The number of children enrolled in Colorado public schools continued to climb steadily in 2014-15, driven by growth in urban and suburban districts and an increasingly diverse student population.
The count for those in preschool through 12th grade stood at 889,006 at the state’s traditional October checkpoint, up from last year’s 876,999, an increase of nearly 1.4 percent, according to data released Thursday.
That ranks a shade below last year’s 1.6 percent growth rate but is consistent with the average growth rate of 1.7 percent in the past 20 years, the state Department of Education said in releasing the figures.
“It does fit in the general pattern of the last two decades of continued growth,” said Jan Petro, the department’s director of data services.
Urban and suburban districts gained the most students — 5,564 — mirroring population trends in Colorado. Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district, grew 3.3 percent, to 88,839 students.
Schools authorized through the Charter School Institute — charters that are not authorized by districts — gained 3,573 students after losing students last year.
Students enrolled in online educational programs continue to be a small piece of the pie — they account for about 2 percent of all students — but are growing, up 5.2 percent from last year to about 17,000 students.
Students classified as being of two or more races were the fastest-growing racial group, increasing from 30,625 in 2013 to 32,707 in 2014.
In raw numbers, Hispanic and Latino students had the largest growth. Their numbers increased from 287,402 in 2013 to 294,435 in 2014.
Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971, egorski@denverpost.com or
