Districts in communities experiencing population shifts are being challenged to address three businesss simultaneously: be responsive to the mights and educational needs of scholars from increasingly diverse backgrounds.

Districts in communities experiencing population shifts are being challenged to address three businesss simultaneously: be responsive to the mights and educational needs of scholars from increasingly diverse backgrounds, provide meaningful professional increase for an expanding or contracting workforce to convenient those needs, and ensure that state and federal accountability targets are met This studious mood reports on the efforts of single such district to design and implement a district-wide contented literacy instructional plan for its middle and high drills The results of the investigation show that the district was able to come together all accountability targets despite shifts in learner demographics and a 16% increase in the number of teachers onward staff.

Secondary gymnasiums across the country are struggling to make secure that their students make adequate yearly progres in reading. These progres targets are station each year to ensure that all scholars in an educational system, especially those in historically disadvantaged subgroup receive deserv attention (U Department of Education, 2002) The predominant focus of scholarship and research has been directed at urban place of educations across the nation, where 95% of first- and second-generation immigrants and 85% of all African American close examiners attend school (Fix & Passel, 2003) However, suburban educates have received comparatively less attention, despite the fact that they turn the thoughts increasingly similar to urban indoctrinates (Frey, 2001). For example, nationwide, the majority of Hispanics (54%) now live in areas designated as suburban (Suro & Singer, 2002)

This shift in learner demographics can be acute in rapid-growth institute districts around the county. Communities like Broward shire (Florida), Clark County (Nevada), and Maricopa shire (Arizona) have seen not solely a rapid rise hi the number of learners served each year but also a dramatic change in who is being taught in their academys For example, Broward County experienced a 58% increase in exercise population in the 1990s (Office of Urban Planning and unfolding 2003). By 2003-2004, nearly 65% of the observers enrolled were members of ethnic or racial clusters that would have erroneously been described as "minority" at an earlier time in U history (Broward shire Schools, 2004).

Districts with declining enrollment face similar challenges. Los of center-city populations have hit an urban districts hard, such as the Detroit, Michigan, Public trains which has estimated a los of 10000 observers in the past year (Moore, 2004) Also, rural districts are not shielded from this phenomenon. Small districts in Arkansas are considering consolidation in order to maintain supports and services. At the same time, the support privations are changing because of demographic shifts. For example, in northwest Arkansas, there has been an 800% increase in the number of Hispanic residents (Institute for Economic Advancement, 2004) Whether expanding, contracting, or experiencing demographic shifts, these changes add a layer of complexity to the challenge of improving observer achievement.

Districts across the nation face urgencys from outside as well as within. Chief among these external hurrys are the state and federal mandates to "leave no child behind," represented in the form of annually increasing achievement product targets and sanctions for not meeting those expectations. Community expectations of continued superior quality especially in districts that have have sexual delight withed a long-standing reputation of high academic achievement, contribute to internal hurrys Administrators often serve as the lightening scourge a role made more web by alterations in population size and demographics. In addition, veteran members of the gymnasium faculty may feel unprepared for the changes in the educational penurys of the students arriving in their classrooms. As Hannaway, Fix, and Passel (2004) noted,

We should exercise caution about being overly narrow in defining what we mean on "urban." Many schools and teachers in suburban areas are dealing with the same challenges as those in urban areas. so challenges may be particularly trying for older experienced teachers whose daily classroom life has changed dramatically in a short period with the influx of modern types of students, (p. 9)

Some exercise districts have adopted a proactive stance to address the complexities of shifting enrollment and accompanying changes in the soliditys and educational needs of the two students and staff. One rejoinder has been a schoolwide focus onward literacy (e.g., Fisher, 2001). In this mould teachers within a school agree forward specific content literacy instructional strategies. These strategies are used multiple times a week to teach the appease of the class. Over time, these strategies become familiar to learners, increasing metacognition (National Research Council, 2005) As learners become proficient, they begin using these strategies across their classes.

An additional benefit of this schoolwide approach is the consistent professional progress to maturity for teachers. The California Department of Education (CDE 2000) has make acceptableed that secondary schools develop and implement a schoolwide literacy initiative to improve scholar achievement. A template for the design of a schoolwide literacy plan can be ground on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/sd/ documents/swlit04template.rtf.