Early College of Arvada charter school will close at the end of school year in Colorado

A community in Arvada is struggling to find the next steps after they found out the Early College of Arvada, a grade 6 through grade 12 charter school, is closing. It's a trend seen across the state and nationally with both declining birth rates and high home prices/rent playing a role in declining enrollments in schools.

Part of a chartering authority's obligation is to make sure a school is financially viable because of the impact it has on families.

Even though many families were passionate about what this school offered, without enough students enrolled, the school could not keep its doors open.

A For Sale sign has been placed right outside of the building of the Early College of Arvada. For students like senior, Fiori Staadt, it's upsetting news.

"My freshman year of high school I failed pretty much all of classes and once I moved to this school I found more structure," said Staadt.

Staadt adds the one-on-one interaction she got with her instructors was crucial in motivating her to do well in school.

Her mom, Justine Staadt adds that the school played a huge role in her daughter's success.

"I am kind of disappointed because it was a great school for my daughter and it's kind of a saving grace for us," said Staadt.

Jacob Bader, a social studies teacher at ECA finds the move by the Colorado Charter School Institute disappointing as well. He says CSI's decision has a lot to do with high financial risks.

The school closure is in part due to declining enrollment, a decrease in academic performance and increasing financial risks.

"Our building expense is about 30% of our budget and they're just afraid that we are at risk… fortunately our director has done a great job in getting us into the black, but they did not see that as enough," said Bader.

Declining enrollment was identified as a concern during the 2018 and 2020 charter renewal, according to CSI.

In 2020, the school found that it would be necessary to enroll 290 students for financial viability.

However, according to the CSI board, the enrollment issue continued to decline over time and the number of younger students enrolling is not as equivalent to students graduating. 

A larger group of students have graduated, but enrollment dropped from 360 students in 2018-19 to an estimated 187 students in 2023-24.

They are not the only ones dealing with enrollment challenges, it is a trend seen beyond surrounding districts.

However, JeffCo Public Schools, which is the district near many students who have attended ECA, has closed 21 schools over the last three years.

Most of these schools were elementary schools meaning that the population of nearby middle schools is not likely to increase.

The most recent closures include a middle school and two K-8 schools which are set to close at the end of the school year.  

Compared to neighboring districts, Westminster School District and Jefferson County School District, ECA has seen more severe decreases in enrollment.

According to CSI, high financial risks due to unsustainable facility costs and financial risks connected with the school's facility were of concern during the 2018 and 2020 charter renewal.

In the charter renewal report in 2018, the facility costs were projected to be 23% of PPR, the school purchased the building the year before but the renewal report noted that without increases in enrollment, the facility costs will continue to "absorb between 20% of PPR presenting a risk to the school's financial viability over the renewal period."

The school went from 360 students in the 2018-19 school year to 187 students for the 2023-24 school year.

"The school budget forecast that was submitted as a part of the 2023 renewal includes facility costs at 30% of PPR, which exceeds the recommendation that facility costs do not exceed 20% of PPR," CSI stated in a non-renewal memo.

Legislative change in 2023, Reliance on Enrollment Averaging Funding Mechanism allows the CSI board to access the state's enrollment averaging funding mechanism, which then medians the enrollment over several years for schools experiencing declining enrollment.  

The purpose is to lessen the impact of enrollment variances from year to year.

Despite the students having to find a new school, more than 20 staff members will be left without employment by the end of the year.

"Unfortunately, because we are not a big district, we are not guaranteed jobs," said Bader.

Leaving all the stress on the staff to figure it out.

Though being unemployed concerns Bader, it is not his biggest concern. Bader is worried for the students who depend on the school, either for early college credit or as a dual-language school.

"This is huge because a large percentage of our students come from disenfranchised homes and just need extra opportunities," said Bader.

According to U.S. News, the Early College of Arvada has an 81% graduation rate and the school has nearly 76% minorities, with 67.7% Hispanic.

A parent spoke with CBS News Colorado's Jasmine Arenas and shared a story about the impact of the school. She arrived from El Salvador a couple of years ago and enrolled her son in a nearby public school.

While her son attended public school, he was bullied for not being able to speak English. She then transferred him to ECA where he thrived and even became an honor student.

This shows the importance of charter schools and the impact it has on students.

Across the state nearly 50% of students at Colorado Charter Schools Institute are minorities. CSI currently has 43 schools and serves about 20,000 students across the state.