Platte Canyon School District Enrollment Continues to Decline

This year, according to the CDE, total enrollment for our district K-12 has decreased 6.5%. Over the last decade the average rate of decline has increased from 3% to 3.9% The highest rate of decline (non-pandemic years) were FY17 and FY18 at 7.3% and 7.2% respectively.

Currently, there has been no comprehensive discussion from the Board of Education on the efforts to increase enrollment or strategies to slow the decline. Recently, one board member mentioned adding more LED signs at the high school campus to better advertise student achievements.

The State of Colorado overall is experiencing some decline, .2% for FY23 and .5% over the last decade. Most districts through out the State are also facing decline.

How we compare to our adjacent districts that are 4-day school districts:

District 5 year FY24 FY24 enrollment*

Platte Canyon -17.4% -6.5% 678

Park Cty RE2 -13.9% -2.3% 521

Clear Creek -13.7% -3% 593

**Adjacent Jefferson County schools(Conifer High, West Jeff Middle, Elk Creek Elementary) 5 day school district:

Jeffco -6.4% +1.2% 1,644

*All counts are based on K12 enrollment to remain consistent with the original study completed by the 2015 Strategic Plan Umbrella Committee. Recently, Pre-K data was added to the graph to start tracking trends.

**These schools in Jeffco are the biggest draw from our district. Over the last 5 years 1,234 of Platte Canyon students have gone to Jeffco schools averaging 206 students per year. These two districts are not comparable, but can be relevant due to proximity.

Will the move to 4-day week schedule help, will the move to the high school campus make a difference, will the new preschool increase the stagnant enrollment, will the board engage on this issue?