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An all-girls constitution highschool in Denver that prioritizes bodily motion and social and emotional studying will shut on the finish of this college 12 months as a consequence of declining enrollment, based on a press launch from the college.
Ladies Athletic Management Faculty, often called GALS, will shut its highschool this spring however hold its center college open. GALS began as a center college in 2010 and added highschool grades in 2014. Whereas enrollment within the center college is rising, enrollment in the highschool has decreased 56% over the previous 4 years, GALS stated in a press launch.
Colorado funds constitution faculties per scholar, and faculties with low enrollment battle financially.
GALS Excessive Faculty at the moment serves 58 college students, 22 of whom are seniors, based on a spokesperson. GALS Center Faculty has 222 college students enrolled.
The GALS constitution board determined Thursday night time to shut the highschool, the spokesperson stated. Households had been knowledgeable after the choice was made, the spokesperson stated, and GALS is working with two different constitution faculties to seek out spots for its college students for subsequent 12 months. The primary spherical of Denver Public Faculties’ college alternative course of, wherein households apply to varsities for the next 12 months, resulted in mid-February.
“For a lot of college students, GALS has been a basis for educational development, confidence, and management, and we’re dedicated to making sure that our center college stays robust,” GALS Govt Director Timeri Tolnay stated in an announcement. “This resolution was actually heartbreaking, however by specializing in our center college, we are able to improve scholar experiences, spend money on key applications, and supply long-term stability for our neighborhood.”
A minimum of 14 different Denver constitution faculties have closed since 2018, most due to declining enrollment. That features an all-boys companion college to GALS known as The Boys Faculty of Denver that closed in 2020 after solely three years of operations.
Denver Public Faculties has additionally closed some district-run faculties as a consequence of declining enrollment lately. An extra seven district-run faculties are set to shutter on the finish of this college 12 months and three extra are set to partially shut.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
