Redistricting Practices in Public Schools: Social Progress or Necessity?

Abstract

Redistrict, a fully integrated web interface, proposes a new platform for proximity-based public schools boundary deliberations. It has been pilot-tested on one school system in the US and aims to shift, educate, and bring visibility to policy and geographical constraints. It extends current deliberations’ state of practice, held in person or over video conference using static pdf/printed maps. This research draws knowledge from computer science, educational policy, social sciences, and geographic information systems (GIS) to allow public school officials, parents, and community at large to compute “what if ” scenarios towards a better understanding, discovery learning, and optimization when redesigning school attendance zones. We explore possible areas of improvement for the broader community to cast an informed, unique vote, while maintaining privacy, supporting ingenuity, and transparency. This speculative research prototype creates space to support a concrete path of much needed advancement in complex social deliberation using interdisciplinary research.