Title: GIS in School Administration: K-12 School Facilities Planning Author: Russell Minich Abstract The purpose of this presentation is to describe the process of using data resources and the results of using ESRI GIS as a tool to analyze, facilitate, and present master planning projects. The presentation will be comprised of examples from urban and rural public school projects. The urban example includes 25,000 students in more than 60 facilities. Its project goal was to develop a 10 year school facility master plan to upgrade/replace/renovate/close with a 20 year life span. The rural school includes 2,400 elementary school students in four facilities extending over a large area. This project goal was to accommodate the growth of student attendance and to refine the education programming while using existing facilities on a limited budget. Body Introduction Preparing today s students for the work world in a knowledge-based economy demands that educators have modern educational facilities and student teacher ratios that optimize learning. This is a challenge when confronted with aging school facilities, student migration patterns, and changing student demographics. This presentation looks at how GIS is used to analyze current school facility conditions, facilitate discussions among the many stakeholders, and present recommendations to the public and political leaders in a compelling and comprehensible manner. This presentation is based on actual public school projects in which the Timmons Group participated, along with Eperitus, an educational consulting firm in Richmond, Virginia. Project Process We organize our projects into four areas: Problem Definition Data Collection Analysis Results Our projects follow the general flowchart shown below. 1
Problem Definition Steering Committee ID Project Objectives Define Parameters Facility Assessment Student Information 40 30 20 10 0 Data Collection Educational Programming Analysis Scenario and Analysis Public Review and Comment Scenario Liberty Hall Hills Col t s Ne ck Refinement Ston ewa l Esta tes Lark Way M eadows Br andy Cree k Es tates Trave le rs Run Gard ner Estate s Public Review and Comment Results Scenario Recommendation Presentation Approval Plan Plan Implementation Problem Definition In order to address the problem definition, we identify and assemble a facility steering committee. This is a group of key stakeholders who develop the scenario and recommendations. The stakeholders vary depending on the size of the school district, but generally include: one or more members of the school board; school superintendent or designee; school staff involved with facility maintenance, student attendance, and fiscal responsibility; school transportation coordinator; and school information technology (IT) support staff. This represents the core project team. As the project progresses, additional participants are added on a temporary basis according to demand. The steering committee s first task is to identify the facilities assessment project objectives. These objectives vary from locality to locality. Typical objectives include determining which existing schools should be built to accommodate increasing enrollment; determining which existing schools should be renovated or closed; and determining new school attendance boundary lines based on changing student demographics and/or school facility changes. The GIS provides a tool to visualize the objectives and facilitates the organization of data. Once the project objectives are identified, we define the parameters that will be used during the analysis process. The parameters can be based on community groupings, (subdivisions), school facility capacities, targeted student teacher ratios, educational programming, etc. We also rank the parameters in terms of importance. During the scenario development process, we generally see changes to the parameters resulting from collaboration and negotiation. The GIS provides an excellent modeling and 2
evaluation tool. Parameter changes can be reflected and analyzed in real time by all committee members. Shown below are some of the evaluation parameters used on a recent project. SCENARIO EVALUATION PARAMETERS Method of Dealing with Growth (elem, mid, high) Utilization of Schools Number of Times Students Must Change Schools Definition of Neighborhood Set-up of a Feeder System Transportation Demographic Balance Identification of Natural Boundaries Balance of Enrollment Other Educational/Political Issues Data Collection We collect data in three key areas: 1. Facility Assessments This is where we look at the school buildings and core facilities (cafeteria, gym, auditorium, physical plant, etc.), instructional facilities (room quantity, size, and layout), and grounds (sports fields, recreation areas, parking). In addition, we capture the current school district boundary information and transportation routes. 2. Enrollment Information This is where we look at existing student enrollment data, enrollment history, and future enrollment projections based on the school. We geo-code the student residence and develop our own enrollment projections based on parameters including: live births building permits development/demolition plans historic population demographic and movement information historic student enrollment information Developing our own enrollment projections helps to validate the other projections and provides basic information for the scenario analysis. 3. Educational Framework This is where we look at the existing and desired grade configurations, class sizes, and school sizes. This provides us with a basis for understanding existing problems and making future recommendations. Spatial Data Resources The following spatial data resources are generally used in facilities planning project. Actual data used will vary depending on the project objectives and data availability. 3
Resource Description Uses Imagery Digital orthophotography School facility / surrounding community analysis / Student residence location Road network Road centerlines with address ranges Student Geo-coding/ Transportation planning Political State/County/City/Town Attendance boundary analysis boundaries boundaries Parcel / subdivisions Parcel and subdivision digital data Community build-out plans / Attendance boundary analysis Residential structures Structure location and addressing Student location / Attendance boundary analysis / Community analysis Hydrography Surface hydrography Attendance boundary analysis Facility evaluation imagery Current school attendance boundaries Current school transportation /Demolition plans Building permits Student data Historical student population Pictures of current core and instructional facilities Digital or paper maps of current attendance boundaries by school type (elem., middle, high) Digital or paper maps of current school bus transportation routes and bus capacity information Planned residential structure development Residential development inprocess Student ID, address, school attended, grade, age Historical student population by grade, by school Live births Record of live births for past 5 years U.S. Census Demographics, census Data geography, population info. Existing technology infrastructure Technology infrastructure location and available capacity information Facility change analysis / Attendance boundary analysis Provides a starting point of reference for analysis Facility change analysis / Attendance boundary analysis / Transportation planning Student population projection / Community build-out plans Historical view of development rate Student location / Boundary planning Student population projection Student population projection for pre-k and kindergarten Student location / Attendance boundary analysis / Community analysis School facility / Site analysis 4
Analysis The GIS provides an excellent interactive tool for scenario development. Information can be integrated, accessed, overlaid, and analyzed with respect to the project objectives and parameters. We typically begin with the existing boundary configuration and develop a series of alternative scenarios. The GIS provides instantaneous feedback to questions like What happens to enrollment, now and in the future, if we move this attendance boundary line? Is this school core sufficient to handle the projected enrollment? What would the impact be on the community and transportation infrastructure if we added on the school at this site? The ability to analyze information in a manner that all participants can see and understand facilitates discussion and consensus building. Comparison of Current w/scenario X Rohoic Elementary School Midway Elementary School Cox.-, 85 Southside Elementary School Bo y d tonpla n k.-, 85 Dinwiddie ElementarySchool Sunnyside Elementary School McKe nney Once several alternative scenarios have been developed, we gather public comment and input through public meetings and exposing it on a website. Once again, the GIS provides a valuable tool for presenting the alternatives to the public and visually responding to their comments. The committee meets again to consider the public comments. They review the impact of the comments on the objectives and project parameters. Scenarios are then refined, and at this point a preferred scenario begins to take shape. This forms the basis for our recommended scenario and implementation plan development. Shown below are examples of some comments and responses. 5
Public Request: Battlefiled Green would like to remain at Battlefield Park Elementary. Impact to Elementary Enrollment: Pole Green Battlefield Park 2000 589 764 2001 607 793 2003 665 835 2005 708 878 2009 779 954 Steering Committee Recommendation: Do not adjust the proposed master plan to include Battlefield Green in Battlefield Park. This does not achieve equitable distribution of students in these elementary schools. The plan as recommended focuses on overall future county needs at all levels. POLE GREEN Ñ E.S. Pole Green Station Spice Tree Fieldshire Raven Run Battlefield Green Hanover Meadow Ñ BATTLEFIELD PARK E.S. Public Request: The western part of Mechanicsville would like to continue to go to Stonewall and Lee Davis instead of transitioning to Chickahominy and Atlee. Impact to Middle School Enrollment: Stonewall Chickahominy 2001 1181 946 2003 1252 1024 2005 1317 1106 2009 1425 1250 Impact to High School Enrollment: Lee Davis Atlee 2003 1551 1158 2005 1629 1244 2009 1774 1398 Steering Committee Recommendation: Do not adjust the proposed master plan to leave this portion of Mechanicsville at Stonewall/Lee Davis. This adjustment would not achieve equitable distribution of students in middle and high schools and would seriously overcrowd Lee Davis. Mayfield Farms Rose Hill Estates Shady Grove Forest Fullview Ñ Green Oaks Windsor MECHANICSVILLE E.S. Windy Hill Estates Signal Hill Apts Hanover Green Olde Grove Results The committee selects the scenario that best addresses the project parameters. The selection is generally easy to make by this point in the project because all of the stakeholders have participated in the analysis and selection process. A formal presentation is made to the governing body that approves the recommendation or sends it back to committee for additional consideration. Once approved, the recommendation is developed into an implementation plan in which the fine details are spelled out and the facility plan becomes a reality. 6