The District was established in 1950 as a result of a state-led consolidation of 39 small rural school districts, most of which were comprised of historic and simplistic one-room schoolhouses. Today Jeffco serves a diverse population of students in densely populated urban areas, mountain communities, and suburban neighborhoods.
In the Denver metro area, the latter half of the 20th century brought with it a population boom, as evidenced by the upsurge of suburban communities built from the 1960s to 1990s. As census numbers throughout the District increased, schools and articulation patterns (elementary to middle to high) were simultaneously built to accommodate school aged residents. During this time, school choice was not yet codified and almost every student attended their assigned neighborhood school. The District placed new schools and drew corresponding boundary lines in an attempt to keep up with fast-paced growth.
When school choice laws were adopted in Colorado two decades ago, the neighborhood school model – while still the norm – was challenged. Charter and option schools became part of the educational landscape, and families began (and continue to) proactively choose schools each year. In the 2021/22 school year, 52% of all District students attended a school other than their assigned neighborhood school.
Since 2001, Jeffco has experienced a shift in demographics, which has led to declining enrollment. Birth rates have slowed, and the affordability and availability of housing has resulted in fewer families with school-age children in Jeffco. As the school-age population has shrunk, some District schools have become significantly under-enrolled, and buildings underutilized. In response, the District has engaged in a school consolidation process for elementary schools and, in phase II, will review K-8 and middle schools and begin to plan for High School 2.0 in articulation areas across the District.
The District seeks to hire an experienced and analytical leader or organization to conduct a comprehensive study of the district’s current school boundaries, articulation patterns, enrollment patterns, and student assignment protocols and policies, in an effort to make strategic recommendations, grounded in the District’s current and anticipated context, to District staff that could be, in turn, implemented.
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