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Nearly one in 10 students in the state attend a school either outside of, or not run by, the district in which they live, reports Education News Colorado. That’s more than 66,000 students, or eight percent of all students statewide, “choicing out” of the schools in their own neighborhoods, up from three percent in 2001. Though an increasing number of students are studying online, the vast majority are traveling, in most cases to a neighboring district, in search of schools their parents or guardians likely believe will better prepare them for the future. Denver, for instance, lost more than 2,500 kids to Jefferson County, and only attracted about 1,100 in return.
At stake for the districts is money. Colorado Springs’ District 11 shuttered eight schools in 2009 following several years of declining enrollment, with D-11 hemorrhaging students to the private-run Charter School Institute, a neighboring district, and online programs. Wonder how things are playing out in your home district? EdNews has built a searchable database so you can find out.