Denver Public Schools’ leaders are preparing for the possibility of adding new schools — as many as six — for the first time since the 2018-19 academic year.
Colorado’s largest district, which has been downsizing in the face of falling K-12 enrollment, will issue a “Call for Quality Schools” in December for applications from potential operators — and this year, unlike the past seven years, DPS will actually have a need for new schools, according to a presentation given to the Board of Education on Thursday evening.
District officials want to open a new school in 2027 in the Gateway neighborhood in Green Valley Ranch, where enrollment is growing. But DPS’s most significant need for applications comes via Superintendent Alex Marrero’s plan to potentially close schools for poor academic performance and restart them with new operators.
At least five low-performing Denver schools could close if their test scores don’t approve this year and, if that happens, DPS administrators will consider replacing them with new schools in the fall of 2027.
Those schools are John F. Kennedy High School, Rocky Mountain Prep Noel, Traylor Academy and Cheltenham and Oakland elementaries.
“We are prepared to engage in these tough conversations, but we are not desiring to make these decisions,” Marrero said, adding that district leaders hope the academic performance at all five schools improves.
Marrero announced his new School Transformation Process policy earlier this year, which DPS leaders will use in an effort to turn around low-performing schools that are on Colorado’s Accountability Clock before the state Board of Education intervenes.
The policy harkens back to DPS’s reform years, when district leaders used measures such as restructuring school operations, creating new schools or closing buildings entirely to improve test scores.
Under the policy, low-performing schools can also face changes to their programming, staff and even the number of grades they offer.
Marrero’s policy significantly differs from previous administrations in that the district has asked charter schools to give up their right to appeal closures to the state Board of Education. If they agree, then charter schools could be among those to close and reopen under the School Transformation Process.
Students, parents and other community members have long criticized previous administrations for closing and restarting schools, saying that such policies displaced students of color. It’s unknown whether the school board would approve such decisions under Marrero’s policy as several current members and candidates in next week’s election have said they won’t close schools for poor test scores.
“These ratings don’t always reflect what’s happening in the schools, which is why we cannot always solely rely on the data because it doesn’t tell a complete story,” board member Michelle Quattlebaum said during the meeting.
DPS administrators won’t recommend a school be “reimagined” — closed and restarted — until the 2026-27 academic year. If a school is recommended to be replaced with a new provider, and the board approves the plan, then the new school would open in the fall of 2027.
The district can also close schools permanently under the policy.
Schools that are on their fourth and fifth years on the Accountability Clock will be recommended for closure and potential replacement, according to Thursday’s presentation.
The state gives schools and districts ratings based on things such as standardized test scores and graduation rates. If a school receives one of two ratings — turnaround (which is red) or priority improvement (which is orange) — then they are on the state’s Accountability Clock. If a school stays on the clock for five years, then the state steps in.
Of the five DPS schools at risk of closing, two of them — JFK and Rocky Mountain Prep Noel — are on their fourth year on the clock. Three others — Cheltenham and Oakland elementaries and Traylor Academy — are on Year 3.
Abraham Lincoln High School is exempt from the School Transformation Process because it is already under state intervention, DPS spokesman Scott Pribble said.
If the five schools see their test scores improve and earn higher ratings in 2026 and 2027 then they will exit the Accountability Clock and no longer be considered for closure.
If the schools perform well next year, but fall back to a “red” or “orange” rating in 2027, then they will also be considered for closure, with potential new schools opening in 2028, according to the presentation.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.