Student enrollment growth in St. Vrain Valley Schools is outpacing most other Colorado school districts, according to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Education.
While the St. Vrain Valley School District saw a drop on enrollment during the pandemic, the latest numbers show the district has bounced back. District enrollment for the 2018-2019 school year was 32,629 students, and while that dropped in 2020 by more than 1,300 students, the fall enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year was back up to 32,629, the state data shows.
Neighboring districts have not recovered from lower pandemic enrollment numbers, however. The Boulder Valley School District’s 2018-2019 enrollment was 31,169, which dropped to 29,240 in 2020-2021, and dropped again to 28,487 for the 2022-2023 school year, according to the state report.
Adams 12 Five Star Schools went from 39,282 in 2018-2019 to 35,747 in 2022-2023 after losing the enrollment of more than 2,600 students during the pandemic. Greeley-Evans School District 6 went from 22,503 in 2018-2019 to 22,373 this school year.
Most Colorado school districts have seen a decrease in enrollment since 2018, the state data shows.
Enrollment is higher in St. Vrain Valley Schools near the Interstate 25 corridor, but has plateaued or waned in schools closer to the mountains.
One of the factors behind the district’s pandemic rebound is housing growth — particularly in Longmont and Weld County, said Scott Toillion, the district’s director of planning.
The district also works hard to offer programs and initiatives that boost enrollment, he said.
“Our programming and offerings — particularly at high school levels … are attracting students from outside of our attendance area — open enrolling,” Toillion said.
Nearly 200 students enrolled from outside the district’s attendance area this school year, he explained.
Another factor behind the enrollment rebound is higher local birth rates, Toillion said.
“In some areas of Colorado, birth numbers are declining,” he explained. “But we’ve kind of held steady and we’re seeing some increase, so we took some pretty good jumps in preschool enrollment this year.”
Toillion was hired in 1995 as the district’s first planning director, and he has witnessed major changes over the past 28 years.
“What we’ve seen is significant growth — bursts in migration, you know, with people moving into the area and kind of this gradual shift,” he said. “It’s still a little more in Boulder County, but Weld County is catching up.”
District officials continually work on longterm planning, which includes coordinating with communities’ comprehensive plans, to ensure local schools are prepared for enrollment growth, Toillion said.
“There’s still the potential for 70 to 80,000 students in the build-out of our district, so we’re in kind of a place where, we’re not all the way built out — time will kind of tell and the economy and all that — how the rate will continue,” he explained.
