LONE TREE, Colo. — As the school year comes to a close, the Douglas County School District (DCSD) is reflecting on a year characterized by both academic achievements and challenging school consolidations.
Superintendent Erin Kane addressed it all in her second annual State of the District event at the Legacy Campus in Lone Tree Thursday night.
During the event, several schools received awards from the Colorado Department of Education.
Denver7 sat down one-on-one with Kane before her event, where she highlighted strides in the classroom and challenges the district faces.
"For the second year in a row, our school district is the top-performing in the Denver metro area," Kane told Denver7.
That's not all Kane is celebrating this school year. She said the district has achieved its highest graduation rate in 15 years (92.2%).
- Kane discussed how DCSD is addressing the need for bus drivers in the video player below
But with that success comes challenges.
"We're an 850-square-mile school district, so we're about two-thirds the size of Rhode Island. So, we have pockets of enrollment decline and we have pockets of tremendous growth," explained Kane.
In late April, the Douglas County Board of Education made a significant decision to consolidate six elementary schools in Highlands Ranch, a move that upset many families. Kane said the district faces the ongoing balancing act of addressing declining enrollment in Highlands Ranch amid immense growth in communities like Sterling Ranch.
- Kane addressed some top concerns she's heard from the DCSD community in the video player below
As this academic year comes to a close, Kane said the focus is already on the fall when the district plans to roll out a new strategic plan. Kane shared a sneak peek of what that plan looks like.
"First of all, I think we're hearing loud and clear that our families and our community want us to not take our eye off academics, right? They want to make sure that we continue to focus on ensuring our kids have top-notch literacy and numeracy," said Kane.
Beyond academics, Kane said there was an overwhelming response from the community for the push to focus on "adulting", teaching everything from financial literacy to insurance and basic home repair skills.
"Just making sure that our kids have all the skills they need to be able to go be independent and go take the world by storm," said Kane.
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