Typically, when one problem impacts one urban school districts most urban districts are impacted. Most of the districts had a decline in enrollment. The declining enrollment has numerous causes the main cause is the decrease in the number of children entering school.
At one point we had a baby boom-let. There were thousands of children entering the elementary schools and a great deal of construction. Now we have new schools with a small number of students attending. We will probably have to close some schools.
This school year there was an unprecedented number of urban administrators transferring from district to district. The causes of the relocation will be discussed later.

We are witnessing a plunge in our enrollment. The decline is so significant that some teachers may loose their jobs after the kids are counted. One of my teachers informed that the national teachers group was now looking at the shift in enrollment. Where were they when this pattern first started?
It seems like too little to late. The decline started years ago and urban educators conducted business as usual.

Last school year I allowed our new model to dominate my thinking. This year I am placing the model in it's place. I am going to use it as a tool to improve teaching and learning. We are planning to recapture the students that we lost this year. The only way we can hope to achieve this goal is to improve teaching and learning. We are going to work with our teachers in a more collaborative environment under the umbrella of the Academic Content Standards.

Our test scores are in and they do not look good. It seems that we did not provide our students with the essential tools required to pass the test.
My colleagues and I are going to review the results and plan for the next school year. I am extremely disappointed in myself and my district.

This has been a momentous year for our students, teachers, and staff. We started out with changes and we are ending our year with changes. Some our our faculty and staff are being relocated to different schools.
One teachers' attitude was "as long as I have a job, I don't care where they move me." Other teachers were emotionally overwrought. I always dislike moving teachers to new buildings. The HR director typically comes over with a letter for the individual. I liken his behavior to that of the grim reaper.
I am going to start planning for the next school year with the knowledge that we may have to make a significant change to reflect any changes.