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Community-Engaged School District Design: A Stream-Based Approach

Author

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  • Aysu Ozel

    (Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208)

  • Karen Smilowitz

    (Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208)

  • Lila K. S. Goldstein

    (Manager, Data Science and Insights, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, Illinois 60602)

Abstract

Comprehensive community engagement in public school district design is essential to create equitable and effective enrollment policies reflective of community needs and values. We revisit the school district design problem with a focus on codesigning with community partners. We introduce a new compact formulation that incorporates multiple decisions simultaneously by assigning students in each geographic unit to a set of schools (e.g., elementary, middle, and high schools, and schools with specialized programming) with a single composite variable, referred to as a “stream.” This formulation is computationally efficient and easily reconfigurable for evolving problem specifications that are endemic to community codesign. These features were essential in the district redesign process described in this paper, allowing the community to iteratively develop proposals to address inequities in access to education and improve the student assignment process.

Suggested Citation

  • Aysu Ozel & Karen Smilowitz & Lila K. S. Goldstein, 2025. "Community-Engaged School District Design: A Stream-Based Approach," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 73(4), pages 1916-1931, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:73:y:2025:i:4:p:1916-1931
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.2022.0621
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