GIS Hands-On
Training
Four days of applied ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro instruction built specifically for K-12 planners. You will leave with workflows you can deploy the week you return.
From Raw Data to Board-Ready Maps
Track A is the hands-on GIS track. Every session puts software in front of you. You will work through real district data — importing, geocoding, analyzing, and presenting — using the same tools your district already has or can access.
By the end of the conference, you will have a complete ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro workflow for enrollment analysis and boundary mapping that you built yourself — and that you can run independently every year going forward.
- Navigate and configure ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro for K-12 planning
- Geocode student address files and achieve high-accuracy results
- Create, edit, and merge attendance boundary polygons
- Run proximity, drive-time, and capacity spatial analyses
- Integrate 3rd party data: municipal zoning, housing, and environmental layers
- Configure public-facing SchoolSite Locator web apps
- Build board-ready map layouts and dashboards
- Automate batch geocoding and recurring spatial reports
Who Should Attend Track A
- GIS coordinators new to K-12 planning workflows
- District planners who rely on spreadsheets and want spatial capability
- Facilities staff who need to visualize enrollment and capacity data
- Anyone who has ArcGIS Pro but hasn’t applied it to school planning
- Experienced GIS users looking to formalize K-12-specific methodology
ArcGIS Pro · SchoolSite Pro · Microsoft Excel
Full setup instructions are sent to registered attendees four weeks before the conference. A temporary license is arranged for attendees who do not have one.
The Full Four-Day Schedule
Day One · Tuesday, June 23
Foundations — environment setup, your first spatial layers, geocoding, and boundary creation
A1: Introduction to SchoolSite & GIS Interface
After this session you will be able to navigate ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro confidently, configure your project environment, and understand the relationship between the two platforms — setting the foundation for every hands-on session that follows.
A2: Geocoding & Data Hygiene
After this session you will be able to clean and prepare student address files to achieve high-accuracy geocoding rates — eliminating the data quality problems that undermine spatial analysis before it starts.
A3: Creating & Editing Attendance Boundaries
After this session you will be able to use SchoolSite tools to draw, modify, and merge attendance boundary polygons — producing a defensible boundary layer you can present to a board or share with community stakeholders.
A4: Visualizing Demographic Data on Maps
After this session you will be able to apply thematic mapping techniques to display density, enrollment growth, and utilization hotspots — turning enrollment numbers into spatial patterns that boards and administrators can immediately understand.
Day 1 Wrap-up & Q&A
Day Two · Wednesday, June 24
Analysis — web apps, redistricting scenarios, reporting tools, and 3rd party data integration
A5: SchoolSite Locator & Web Apps
After this session you will be able to configure a public-facing SchoolSite Locator web map that allows parents to find their assigned school — publishing your district’s boundary data as an interactive, searchable web application.
A6: Building Redistricting Scenarios
After this session you will be able to model and compare redistricting scenarios — optimizing for diversity, transportation, and feeder patterns simultaneously — and export the comparison data needed for a board-level decision briefing.
A7: Reporting Tools in SchoolSite
After this session you will be able to generate automated reports for enrollment counts, ethnicity distribution, and capacity changes — producing the standard district reporting outputs directly from your SchoolSite Pro environment.
A8: Integrating 3rd Party Data Layers
After this session you will be able to import and align municipal zoning, residential housing pipeline, and environmental layers into your GIS project — enriching your spatial analysis with the external data that drives enrollment change.
Day 2 Wrap-up & Q&A
Day Three · Thursday, June 25
Presentation and advanced analysis — spatial analytics, visualization, and your own district data lab
A9: SchoolSite Locator & Web Apps — Advanced Configuration
After this session you will be able to apply advanced configuration options to your SchoolSite Locator — customizing search parameters, display layers, and output formats to match your district’s specific communication needs.
A10: Advanced Spatial Analysis
After this session you will be able to apply buffer analysis, drive-time zones, and spatial joins to answer the deeper planning questions — identifying which students fall outside walk zones, which buildings are over capacity, and where enrollment pressure is building.
A11: Data Visualization for Presentations
After this session you will be able to create compelling, board-ready map layouts and dashboards in ArcGIS Pro — producing the visual outputs that make spatial analysis legible to administrators and community stakeholders who don’t work in GIS.
A12: GIS Lab — Bring Your Own District
After this session you will have applied Track A methodology directly to your own district’s data — with hands-on mentorship from Georgia Leonard, Jazmine Lewis, and Cynthia Sok. Come with a shapefile, enrollment CSV, or parcel dataset. Any format works; the session covers data cleaning and import.
Day 3 Wrap-up & Q&A
Day Four · Friday, June 26 · Half Day
Advanced automation, portal customization, and one-on-one technical support
A13: Advanced Batch Geocoding & Automation
After this session you will be able to streamline large-scale data imports and automate recurring spatial reports — cutting the manual effort out of the geocoding and analysis tasks your team runs every semester.
Morning Break
A14: Customizing Public Portals
After this session you will be able to apply advanced CSS and layout configurations to the SchoolSite Locator — customizing the public portal to match your district’s branding and communication standards.
A15: GIS Open Lab & Technical Troubleshooting
In this closing open lab the Track A instructors work one-on-one with attendees on specific district project hurdles — the integration problems, data edge cases, and workflow questions that don’t fit neatly into a structured session.
Georgia Leonard
MBA, GISP
GIS Director, MGT
Track A LeadGeorgia Leonard
Georgia Leonard is MGT’s GIS Director and holds both an MBA and the Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) certification — one of the most rigorous credentials in the GIS field. She leads the GIS team in developing innovative applications for facility safety, utilization, and efficiency planning. She specializes in leveraging ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro for district-wide planning, enrollment forecasting, and school boundary analysis. Her Track A sessions are hands-on from the first hour — attendees work through real district data, building the spatial workflows they will take home and deploy immediately.
The problem she solves
Districts hold rich spatial data but lack the GIS skills to analyze it. Enrollment projections live in spreadsheets with no map, and boards challenge proposals because the numbers have no visual backing.
How she solves it
Georgia teaches planners to build ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro workflows from scratch — turning raw parcel and enrollment data into defensible, board-ready spatial analysis that districts own in-house.
Supporting Instructors
Supporting Instructor · Track A
Jazmine Lewis
Planning Analyst, MGT
Jazmine works at the intersection of educational programming and physical space. She helps districts ensure that enrollment forecasts account for specialized programs, grade-level configurations, and building capacities — and brings that lens to Track A’s geocoding, data integration, and advanced spatial analysis sessions.
Supporting Instructor · Track A
Cynthia Sok
Planning Analyst, MGT
Cynthia leads technical onboarding for Track A — guiding practitioners through environment configuration and the creation of their first spatial layers. She specializes in the practical application of SchoolSite Pro, from geocoding student and parcel data through building defensible boundary proposals and troubleshooting in the open lab.
How to Prepare for Track A
You do not need ArcGIS Pro installed before registering. Full setup instructions are sent four weeks before the conference.
Software setup
ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro setup instructions are sent four weeks before the conference. A temporary license is arranged for attendees who do not have one.
Bring your district data
For the Day 3 open lab (A12), bring a shapefile, enrollment CSV, or parcel dataset from your own district. Any format works — the session covers data cleaning and import from scratch.
No prior GIS required
Track A is built for planners at every level. Sessions start from fundamentals and build progressively. Experienced GIS users will still find depth in K-12-specific methodology.
Your registration covers all three tracks
Track B: K-12 Forecasting and Planning
Cohort-survival methodology, student yield factors, birth rate trends, and building board-ready demographic studies. Led by Chris Griego and Lorne Woods.
View Track BTrack C: Capacity, Consolidation & Safety
Capacity utilization analysis, school consolidation planning, redistricting, and school safety. Led by Marci Horner with Isaac Johnson and David Kaitz.
View Track CReady to Build Your GIS Capability?
Register for SPC26 and get hands-on ArcGIS Pro and SchoolSite Pro training in Tampa, June 23 to 26, 2026.