The New York Charter Schools Association is the statewide membership and advocacy organization for New York’s charter school sector, representing and supporting the roughly 370 charter schools serving families across New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and beyond. We advocate for strong public policy, provide direct support to school leaders, and equip the sector with the data and tools it needs to serve students well.
About the Project
We are building an interactive, map-based data tool that brings together school, demographic, academic outcomes, and district-level data for every charter school in New York State. The goal is to give charter school stakeholders (e.g., school leaders, boards, authorizers, advocates, funders, and prospective founders) a single place to understand the landscape: where schools are located, whom they serve, how communities are changing, and where needs and opportunities exist across the state.
You will own this project end to end: sourcing and cleaning public datasets with our support, joining them into a coherent geospatial database, and building a polished, user-friendly interactive map. You’ll work directly with our Senior Director of School Support, who will provide the data specification, priority decisions, and access to Association-maintained school records (including our directory of all schools and charter renewal tracking data), which give you a significant head start on the school-level layer.
Scope of Work
Phase 1: Data acquisition and processing (est. 80-120 hours)
- Pull and clean demographic data (race, age, poverty, employment, birth rates, household composition, immigration) from U.S. Census/ACS at the agreed geography
- Compile school-level data (enrollment, status, grades served, authorizer, charter status) from NYSED, SUNY Charter Schools Institute, and Association-maintained records
- Extract academic outcome data (ELA/math proficiency, graduation rates, absenteeism, retention) from NYSED report card databases, joined via BEDS codes
- Acquire district boundary files from the NYS GIS Clearinghouse and compile district-level data (per-pupil funding, receivership status, authorizer presence)
- Geocode all school locations and join datasets
- Document all sources, vintages, and processing steps in a reproducible workflow
Phase 2: Interactive map build (est. 80-120 hours)
- Design and build an interactive web map with toggleable layers, school-level pop-ups, district boundaries, and demographic choropleths
- Implement filtering (by region, authorizer, grade span, school status) and a clean, non-technical user experience
- Platform to be finalized together at kickoff. We are open to ArcGIS Online, Felt, or a comparable platform; propose what you know best
Phase 3: Documentation and handoff (est. 20–30 hours)
- User-facing documentation and a brief walkthrough for staff
- A documented update workflow so the Association can refresh data annually without rebuilding
Milestones
Work will be structured around milestone check-ins, invoiced hourly. Applicants will be expected to engage in bi-monthly meetings throughout the project.
- Kickoff + data plan approved (week 1–2): finalized source list, geography, and platform
- Cleaned, joined dataset delivered (approx. week 6–8)
- Draft interactive map for review (approx. week 10–11)
- Final map, documentation, and update workflow delivered (approx. week 12–14)
Qualifications
Required:
- Demonstrated experience building interactive web maps (ArcGIS Online/Experience Builder, Felt, Mapbox, Leaflet, or similar). Work samples required
- Strong data skills (Python/pandas, R, or equivalent) and experience joining administrative datasets
- Experience working with U.S. Census/ACS data and geographies (tracts, block groups, TIGER files)
- Geocoding experience and comfort with spatial joins, projections, and boundary files
- Ability to work independently, communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders, and document your work
Preferred:
- Familiarity with New York State education data (NYSED report cards, BEDS codes) or education datasets generally
- Experience designing map interfaces for public or non-technical audiences
- Interest in education, public policy, or the charter school sector
How to Apply:
Send the following to eallen@nycharters.org with the subject line “GIS Analyst: NY Charter Schools Map”:
- A brief note on your relevant experience and your proposed hourly rate
- Your resume
- Two examples of interactive maps you have built, with links and a note on your role
- A short description (a paragraph is fine) of how you would approach joining school-level state education data to Census demographic data — we’re looking for how you think, not a formal proposal
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Anticipated selection by September 1, 2026.
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