Denver Public School officials see a promising future for the district as enrollment continues to climb for preschool and kindergarten classes.
Families of almost 8,000 students applied for slots in kindergarten or preschool classes for the 2010-11 school year — an increase of 35 percent over last year’s first-round total of 5,892, which at the time was a record.
“Clearly where this helps us is it creates that enrollment path for those students who come to us as 4-year-olds and continue on as elementary students,” Superintendent Tom Boasberg said.
Students who start in preschool tend to stay in DPS through sixth grade, according to a study presented to the school board in October.
The three schools with the highest number of applications — College View, Swansea and Bradley — serve mostly poor students and a large number of English-language learners.
This shows the district is being successful at reaching out to poor and Spanish-speaking families, Boasberg said.
This year, the district has about 5,500 students enrolled in preschool classes and about 7,000 students in both full- and half-day kindergarten — figures that have been growing each year.
DPS numbers follow a statewide trend in early childhood education. Enrollment in Colorado’s preschool programs has jumped 131 percent since 1999, with 29,701 students in pre-kindergarten classes, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
Kindergarten enrollment has increased 27 percent since 1999 to 13,812 students statewide, the department says.
Families are realizing the benefits to early childhood education, said Chris Watney, president of the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which has pushed to increase quality preschool programs for at-risk 4-year-olds and increase the number of kids in full-day kindergarten.
“Over the last 10 years we have seen more and more data showing the younger we give these kids these quality programs, the better the outcome,” Watney said.
DPS’s preschool program was buoyed by a voter-approved tax in 2006 that collects 1.2 cents on every $10 purchase to help Denver’s 4-year-olds attend approved preschools.
The program last year provided $7 million to the district in tuition support. But the Denver Preschool Program expects a 25 percent cut this year because of lower sales-tax revenue. DPS imposed a tuition increase for various income levels for next year.
Because of the program, DPS increased the number of students in full-day preschool classes fivefold with full- and half-day classes at 85 facilities across the city.
One of those facilities is the Center for Early Education, a building in an upscale neighborhood east of Washington Park that formerly housed Knight Fundamental Academy school. Now the early childhood center has nothing but 3- to 5-year-olds in each of its eight classrooms.
The center was created to help relieve pressure on surrounding schools that couldn’t meet the preschool demand. Now about 145 preschoolers whose home schools would be Asbury, Cory, Slavens, Steele and University Park schools are going to full-day classes at the center. The school also hosts a half-day kindergarten class from Cory.
Next year there will be 226 students.
“The hope is that the numbers that we start generating here will continue into the schools we are serving,” said Suzanne Rougier, director of program.
