2015 Arizona Communities & K-12 Schools GIS Base Project

 

Empowering visions for success ... data resources described here are essential to know where we are, when change might occur and how that change might impact us,  We help leaders and stakeholders calibrate their visions with data-driven measurements of change.  A strategic plan is an essential part of this continuously changing process ... working toward the most successful outcomes.      

 

This section is focused on data and tools to examine characteristics of the Arizona communities, schools and infrastructure ... to the intersection level of detail. Use these resources to develop/extend/share insights into ways of improving opportunities and outcomes.

 

An overview of the ProximityOne Arizona communities and K-12 schools demographic-economic GIS project and related data is reviewed here. These same data and tools are available for each state. Install these data and tools on your computer to examine statewide to neighborhood to census block/intersection characteristics. Knit together multi-sourced data to gain insights into patterns and infrastructure for subjects and areas of interest.

 

Optionally examine these current, historical and trending data in combination with demographic-economic projections. Planning for the future ... assess the how, what and where of change between now and 5 years ahead.

 

How you can use these ready-to-use resources:

 • visually collaborate on wide-ranging patterns and geographies in committees/meetings.

 • create maps for integration into stories and reports.

 • view geographic reference maps showing selected levels of detail.

 • view thematic pattern maps of custom areas, neighborhoods, cities, schools, school districts, counties, other.

 • add student, attendance zones and other data; view those data contextually with neighborhoods & other geography.

 • add other subject matter data.

 • add other geography such as census blocks, block groups, census tract, cities, etc.

 • view data in a tabular manner; sort and apply queries.

 • extract data for selected geography for use with other applications.

 

Visual Analysis of Schools & School District Patterns
Arizona K-12 GIS Project Start-up view; see additional views below

View created with CV XE GIS. Click graphic for larger view.
  -- larger view illustrates use of mini-profile tool to view attributes of a school & labeling.
Additional Views:
  • Schools in context of Scottsdale city (city area shown by hatch pattern; choose any/all cities)
  • $MHI by Census Tract ... Median Household Income; Maricopa County
  • State, all public schools
  • State, elementary school districts
  • State, all districts; USDs labeled %grade relevant children in poverty
    ---
  • Mesa USD vicinity -- urban/rural status by census block
    ---
  • Start-up view of Dysart USD GIS project -- uses k12_az_dysart.gis project (see below in item 5.)
  • Start-up view of Mesa USD GIS project -- uses k12_az_mesa.gis project (see below in item 5.)
  • Start-up view of Tucson USD GIS project -- uses k12_az_tucson.gis project (see below in item 5.)

Installing the GIS Project (requires Windows computer with Internet connection)
1. Run the ProximityOne CV XE GIS Installer (only required if not already installed)
... run the CV XE GIS installer
... take all defaults during installation
2. Run the Data Installer -- requires Arizona Data Installer UserID (not your User Group ID)
... updated 1/26/15 ... if previously installed allow to reinstall with overwrite/update.
... the data installer will guide you through installation step by step.
... project files may not be redistributed whole or in part; shapefiles are not authorized for use with other software.
3. Initial start-up.
... after completing the above steps and with CV XE running (use desktop icon)
... use File>Open>Dialog to open the project file named c:\k12\k12_az.gis
... the map view shown at top of this section should appear.
4. Additional optional settings.
4.1. Enable full set of CV XE GIS features available to User Group members:
    ... add your User Group ID to the Key edit box in Settings.
4.2. Enable automatic open of the k12_az.gis project when CV XE is started:
    ... add c:\k12\k12_az.gis to the Start-up GIS Project edit box in Settings.
5. Additional optional GIS projects.
... open a different GIS project with different start-up settings.
... patterns of economic prosperity; median household income by census tract.
... create a project for any school district, city, county, etc. with custom settings; your additional data.
5.1. Dysart USD ... use File>Open>Dialog to open the project file named c:\k12\k12_az_dysart.gis ... start-up view
    ... this project shows Dysart USD with bold black boundary in relationship to Surprise city (hatch pattern).
5.2. Mesa USD ... use File>Open>Dialog to open the project file named c:\k12\k12_az_mesa.gis ... start-up view
    ... this project shows Mesa USD with bold black boundary in relationship to Mesa city (hatch pattern).
5.3. Tucson USD ... use File>Open>Dialog to open the project file named c:\k12\k12_az_tucson.gis ... start-up view
    ... this project shows Tucson USD with bold black boundary in relationship to Tucson city (hatch pattern).

See the CV XE GIS User Guide for information on navigation, creating map views and geospatial analysis.

Layers, Shapefiles & Datasets Included
  • U.S. by state
  • Arizona metropolitan areas with selected ACS 2013 demographic-economic data
  • Arizona counties with selected population estimates
  • Arizona cities, initially set with query for Scottsdale
  • Arizona 2012-13 public schools and selected attributes -- iterated four times:
      ... showing school name as label (when layer checked)
      ... showing school enrollment as label (when layer checked)
      ... showing school free and reduced lunch fee students as label (when layer checked)
      ... showing school as red markers (when layer checked)
  • Arizona cities, initially set with query for Scottsdale
  • Arizona census tracts with ACS2013 subject matter ... see list of selected items
  • Arizona 2013-14 school districts and selected attributes -- iterated four times:
      ... showing school district boundaries (all types) with district name as label (when layer checked)
      ... %grade relevant children by elementary school district (when layer checked)
      ... %grade relevant children by secondary school district (when layer checked)
      ... %grade relevant children by unified school district (when layer checked)
        (shows %grade relevant children as label)
  • Mapquest Open Street Map as tiling base layer
        (shows only with Internet connectivity)

Using the Datasets
Each shapefile has an associated dBase file; for example the schools layers all use the shapefile sch1213_az.shp.
The file named sch1213_az.dbf (part of the shapefile) may be opened/viewed/exported.
Use Database>dBrowse to perform these operations; or open the file "sch1213_az.dbf" directly in Excel or Access.
Caution -- be aware that this feature can permanently modify the file opened.
  ... any changes made to a field value are permanent.
  ... the Zap button permanently deletes all records.
  ... queries/filtering, changing field widths, sorting, and use of Field Location Manager do not affect the dataset.
Refer to CV XE GIS User Guide for more information.

Illustration of using dBrowse to view schools data; click graphic for larger view


ACS 2013 Census Tract Items -- scroll section

ACS 2013 Census Tract Items Field Descriptions -- scroll section
Similar to above list but structured with one row per item/field.
This item/description list can be used is applications as described in A-3 above.

Extending the GIS Project
The GIS project may be extended in several ways. Among the possbilities are:
  • add other layers/shapefiles of different type to to project; e.g., census tracts, roads, cities, other locations.
  • augment/add a school or school district layer/shapefile with performance data.
  • augment/add a school district layer/shapefile with other ACS 2013 demographic-economic data.
  • modify query settings applied to a layer to show other attributes; e.g. schools by locale code.
  • save a modified project with a new name and start-up view.

Related Resources
  • 2012-13 LEA Characteristics Interactive table
    ... view subject matter used in the Arizona school districts layer/shapefile in this interactive table
    ... national scope table; 18,000+ local education agencies
    ... illustration -- Arizona school districts ranked on total enrollment:
   
  • 2012-13 Public Schools Characteristics Interactive table
    ... view subject matter used in the Arizona school layer/shapefile in this interactive table
    ... national scope table; 100,000+ schools
  • Children's Demographics by School District
    ... demographic-economic profiles of children by type of enrollment ... Dysart USD Mesa USD Tucson USD
  • America's Communities
    ... view city demographic-economic profile.
  • Analyzing Arizona Neighborhood Patterns
    ... use this related GIS project as-is; optionally add layers from this project to the k12_az.gis project.
  • Metropolitan Areas -- interactive demographic-economic data table
    ... Metro Profiles (include school district summaries)-- click link in left column below to view selected metro