Posted October 26, 2022
Dear Montclair Community,
Declining Enrollment is one of the biggest challenges facing Denver Public Schools. We know that students thrive when their school has the resources to provide consistent staffing, robust academics, whole child supports and meaningful enrichment programs. However, due to significant declines in enrollment caused by lower birth rates and changing neighborhoods, our smallest schools are struggling to offer these critical supports to all students.
For the 2023-2024 school year staff, students and families from Palmer and Montclair will come together into the new consolidated school. During the 2023-24 school year, they will re-envision the school together and identify any necessary shifts to meet the programming vision for the 2024-25 school year.
Consolidating schools will help ensure that students thrive in schools with stable enrollments so that they are ensured consistent staffing, robust academics, whole child supports and meaningful enrichment programs.
We believe it is important to keep students together in the combined/consolidated school. Therefore, all students for kindergarten through fifth grades will be automatically enrolled in Montclair for the 2023-24 school year, so it will not be necessary to complete a School Choice application. This is true for students who have choiced-in to the school as well as those who live in the boundary. Enrollment for ECE grades will continue to be needed. If you decide you would like to explore other school options for your student, you can access the School Finder and other SchoolChoice resources here. DPS’ Enrollment team is available to answer questions through our enrollment hotline: 720-423-3493.
Because we believe in the excellence of our educators and know our staff is critical to maintain continuity for our students, all school-based staff will have a guaranteed role at the consolidated school in the 2023-24 school year. Positions that are centrally managed (i.e. facility management) will be assigned a role in the district. School-based staff will not need to go through a hiring process, rather they will have a similar role in the combined/consolidated school.
The district will hire one school principal to lead the combined/consolidated school starting in the 2023-24 school year. This selection will be made this fall/early winter, and consideration for the role will first be offered to the impacted school principals. DPS will guarantee a school leadership role for either principal if they are not selected to lead the consolidated school.
Available Supports and Contact Information:
Additional information on available support along with answers to frequently asked questions can be found on DPS’ Declining Enrollment website. You can also reach out to me for questions and support. DPS will offer multiple opportunities to participate in a resource fair to connect with various teams and resources across the district. More information on dates and locations will be available soon.
In order to provide support during this transition, DPS has created various transition tool kits for staff, families and community members. For further support, please reach out to me or our Family Constituency Services helpline: 720-423-3054. DPS team members can also contact HRHelp@dpsk12.org.
Additional Details on the Process and Criteria:
In 2021, the DPS Board of Education directed district staff to lead a process of reviewing under-enrolled schools and making recommendations to address enrollment challenges. As a result, DPS convened a representative community working group called the Declining Enrollment Advisory Committee which identified guiding criteria for identifying, closing, and/or consolidating schools. This process is based on the committee’s first criteria to identify schools with critically low enrollment. Criteria #1 – Elementary and Middle schools with enrollment less than 215 students.
On November 3, 2022 the recommendation will be presented to the DPS Board of Education and on November 17, 2022 the Board of Education will vote on the recommendation. If the Board votes to move forward with these recommendations, then DPS support staff will work with both school communities to plan activities this winter and spring for the school communities to connect and get to know each other.
We know this is incredibly hard to navigate but we are here to support you, and again, hope that you can attend our meeting on Tuesday, November 1st at 5:00 pm for an opportunity to learn more about the process and ask questions.