DPS preschools likely to boost city enrollment, study shows

Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 20, 2006 at midnight

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Children who attend preschool in Denver Public Schools are more likely to stay in city schools through at least third grade, an analysis shows, as DPS prepares to offer a record number of preschool seats for fall.

The retention study, released this week, could make early childhood education a primary recruiting tool as the district seeks to bolster stagnant enrollment.

"We love ECE on its own merits," said school board member Bruce Hoyt, who co-chaired the DPS Task Force on Early Education and School Readiness, "but it sounds like that would be an additional benefit."

The analysis, which covers 1998-99 through 2003-04, shows that 72 percent of students attending DPS preschool were still in DPS in the third grade.

In contrast, 63 percent of students who attended a non-DPS preschool were still in a city school in the third grade.

In 2001-02, for example, 42 percent of the 5,869 kindergartners in DPS had attended a DPS preschool. Of those, 86 percent continued in DPS for the first grade versus 79 percent of kindergarteners who had attended a non-DPS preschool.

A year later, 78 percent of DPS preschoolers stayed for second grade compared to 69 percent of non-DPS preschoolers. By third grade, 73 percent of DPS preschoolers were still in the district compared to 63 percent of non-DPS preschoolers.

Cheryl Caldwell, DPS director of Early Education, said the number of preschool slots will exceed 4,000 for the first time this fall. A total of 4,212 slots, mostly for 4-year-olds, are open.

Nearly every Denver elementary offers preschool, with a small percentage funded by parent fees, the rest by a mix of state and federal programs such as Head Start.

But some principals, recognizing the recruiting draw, want to offer programs for younger children, too. This fall, two schools - Columbian Elementary in northwest Denver and Colfax Elementary in west Denver - will begin classes for 3-year-olds.

Altogether, about 200 preschool slots will be for 3-year-olds, Caldwell said, including classes at Westerly Creek Elementary in Stapleton.

And while there are waiting lists for 4-year-olds in some parts of the city, she said the demand is even greater for 3-year-olds.

Still, Caldwell supports Mayor John Hickenlooper's proposed sales tax increase to boost preschool access and quality for Denver 4-year-olds. The proposal would funnel 12 cents on every $100 purchase into the Denver Preschool Program, providing tuition credits for families and improvement dollars for preschool providers.

"The higher the dosage, the better the outcome," Caldwell said, referring to research showing full-time preschool is better than part-time and two years is better than one.

"The more money we put into preschool at whatever level," she said, "the more we can use resources to try to create the two years of preschool before you enter kindergarten and potentially full-day instead of half-day programs."

Staying in DPS

An analysis shows children who attend preschool in Denver Public Schools are more likely to still be in a city school in the third grade. Some highlights:

• Between 1998-99 and 2003-04, the years studied, the number of kindergartners in DPS ranged from 5,633 to 6,525. Each year, children attending DPS preschool made up less than half of the class.

• 85 to 87 percent of students who had attended a DPS preschool continued to first grade in the district. For non-DPS preschoolers, including those who attended no preschool at all, the range was 79 to 80 percent.

• 77 to 78 percent of DPS preschoolers became second-graders in the district, compared with 69 to 71 percent of non-DPS preschoolers.

• Children attending DPS preschool were about 10 percent more likely to still be in DPS four years later - in third grade - than those who did not attend DPS preschool. Between 71 and 73 percent of DPS preschoolers became DPS third-graders.

Source: Denver Public Schools

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