has been "Getting in classrooms with teachers and leaders and say 'Yeah, you're overwhelmed I see it. I feel it. And we can get through this. We have the tools for this. It's not what you expected. It might not be ideal, but we can help you get there."

DPS is grappling with how to manage the weekly enrollment of new students- many of whom have had schooling interrupted by long and sometimes traumatic journeys to the U.S.

Board member Scott Esserman asked the district to consider budget flexibility to direct more dollars to schools affected by the surge in enrollment saying, "We don't know how long this is going to continue. We don't know how this is going to impact us into the spring and for the remainder of the school year," adding "We're dealing with an unprecedented situation."