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Cleveland City Schools reports stable overall enrollment, smaller kindergarten cohort and transition to new state data system
Summary
District data staff said early enrollments are broadly stable, with a noticeably smaller kindergarten cohort and about 650 new enrollments this year; the district also reported a switch to the state’s new TEDs reporting system and a successful rollout of PowerSchool forms for returning students.
District data staff told the Cleveland City Schools Board on Sept. 8 that overall enrollment levels are largely stable but that the district is seeing a noticeably smaller kindergarten cohort this year. Michael Carson, who presented the fall enrollment update, said the smaller kindergarten group fits a broader, nationwide birth-rate trend and that some parents may be “redshirting” kindergarten entry for children born during the COVID years.
Carson reported roughly 650 new enrollments since summer and approximately 570 student withdrawals or transfers out — numbers he called “typical” for the start of a school year. He also said about 155 students transferred between elementary schools within the district.
The district implemented PowerSchool’s online forms product for returning students this year; Carson described the rollout as successful. He said the forms product produced about 1,300 more completed forms in the first 13 days of availability than the prior system and that roughly 97% of required forms were completed before school started. Carson credited mobile-app ease, split forms per department and bilingual support staff for the high completion rate.
Carson warned that the Tennessee Department of Education’s shift to a new state reporting system (referred to at the meeting as TEDs) has created reporting challenges and asked the board for patience while the district adapts. He used an analogy to explain the disruption: the state’s change requires districts to identify and redirect many data connections to a new system.
Board members asked whether the district can track enrollment changes tied to private-school voucher use; Carson said the district currently has limited visibility because private schools and families do not report voucher usage into district or state public data. He said staff will try to produce the best available metrics during the year.
Board members asked for more detailed growth and cohort reports as the year progresses; Carson said staff will follow up with additional breakdowns and trend data.
Key numbers reported at the meeting (as presented by district staff): - New enrollments since summer: ~650 - Withdrawals/transfers out since summer: ~570 - Students transferred between district elementary schools: ~155 - Early kindergarten cohort: noticeably smaller than prior years (district to monitor) - PowerSchool forms completion: roughly 97% of returning-student forms completed before school began
Carson asked the board for patience as the district transitions state reporting to the TEDs system and said staff will continue to report enrollment trends and funding impacts to the board.
