A geographic information systems (GIS) is a powerful relational database that stores, relates, manipulates and reports data, but it also includes a geospatial or mapping component. Where a relational database presents data in tables, graphs and charts, a GIS does that plus it stores points, lines, and polygons that can be presented on maps.

GIS is not a new science—it actually got its start back in the 1960s—but in the last decade or so, it has become more and more common in our everyday lives. For example, we use GIS applications on our phones to lookup routes and tell us how long it will take to walk, ride a bike, or drive there. We find gas stations, stores and restaurants in relation to where we are. We go to maps online to find out more about things like the spread of disease, available resources by area, and wildfires. Maps mixed with dynamic data are an effective way of communicating important trends and information, helping to answer questions and revealing patterns and relationships in data we may not otherwise see.

There are many GIS applications from which to choose, some are free and open source. But effective use of software—even free or low-cost software—requires resources that may not be available and an ongoing need that would justify the investment in an inhouse GIS system.

A GIS consultant is an effective alternative.

To setup the GIS to answer questions specific to your district or organization, your consultant will need to customize the GIS with your data. Data elements include points, lines, and polygons that lay on top of your geography—translation: buildings, bus stops, food pickup centers, childcare centers, students, clients, etc. (points), and boundaries of your district and internal zones such as school attendance areas or wards (lines and polygons). You will need to work closely with the consultant initially to get your data loaded. The process of inputting your points, lines, and polygons into the GIS is involved and something they specialize in so you can leave that in their hands.

Once your data is loaded, the GIS opens a world of possibilities: just ask the questions and see what answers are to be found.

• Where do our bilingual students live in relation to our schools with bilingual programs?
• To which other schools should we assign students who attend School X that we plan to close?
• Where is the best location to build a new school given the growth in our student population?
• How do we ensure we maintain equity of services and education and minimize student travel time?
• What will be the effect on our school attendance numbers if we allow/do not allow inter- and intra-district transfers?
• How can we identify client addresses who live within our service zones so funding can be properly allocated?
• What would be the effect on bussing costs and student travel time if we increased our walk-ride buffer from one-half mile to one mile around each school?
• Where do the students live who did not show up to school and what is the quickest way we can send staff out to do a personal visit?
• What households are affected by the flooding (or fire or earthquake, etc.) in the east side of our district?
• What would be the effects of changing our school boundaries to address inequities in educational services? And, how do we best communicate the changes to the boundary lines?
• What would we see if we overlaid a map of Internet services over our students’ residences? Is there anything we can do to improve Internet access and service in poorly covered areas?
• What would we see if we overlaid a map of crime data over our students’ residences? Is there anything we can do to help with student transportation in these areas?

The questions and answers are almost endless. Find a GIS services company that will input, store, and maintain your district or organization’s geospatial data into a GIS and then remember to consider the geospatial aspects when challenged with communicating information to your stakeholders, evaluating options, and asking what-if questions.

First let’s define GIS, and who better to do that than National Geographic¹:

A GIS map is a scientifically accurate computerized map that is fit onto a known coordinate system of latitude and longitude values and stored in a GIS. We carry around GIS maps with us every day on our smart phones. Google Maps, Mapbox, Waze, and Apple Maps are all examples of GIS maps.

These map applications have changed the way we navigate ourselves around town and how we look up and find resources. They have changed our expectations for accuracy of and access to location information. We expect immediate access and complete accuracy because we rely on them for so many important things. (And, we really don’t have time to get lost driving around!)

Your school district is no different. Parents and students, administrators, staff, and the public all need and rely on location information that is unique to your district.

It might surprise you to know how difficult it is, generally, to find district and school boundaries on district websites. Some districts have lists of schools but no maps. Some maps are outdated. Some are drawn on paper and then scanned to a PDF. Local information overlaid on district maps is mostly not available.

We will make a bold statement here: Every school district needs a GIS map—a map of boundaries, attendance areas, and sites precisely plotted with accurate geographic features and points of interest. Ideally, to support parents and students, the GIS map would also show local information, such as student bus stop locations, school sports venues, childcare and after-school centers, school board areas, and even local fresh food sources, shelters, public sanitation stations, and food kitchens, overlaid within the district’s boundaries.

Here are just a few uses of GIS maps:

• Share accurate boundaries across partnership organizations (e.g., city, county, or disaster agencies).
• Contribute content for decision making and presentations in administrative and board meetings.
• Provide spatial data for future boundary planning and boundary adjustments.
• Provide school assignments and possible alternate school choices to parents.
• Present as graphics in reports and documents.
• Provide location information, points of interest, and special zones (e.g., board areas) within the district.
• Combine display methods (e.g., maps, data tables, pictures, charts) in one system for more complete information.
• Analyze future trends by modeling time series data.
• Use an online and desktop GIS software applications.
• Provide an easy-to-use self-serve school look-up for parents and the public.
• Use for “what-if” scenarios to look at possible policy changes.
• Look for patterns and relationships in district, school, and student data to develop programs and interventions that positively impact student success.

The science and technology are here and there is no reason school districts — organizations that are geography based — should be using imprecise, outmoded, or outdated maps.

1) GIS in National Geographic’s Resource Library

Google Maps, Mapbox, Waze, and Apple Maps are tradenames and the property of their respective owners.

By David R. Johnston, GIS Manager, David Johnston GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations—helping users make smarter decisions.¹

Businesses have been quick to understand the marketing advantages of GIS technology, but how can school districts benefit?

Let’s start to answer that question with an example from business—say, a restaurant. We are all familiar with online mapping applications like Google® Maps™and Apple® Maps. We can enter the address of a restaurant, and the app will then give us the restaurant’s location by putting a pin on a digital map. We can also access additional information in a GIS database such as photos of the restaurant, reviews, coupons, and any other information that has been linked to that location.

Public school districts use very different types of information, but GIS technology can link student-level data to a geographic location and reveal insights that can lead to efficient problem-solving. Districts can analyze where students live in relation to school facilities and develop solutions to challenges such as opening a new school, closing a school, reconfiguring grade levels, changing attendance boundaries, or balancing demographic groups across schools.

GIS technology connects students and their associated data to geographic locations through a process called geocoding.

What is geocoding?

Geocoding is a way of finding or seeing a location on a digital map. “Geo” refers to a map of the earth, and “coding” refers to putting a point on that map. Geocoding an address results in a set of X and Y coordinates that identifies a place on the earth where that address is located. Geocoding applications take addresses and convert them into X and Y coordinates that can be used in a GIS database.

How does geocoding work for school districts?

School districts geocode their student addresses so they can see where their students live on the map and analyze their student data geospatially, meaning in relation to where they live. The district enters addresses that are stored in their student information system (SIS) into a geocoding application, and the application returns the X and Y coordinates. The X and Y coordinates are pieces of data that can be added to student records.

Without an application that uses those X and Y coordinates and converts them to a point on a map, they are not very useful. So, once the X and Y coordinates are stored in the student records, they can be used in a GIS application that will convert them to points on a map. The GIS application may also provide tools for data analysis that combine multiple types of other data with the location information.

Ten Benefits of Geocoding Student Addresses

Geocoded addresses are used by school district administrators and planners to

1. Double-check the accuracy of the addresses in the district’s SIS and make corrections according to the geocoded address information.
2. Analyze transfer policies by looking at a map to see which students are living outside the district’s boundaries and which students reside in the district but are transferring to other schools within the district.
3. Calculate the distance that students travel to school and review transportation (walking vs. riding) policies.
4. Review school attendance boundaries to see if they are appropriately serving students living in or transferring into schools within the district, and, if needed, develop boundary change scenarios to provide data for decision-making.
5. Analyze student counts by grade-level and review grade level configurations at schools.
6. Analyze student demographic, program participation, and special needs data geospatially.
7. Layer other types of data, such as economic data, crime data, and access to fresh foods over the district’s student data to see patterns, correlations, or gaps in programs or interventions that may be needed.
8. Review feeder school patterns (i.e., elementary schools that send students to middle or junior highs, and middle or junior highs that send students to high schools) to (a) identify the nearest schools to where students live, and/or (b) review capacities and utilizations of the receiving schools by geographic areas.
9. Help calculate enrollment forecasts using geographic areas smaller than a full school attendance area, potentially accounting for varied growth rates across the geographic area of the district.
10. Identify students and enable communication with families who may have been affected by natural disaster.

As a school district, what do I need to do?

The district prepares a spreadsheet file of the student records from the SIS that contain at least a student ID and address. Addresses can be parsed (separated) into multiple segments (i.e., the house number, direction, street name, city, state, zip) or concatenated as one string.

Some GIS applications allow a direct connection (i.e., via an application programming interface [API]) between the district’s SIS and the geocoding application—in which case, geocoding the addresses is a more automated process than downloading and uploading data files.

Other student data such as name, gender, birthdate, program participation, race/ethnicity, test scores, and language proficiency can be included in the data file. The GIS application that uses the geocoded data can then report and analyze other student data in addition to the ID and address.

Does geocoding work for all addresses?

No, some addresses will return an error in the geocoding application. This can happen for a variety of reasons. For example, if any part of the address is incorrect or if the address is so new that it has not yet been included in the X and Y coordinate system, then the address cannot be geocoded. Large companies, like Google, Microsoft, and Apple, update their addresses and streets continually; but because streets change often, there can be gaps in their coordinate databases. Some districts’ SIS data will result in 100-percent-geocoded addresses, but others, depending on whether there is a lot of new construction in the area, may result in less than that.

What happens if an address does not geocode?

If an address does not geocode, it may need to be reviewed for accuracy and corrected in the SIS. Geocoding is a good way of checking the district’s SIS addresses and correcting them if needed.

If the street or address is correct but very new, it can be run through multiple geocoding applications to see if one of them has the new street or address coordinates in its database. If none of the available geocoding applications will geocode the address, geocoding may need to wait until later once the new streets are added and X and Y coordinates are updated.

1) “What is GIS?” on Esri.com