DPS could close and replace 5 schools if test scores don't improve

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 acad