Description

Module Descriptions

Provided below is a detailed description of the modules which comprise SchoolVision District Planner:

Student Database Query Module

The Student Database Query Module enables the user to query the District student database quickly and effortlessly. This module allows selection of student(s) information for inclusion in correspondence or other District documents.

Student file queries are easily created by setting the entries on a customized query form.
Results of queries may be presented in several forms:

Listings of selected student records may be browsed on the screen or sent directly to the printer.
Student records may be visually represented as geographic points ("stars" or other symbols) on the map.
The query result sets may be saved as a MapInfo TAB or as a dBase DBF file.
System addressed envelopes or mailing labels may be selected, created and printed by query for the collective student body or individual students at a singular address.

Attendance Boundary Modeling Module

The Attendance Boundary Modeling Module empowers District staff to visually test alternate boundary scenarios by utilizing the system's graphic map images. Included is a Boundary Statistics Window which reports resulting changes for each school included in the planning session. This display provides continually updated information on enrollment counts, school site capacities, grade levels, ethnicity, and other data pertaining to students or particular scenarios which are being determined. When a boundary adjustment is created, the data in the Boundary Statistics Window immediately reflects the most recent changes being made. The available figures may then be represented in charts or graphs.

Attendance boundary changes are accomplished by the addition and subtraction of “Small Areas” (small neighborhoods with specific housing types) in distinction to school attendance areas. The use of current and forecast enrollment data will provide the necessary tools for recommending boundary changes that will withstand the test of time. When attendance boundaries are modified by small areas:

Attendance boundary data is calculated and presented in the Boundary Statistics Window for each boundary scenario being considered
Enrollment data counts, school site capacity levels, ethnicity, and other results associated with boundaries are displayed in the Boundary Statistics Windows.
The data in the Boundary Statistics Windows is automatically re-calculated when boundaries are changed. The attendance information is presented for each boundary scenario being taken into account.
Details in the Boundary Statistics Windows may be displayed in graph or chart form.

Changes to District grade level configurations are also analyzed in this module. Scenarios involving District-wide conversions to middle schools can be modeled with a single global command. In addition, adjustments may be made to one or more schools should an extended grade level “instructional complex” be examined. On campuses which serve a District-wide attendance area, consideration of one or more possible new “magnet” school programs can be modeled. Similarly, campuses without prescribed attendance boundaries may be considered. As previously mentioned, Boundary Statistics Windows interactively display a wide variety of updated information.

School Facilities Module

The School Facilities Module provides the District with the ability to rapidly display information concerning any school site; when the desired map is in view, just click on the selected school’s icon and the information for that school will appear on screen! The site plan and other CAD drawings for any school in the District may be readily displayed simply by pressing a button.

SchoolVision Enrollment Forecaster

The Enrollment Forecaster gives the School District the ability to create sophisticated, long range enrollment projections. The district may create anything as simple as a District-wide cohort survival; or something more detailed, such as a neighborhood forecast. This module is capable of developing forecasts by using the following variables:

Birth Rate - Calculates Kindergarten enrollment based on birth rate information.
Cohort Rate - Estimates the percentage of students who will advance one grade level.
New Housing - Projects how many students will enter a District due to construction of new housing.
Resale Housing - Employs resale housing data in forecast calculations; resale housing is occasionally a factor involved in enrollment projections.
Special Situations - The Forecasting module has the adaptability to add special routines to its forecasting process. This is so that a District with miscellaneous factors (other than those listed above) may be precise in their enrollment projection calculations.

Database Maintenance Module

This module will allow you to setup a link with an already existing, district-wide student database. If your district does not have a district wide system, the Database Maintenance Module can be used to create a district-wide database from existing databases at individual school sites. This module also does the geocoding, which assigns X and Y coordinates to the records in your student database.