GuideK12™, provider of geovisual analytics for education, announces that Calcasieu Parish Public Schools has implemented its technology to translate student data into actionable insights.
GuideK12 aggregates disparate data and visualizes information to allow analysis on a range of needs such as academic performance, language, economic, boundary planning, emergency preparedness, and resource optimization. An administrator can create multiple “what if” scenarios and see immediate results on a map for faster decisions with a web-based tool. By mapping data, patterns and trends emerge that may have been hidden in a spreadsheet or not available before.
““With GuideK12 we are able to see data that wasn’t previously available to us. What used to take weeks to put together, now takes only minutes," said Dr. Sheryl Abshire, Chief Technology Officer of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Many districts, like Calcasieu Parish, are faced with budgetary issues and declining enrollments. "We were flying blind on some of these more difficult tasks before GuideK12, which allows the ability to create scenarios and quickly see how the changes affect the make-up of a school. This information can be shared immediately with the board or community members to increase their understanding for attendance changes. When superintendents can quickly report how and why decisions are made, the integrity of the district increases dramatically.” commented Abshire.
The age of transparency and accountability for school districts is higher than ever before. School choice and student migration presents many challenges for districts from resource planning to revenue tracking. “It is important for us to understand student migration patterns and share the facts about our schools with parents that are making decisions about where their child attends. We now have information 24/7 on our website for community members to tap into, allowing us to communicate, educate and promote our schools. Realtors will definitely use the address look up feature for determining school assignments and it reduces calls to our front office” Abshire related.
One of the largest expenses for most districts is personnel costs. The ability to better anticipate student needs eliminates the last minute scramble before the year starts for staffing. “ Using this tool to plan personnel needs, both recruiting and retaining based on student needs, makes my team more efficient. When this type of information is at the fingertips of district leadership in three clicks or less, our job becomes easier and makes what we do more strategic and valuable. Our CFO saw this and immediately saw it as a “must have” solution,” Abshire concluded.
