DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s schools are only trickling back to their pre-pandemic enrollment numbers, and enrollment among certain demographic groups is still falling.
Schools across the country shed students in the 2020-21 academic year. Nationally, enrollment dropped by 2.9 million elementary, secondary and post-secondary students from 2019 to 2020.
Colorado’s student enrollment crashed by 30,000 students in the same time. This year signals a recovery, but a small one. In the 2021-22 fall semester, the state added back only 10% of what it lost in the pandemic, about 3,300 students.
Students haven’t been coming back in equal numbers across demographic groups, either.
The minimal enrollment gains made in the fall of 2021 were concentrated almost entirely in two groups – students identifying as Hispanic/Latino and students identifying as two or more races.
Colorado schools gained 4,357 Hispanic/Latino students, 2,449 students of two or more races and 125 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students. The school system has fewer white, Black, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students, however.
There were still 3,106 fewer white students, 191 fewer Black students, 211 fewer Asian students and 105 fewer American Indian or Alaska Native students.