1. Colleen E. Chesnut, Ph.D., Research Associate Jerry Johnson, Ed.D., Dept. Chair and Professor of Teacher Education and Educational Leadership, University of West Florida John Hitchcock, Ph.D., Director, CEEP Marcey Moss, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, CEEP

2.  Identifies geographic location or characteristics of geographic features, boundaries, or distances  Can provide more information than school locale codes, historically used to classify schools (based on U.S. Census data)  City (large, mid-size, small)  Suburb (large, mid-size, small)  Town (fringe, distant, remote)  Rural (fringe, distant, remote)

3.  Programs provide services within geographic and community contexts.  These contexts are IMPORTANT and contextual features cannot thoroughly be described or understood via locale codes alone.  Many programs are spread over large areas and multiple sites

4. http://proximityone.com/gallery/guide/urban-suburban-rural-schools.htm

5. How can GIS strengthen evaluation? Visualize data Analyze data

6. Are medical students from Wayne State University who are interested in rural practice truly being placed in rural areas for their internships? (Booza, et. al 2010)

10.  Levin, et.al (2011). Do rural and nonrural districts allocate resources differently? An analysis of spending and staffing patterns in the West Region states.  Geospatial data used as unit of analysis: how resource allocation varies by geographic characteristics, holding other cost factors constant at state mean

11.  Environmental and conservation issues  (Alix-Garcia, Shapiro & Sims, 2012; Carruthers & Clark, 2010)  Analysis of crime rates  (Bernasco & Block, 2011; Hites, et al., 2014; Toomey et al., 2012)  Education  School segregation (Billings, Deming & Rockoff, 2014)  School quality as related to home prices (Gibbons, Manchin & Silva, 2013)  School funding (Gibbons, McNally & Viarengo, 2012)  Retail accessibility  (Ellickson & Grieco, 2013; Rotem-Mindali, 2012)

12.  GIS is often used for evaluation of programs that have multiple sites.  Datasets will need location information (zip codes, addresses, or GPS coordinates)  Access to GIS software and data analysts with GIS expertise are critical.  Privacy concerns if participant addresses are used as data points

13.  Azzam, T. & Robinson, D. (2013). GIS in evaluation: Utilizing the power of geographic information systems to represent evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 34(2), 207-224.  Booza, J.C., Bridge, P.D., Neale, A.V. & Schenk, M. (2010). Incorporating geographic information systems (GIS) into program evaluation: Lessons from a rural medicine initiative. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 23(1), 59-66.  Renger, R., Cimetta, A., Pettygrove, S. & Rogan, S. (2002). Geographic information systems (GIS) as an evaluation tool. American Journal of Evaluation, 23(4), 469-479.  Levin, et.al (2011). Do rural and nonrural districts allocate resources differently? An analysis of spending and staffing patterns in the West Region states. (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2011–No. 099). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West.