Additional Distinguishing Information Virginia-Based Firm DAA is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. We understand the Commonwealth’s regulatory and governance framework for public school divisions, including the Virginia Public Procurement Act and relevant sections of the Code of Virginia governing school operations and closures. Specialized Focus Unlike general-purpose consulting firms that offer redistricting as one service among many, DAA is built specifically around demographic analysis, enrollment forecasting, and school boundary planning. Our methodologies are purpose-built for K-12 applications. Our team understands the particular data quality challenges of school enrollment records. We are attuned to the community dynamics that surround redistricting decisions. And our deliverables are designed for the people who use them — school boards making policy decisions, administrators managing operations, and families trying to understand where their children will go to school. Census Bureau Expertise Two of our three principals are former Census Bureau staff who worked directly on the methods used to produce population estimates and projections for the United States. This gives us an unusually deep understanding of the federal demographic data that forms the foundation of any enrollment projection. We know not just how to use Census, ACS, and other federal data products, but how they are made — their assumptions, their error structures, and where they should and should not be trusted. This is particularly important in the post-2020 environment, where differential privacy and COVID-19 disruptions have introduced data quality challenges that many analysts do not fully appreciate. Collaborative, Not Black-Box We do not disappear for three months and return with a set of recommendations. Our phased methodology is designed so that the district is a partner at every stage — reviewing data, validating assumptions, providing local knowledge, and understanding the tradeoffs before scenarios are finalized. This approach produces better analysis, because local expertise catches things that data alone cannot, and it produces better outcomes, because the district owns the process and its results. Clients Who Come Back Several of our clients have extended their engagements beyond the original scope. Brunswick County Public Schools extended from one year to four. Others have returned for annual updates or new phases of work. We take this as the strongest possible signal that our work delivers value and that districts find us good partners to work with. Data Security and FERPA Compliance This project will require access to geocoded student enrollment records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. We take these obligations seriously and have established procedures that meet the requirements of every district we work with. Data Handling All student data will be transmitted via Box.com, an enterprise-grade encrypted file sharing platform that has been approved by multiple school districts for this purpose. Once received, student data is stored on encrypted, access-controlled systems accessible only to project team members. No student data is shared with third parties under any circumstances. All analysis is conducted on secured workstations with current security software and operating system patches. FERPA Compliance Our team has completed FERPA training and maintains current knowledge of student data privacy requirements. We will execute a data sharing agreement with the district that complies with FERPA’s “studies” exception (34 CFR § 99.31(a)(6)). All published reports and maps present data in aggregate form only — no individual student will be identifiable in any deliverable. Student-level records are used solely for geocoding and boundary analysis. Data Destruction Upon project completion or contract termination, we will securely destroy all student-level data in our possession and provide written certification of destruction to the district. Aggregate analytical outputs will be retained only as needed for the contracted deliverables. Staff Training All DAA personnel assigned to this project have received training on student data privacy, including FERPA obligations, data minimization principles, and incident response procedures.
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