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<br />Demographics Advisory Committee Report <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Questions Demographic Data Can Help Answer <br /> <br />Committee members gathered demographic data to help in estimating public school emollment. Answers <br />to the following questions are found in this report starting on page six. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Counting School Age Children <br />I) Where do incoming school-age children corne from? How can we [md them all and count them? <br />Identifying School Enrollment Options <br />2) How do we determine the number of school age children who may opt to enroll in our district? <br />3) What options exist for school age children living in our district? <br />4) What do demographic patterns tell us about future choices that district residents may make about <br />schooling their children? <br />Effect of Household Composition on Demand for Public School Services <br />5) What do demographic patterns tell us about household composition of families in our district? <br />Effect of Birthrate Trends on Demand for Public School Services <br />6) What do birthrate trends mean for public school emollment? <br />Changes in Trends for Students with Unique Needs <br />7) What are the trends for children with special needs and what demands do they place on the district. <br />What is the trend in the district for students receiving free or reduced lunches, an indicator of income <br />levels. What is the trend for students in the district receiving English as a Second Language (ESL) <br />services? <br />Student Turnover <br />8) Are the numbers of transient students growing and what demands do transient students place on the <br />district? <br />City Housing Issues <br />9) How does the availability of affordable housing affect a family's decision to settle in a community? <br />What is the status of affordable housing in our area? What is the potential for new affordable housing <br />in our area? <br />10) As the population ages, what can be done to create a balanced multi-age community? <br />Ethnic Trends <br />11) How is the etlmic composition of our district student body changing? <br />12) What do trends in birth rates by etlmic group tell us about the change in the future number of students <br />who may need to be served by our public schools? <br />District Actions Influencing Enrollment <br />13) What can our School District do to influence emollment? <br />14) How can our School District do to more accurately predict student enrollment? <br />IS) In the key years of Kindergarten, seventh grade, and ninth grade, are our schools doing everything they <br />can to create a welcoming atmosphere for new students? Families of students moving from private <br />schools or home schooling may be "shopping" for schools prior to these grades: how well does our <br />School District succeed in attracting these students? <br />16) What can our School District do to support households that need flexible and innovative before and <br />afrer school child care while adult members are working. <br />Staff Composition <br />17) How well does our district staff mirror the student body in terms of etlmic group and gender? What <br />can the district do to make it more similar? <br />18) What will be the effect of the staff retirements expected in the next few years? <br />19) How should we attract and retain new staff members? <br />The report that follows attempts to use demographic data to answer these challenging questions. The <br />Committee hopes that our efforts give the Superintendent and members of the School Board insights <br />into how demographic patterns among the people served by Independent School District 623 may <br />impact future decisions and directions. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />May I, 2002 <br /> <br />5 <br />