School District 49 has reached a milestone.

The district, which encompasses the parts of northeast Colorado Springs and areas of unincorporated El Paso County around Falcon, is now the largest school district in the county, according to student population data released by the Colorado Department of Education Wednesday.

After trailing Academy District 20 for five years, D-49 surpassed D-20’s total enrollment during this year’s October student count.

District 49 added 850 students over the past school year for a total of 26,649. By comparison, D-20 lost 38 students, bringing its total down to 26,569.

“District 49 is growing through expansion and attraction as more families inside and outside our district choose our schools,” D-49 Superintendent Peter Hilts said.

“We are committed to be the best choice, and we are gratified that our excellent programs and educators continue to draw more choice than any other district in Colorado. We will continue offering exceptional choices that fulfill our mission to learn, work, and lead.”

D-49 is now the 10th-largest school district in Colorado, followed directly by D-20 as the 11th. Colorado Springs D-11 is now ranked as the 14th-largest district with 22,265 students while Harrison D-2 is ranked 20th with 12,301.

The slight drops in enrollment mirror trends felt throughout the state over the past five years. That said, Colorado lost 399 students, or 0.1%, from a year ago, which is the smallest percentage loss reported since 2017 and the smallest total student loss since 1988’s 155.

The state total for pre-kindergarten-12 students is now 881,065. It’s the lowest recorded count since 2013’s 876,999.

The decrease in D-20’s enrollment is only the second instance of this over the past 10 years and the first since the district lost 892 students in the 2020-21 school year. In a rare occurrence, the district reported no losses or gains for the 2023-24 year.

“Academy District 20 remains focused on our vision of instilling the knowledge, skills, and character in all Academy District 20 students,” D-20 chief communication officer Mark Belcher said in a statement to The Gazette.

“We are proud to consistently be a district accredited with distinction, reflecting the excellence of our schools, staff, and students. Our commitment is to provide exceptional opportunities for all learners, ensuring their success today and well into the future.”

According to the state data, Harrison D-2, Hanover D-28 and D-49 are the only three districts in the county to have gained students over the past five years.

Despite the overall losses, Colorado also reported gains in other demographics.

Declines continue to be felt in preschool through second grades due to declining birthrates, according to Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova, while the state posted gains in minority student groups like multilingual learners, homeless students and students with individualized learning plans (IEP).

The number of full-time home-schooled students and students registered in online educational programs also increased, a trend that dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elsewhere in El Paso County, Fountain-Fort Carson D-8, Ellicott D-22 and Edison 54 JT also reported slight gains in enrollment.

After reporting their own gains in 2023, D-11 continued its decade-long trend of losing students this year, with 479 fewer than the 22,744 reported in October 2023.

When reached for comment, D-11 Chief Information Officer Jessica Wise pointed to the gains the district experienced through all its programs, such as preschool programming, which is not included in this year’s state totals.

In the Denver area, the recent surge of migrant students over the past year resulted in gains for Denver Public Schools, Jefferson County Public Schools and Aurora Public Schools, with DPS seeing the largest gain of 2,215 students this year.

Despite the gains, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education unanimously voted to close seven schools and restructure three others in December in response to declining enrollment.

During a press briefing following the data’s release, Córdova pointed out that while her department currently has fewer of the stories behind data itself, they think the addition of the immigrant students probably had an impact on the state’s metro areas.

“I know that Denver has definitely said that [of] the new students who came during last school year, many of them have stayed in Denver, and that has contributed to their increase in enrollment,” she said.

Jefferson County Public Schools and Douglas County School District, the state’s second- and third-largest districts, reported enrollment losses of 677 and 113 students, respectively.

“We know that parents have many options for their child’s education, and public schools in Colorado and across the country are working hard to improve student engagement and strengthen relationships with students, families and communities,” said Córdova.

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to correct Mark Belcher’s title to “chief communication officer.” A previous version of the story referred to him as “chief information officer.”