Enrollment dips, poverty rises in District 6

from The Greeley Tribune

Chris Casey

Enrollment is down in Greeley-Evans School District 6, while the district has a growing number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, according to data recently released by the Colorado Department of Education.

District 6 had 18,069 students in fall 2006, down 144 from 2005. It was the first decline in several years. The district added more than 1,000 students between 2002 and 2005, with the growth peaking at 18,213 in 2005.

Students qualifying for free and reduced lunches, a measure of poverty, increased to 9,276 in 2006 from 8,791 in 2005, a 5 percent jump. While other districts occasionally see a spike in free-and-reduced lunches -- those students shot up 22 percent in Poudre Valley School District in Fort Collins this year -- District 6 has seen a gradual increase in poverty.

District 6 serves the bulk of these students at eight elementary schools that qualify for Title I funding. Title I cash -- money that's above the per-pupil funding districts get from the state -- is funneled to schools with at least 75 percent of students on free and reduced lunches.

One program funded by Title I money, said Kathi Van Soest, District 6 director of priority schools, is extended kindergarten, where students get extra reading and oral language instruction.

"All-day kindergarten is really good intervention to do, and we'd love it for all the kids across the city," she said. "But at least the highly impacted (schools) are getting it."

District demographics show a growing Hispanic population and declining Anglo numbers. The district counted 9,356 (52 percent) Hispanic students and 8,187 (45 percent) Anglos in fall 2006. That compares to 9,275 (51 percent) Hispanics and 8,427 (46 percent) Anglo students in fall 2005.

The district this school year will form a diversity council as part of the school board's strategic plan. The council will include board members, parents, teachers, students and representatives from Aims Community College and the University of Northern Colorado.

At Monday's board work session, Superintendent Renae Dreier said the council's goal is to work toward better serving minority students.

"Fifty-two percent of our students are minority students, and issues of cultural understanding are important," Dreier said. "We have an achievement gap, particularly between our Anglo and Hispanic students, that we're going to have to deal with."