A swarm of students — some happily greeting teachers and reuniting with friends, others nervously clinging to their parents’ legs and rubbing bleary eyes — kicked off the first day of the new school year on Monday at Newlon Elementary School.

First grader Leoncio Mestas said he’s most excited to learn and have fun this school year. Fourth grader Lucianna Mestas-Trujillo, while proudly showing off her pink lunchbox covered in bows, said she’s most excited to eat lunch. 

Parents Gregory Trujillo and Larissa Mestas, who just moved the family to the district from Westminster, said a successful school year would involve hands-on learning for their kids, thorough communication between the district and parents and no bullying. 

Mestas, a West High School alumnus with family ties to Newlon dating back 40 years, said the familiarity of the district and the school is a plus. 

“This is their first year in DPS, but they’re really excited because I came to these schools,” she said. “My brothers came to these schools. A lot of our family came to DPS. We’re all from here, so it’s nice. It’s bittersweet — (them) carrying on the legacy. You know what I mean? Letting them come to the places that we went to.”

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero, Colorado Department of Education Commissioner and former Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susanna Córdova and several district leaders and staff stopped by the bustling elementary school to welcome students and families.

Speaking to the crowd of students and families gathered outside Newlon Monday, DPS Board of Education President Xóchitl Gaytán asked families to “please keep coming back,” saying the district needs “support, love and encouragement for the teachers as well as our students.”

Nearly 89,000 students across the 198-school district stepped back into the classroom Monday — 210 fewer pupils than the 2025-26 school year.

The district’s enrollment has been steadily declining since its 2019 peak of 92,112 students — something Marrero attributed to a declining birth rate nationally and an increasingly untenable cost of living in Denver.

“(We’re) moving in the wrong direction, but it’s not because of choice,” Marrero told The Denver Gazette Monday. “What we can say is that we have to address that … and perhaps it could be time for us to relook at that and rightsize.”

Marrero said the district may start trying to recruit more students from other districts like Aurora, Adams or Arapahoe in an attempt to get enrollment numbers back up.

He pointed to recent standardized test scores as a positive for the district.

DPS essentially regained its pre-pandemic performance in English, with 42.46% of students meeting or exceeding expectations this year, compared with 42.7% in 2019, according to the 2026 Colorado Measures of Academic Success or CMAS.

In math, the district has surpassed its pre-pandemic performance: 34.99% met or exceeded expectations this year, up from 32.7% in 2019.

Returning to or even slightly exceeding the pre-pandemic levels does not mean high performance: Despite the gains posted in Denver and across the state, the results mean only about a third of students are meeting or exceeding math expectations and less than half are doing the same in English.

This school year, students won’t only be adjusting to being back in the classroom after summer break; they’ll also be adapting to a new electronics policy that bans personal devices, such as cellphones, smartwatches and earbuds while inside school buildings at any time during the day.

The school board unanimously passed the “Bell to Bell” ban in June to the relief of some parents and guardians and the chagrin of others who expressed worry about being able to get in contact with their students.

Marrero said parents or guardians will be able to contact the school’s main office to relay messages to their students, that messaging is possible on the district’s Chromebooks and that, in the case of an emergency, the district will communicate directly with parents.

“I hear usually that it’s best for them (parents and guardians) to hear from the official source with the facts, as opposed to what sometimes happens — students communicate, in a panic, inaccuracies,” he said. “We’ll be able to communicate facts in a very timely way.”

The bell-to-bell ban was enacted to comply with a new state law requiring a cellphone policy. Marrero said research points to positive academic outcomes with a personal device-free school day.

No students will be suspended or sent home for violating the new policy — but repeated violations may involve verbal warnings, devices being taken away and meetings with parents, the district said.

Students with specific Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 Plans, or medical needs may also be granted exceptions, according to the district.

Marrero said a successful 2026-2027 school year will involve students being present, on time and ready to learn every day and joy and passion being ignited across classrooms.

Marrero’s advice for students this school year?

Keep an open mind.

“That’s how you can spark the curiosity, and possibly ignite something,” he said. “So, (come in with) an open mind, an open heart and open communication.”

Nico Brambila contributed to this article.