Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced that it will be making data layers on US school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic available through a new partnership with MCH Strategic Data. To help educational organizations as well as families across the nation better understand the situation in their communities, Esri and MCH have made school closure data accessible from a public dashboard. Information on K through 12 public and private schools include whether they are closed, plans for re-opening school buildings, and the type of instruction they are offering during closures due to the epidemic.
“These datasets are useful for governments, school officials, and businesses providing leadership, resources, and community programs during the COVID-19 response,” said Ryan Lanclos, Esri director of public safety solutions. “But of utmost importance, this is a source of critical information for the community. It provides transparent and useful information that can help families develop a personal plan when they are feeling their most vulnerable.”
MCH Strategic Data compiles and provides institutional information for the education, healthcare, government, and religious sectors.
“Our customers depend on us to provide insight to the school market so they can respond effectively and appropriately during this challenging time,” said Kelly Holder, MCH chief information officer. “Our ability to rapidly compile and normalize changing data against our comprehensive US database provides timely insight during an important time in the school planning cycle. This free map and database puts information into the hands of organizations who want to help schools and families now and in the coming months.”
As the COVID-19 outbreak has escalated rapidly across the globe, and with municipalities struggling to respond, MCH and Esri have built out additional resources like the MCH School Status Updates to help organizations quickly visualize and understand the current situation, as well as identify potential community risk areas when schools begin to open back up, and estimate the capacity needed to respond. The Esri COVID-19 GIS Hub site provides much of this essential data, along with case locations and social vulnerability, that communities and health organizations can use to inform their response.
For more information on Esri’s disaster relief support, visit esri.com/disaster.
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the US, as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the US Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.
About MCH Strategic Data
MCH Strategic Data is a leading information compiler and data technology innovator with a long history of successfully supporting marketing, research and sales in education, healthcare, and government organizations. With an experienced team of data scientists, database engineers, statisticians, and data quality experts, MCH helps its partners to better understand, integrate and access meaningful information to help their businesses grow. Founded in 1928 by noted educator Dr. Forrest E. Long, MCH carries on his legacy with high quality data, insightful analytics, customized integrations, and innovations through machine learning and cloud technologies to give clients cost effective information when, where and how they need it. www.mchdata.com
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