With the potential of adding as many as 200-300 students per year and discussion about moving 6th graders to the middle school due to an increase in pre-school enrollment, Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) in Bowling Green, Kentucky saw a need to change district alignments to accommodate the rise in schools’ student populations. After extensive research, WCPS determined that the geovisual analytics software, GuideK12, would best assist them with the district realignment.
Geovisual analytics is new software technology that visualizes student and county data on an interactive map so it is actionable. The district's plan is to realign and redistribute the grade levels at all the district’s middle schools to include the sixth grade. With an importance placed upon capacity and demographics impact, the Student Services department was able to visualize all corresponding statistics to make informed decisions.
“We looked at many tools, but were impressed by GuideK12’s ease of use and the fact that it is a web- based platform. Two years ago we created boundaries for a new building. I wish we had GuideK12 at that time,” said Pat Stewart, Director of Student Services. “With GuideK12, I can select an area on the district map to create various scenarios in seconds. In the past, we hand drew maps and it took hours to accurately count the kids on each street. With GuideK12 I have a picture of the area and the impact of each proposal instantly.”
One of the features of the GuideK12 analytical software is the ability to layer several data sets over one another, creating a more detailed picture. The district was able to add layers showing railroad tracks and the river, both of which flow throughout the entire school district and county.
“I can now take the elementary boundaries and layer them over the top of the middle and high school boundaries,” continued Stewart, “to better understand the transportation dynamics of the school feeder patterns.”
Districts experiencing changes need tools to support data driven planning. GuideK12 helps a district make more proactive, effective and accurate decisions around school choice, boundary changes, resource planning, emergency preparedness and student performance.
“We know the team at Warren County Public Schools has much broader plans for all the applications within the district using GuideK12,” said Chuck Amos, CEO of GuideK12. “And we are thrilled to continue to work with them to achieve their goals.”
