Save time and give clients the answers they’re after with the new school boundary layers available in Matrix! Interchangeable map layers make it easy to view High School, Middle School and Elementary School boundaries.
Information on the listing’s school district is provided by Great Schools. Once you’ve selected a property and identified its school district, utilize the Great Schools link to view additional school information and the School Board phone number. Remember, the only way to ensure data accuracy is by contacting the School Board directly.
Check it out now! Run a Matrix search and select a listing. In the map view, select the “Layers” option and choose a school layer. You can select multiple school boundaries, but we recommend searching one layer at a time.
For additional information, register for our Matrix School Boundaries webinar next Friday, June 15th at 11:00 a.m. or read the Knowledgebase article on searching for specific school boundaries. Happy searching!
Can we do searches with school boundries?
Yes, this would be most helpful.
Yes. To do this you can simply add a search polygon to map layer. For step by step instructions visit http://old.mris.com/helpdesk/knowledgebase/Articl…
It appears that method described requires a user to trace over manually the school boundary, which is certainly an improvement. But, is it possible to be able to simply click and select on the school district without manually tracing the district? That would save a step, be more simple, and most likely add to the accuracy of the search. Thanks
Branden,
Yes, you’re right. This is step in the right direction and we still have some work to do before we are done. We have plans to integrate this information into Keystone in the future. Thank you for your comment.
By, 'yes', I mean that I agree with Gust Anthony in that I would also like to know the answer.
can't wait to try it out!
Will there ever be information for the Eastern Shore of Maryland? It was exciting to see the email, then disappointing to pull it up and there's no information for our area at all.
Alison,
We are working with our business partners to expand our school boundary coverage. We display all of the information that we currently have. If an area is not displayed, it means that we do not offer school boundary information there. Please email helpdesk@mris.net to request additional areas so that we can initiate a request for this information on your behalf.
Great feature. It would be very helpful if we had the ability to click on the desired school boundary and MRIS set that as our search area instead of having to use the Polygon tool…..maybe in the next upgrade.
Sallie,
Agreed! We plan to add this functionality in the future.
I am trying to check out this new feature but it's not working. Nothing happens when I click Layers!! Help pls.
When I first tried this, the layers button was not even there! I messed around with it for about 15 minutes and was about to give up but then when I refreshed the page the layers button suddenly appeared!
Monica – check out the link for step-step instruction that Adam posted a few posts up. You have to use the Poly tool Polygon tool to redraw the map.
I was so excited until I realized we can't search with this feature (unless I'm mistaken). Using the polygon tool to trace the boundary seems tedious and unnecessary, especially with all of the crazy, jagged school boundaries. MRIS, I beg of you, please make this a priority in your next update.
Rebecca,
This is step in the right direction and we still have some work to do before we are done. We have plans to build integrate this information into Keystone in the future.
Once a school perimeter is selected, and that's great, does anyone know how to get rid of the Great Schools link box as one zooms in and out on the map?
It doesn't seem to work??
Frank,
The map layers will appear on your map once a layer is selected and you have zoomed into the appropriate zoom level. Hope this helps.
Did the polygon exercise for a high school boundary. Not too tough. When I build a search using the new polygon map defined, that's fine, too. When I try print the map of the listings, the school boundary (blue on my screen) disappears on the printout. Anyone know how to retain the school boundary on the printout? Thanks.
Tom,
The school boundaries are not printable at this time, however, many school districts offer printable boundary maps on-line.
Monica,
The layers will appear when you zoom into the map display.
WOW this is great feature. I just played around for Northern Virginia Fairfax area!!!
Ritu,
Thank you! I believe adding this information to Matrix will allow agents in our area to deliver a higher level of service to their buyer clients.
Adam, I picked a county, zoomed in to an area, click layers, select a school district, then clicked ok. When I run the search I get the whole county listings, Not just that school district. Please advise. Thanks,
Frank,
You missed one step. You should trace the school boundary using the ploygon search tool. For step by step instructions visit http://old.mris.com/helpdesk/knowledgebase/Articl…. Please email me at Adam.Iobst@mris.net, if I can assist you. I am happy to help.
-Adam
I was browsing some listings in Centreville, VA and ran into some errors in map view. The layer for high schools showed the high schoodl boundaries as it should. The layer for elementary schools showed those boundaries as it should. But the layer for middle schools isn't working quite right. It shows the boudaries for elementary schools, not middle schools. Then when you click on a bounded area, some bounded areas will then highlight the the full middle school region, and others will only highlight that elementary school region (even though I'm supposed to be in middle school view). And, no, I don't have multiple layers checked – just middle school.
Mark,
Thank you for your comment. The school information displayed in Matrix is reported by the local school districts. In this case, the associated school district may be reporting elementary school attendance zones and middle school attendance zones in this area. I recommend contacting the local school district for an explanation. Contact information for most school districts can be found on the GreatSchools.org website. If the information reported by the school district doesn't match what you see in Matrix please let us know. Thank you.
Works great!
As a test, I sent listings via email to myself. The "layers" feature was not available. Would be nice if the client could also see the "layers" when using the Virtual Earth Map Feature.
Tracy,
Thank you for the comment. I have added this enhancement to the list of recommended improvements. Keep them coming! We will be making improvements related to school boundary information in the future.
Feature doesn't work with IE 8. The "layers tab" doesn't display. You have to use another browser. iE9 works.
Sonni,
Thank you for the comment. The map layers do appear in all IE browsers, including IE 8. To view the map layers while searching for a properties for sale, you can select any of the Map Search buttons in Matrix; The school layers will appear. Customers can also apply the school boundary map layers from the Matrix search results view by selecting properties (up to 50) and then selecting "Map" from the bottom menu bar. The map displayed on individual listings may not work in certain browsers. We are working this issue and will provide an update when we have one.
Sonni,
This is a compatibility mode issue. When you are in IE 8 compatibility mode the Layer/Re-center button may not show up. To solve this issue, you should switch back to standard IE 8 mode.
Step 1 – Select the broken page button located to the right of the URL field. OR
Step 1 – Select Tools from the menu bar in the top right of the browser.
Step 2 – Select Compatibility View. The compatibility view should have the broken piece of paper NOT a check mark to allow the school boundary maps to display properly.
Hope this helps.
I love that we can now know what school the children would go to BUT I have a concern that when we send our clients to this and they click on the company website it takes them to Realtor.com and they are then offered other agents information, to look for other houses, to ask questions and that will go to what agent????? Can’t MRIS get it so that our clients aren’t sent out onto the web when looking at this info? Clients can get drawn away by clicking!
Nancy,
I understand your concern. Our team strives to keep real estate professionals at the center of the home sale process. The school map layers are only available to MRIS customers in Matrix. The map layers are not available to the public. The information displayed in Matrix does include a link to greatschools.org; Agents can decide to (or not to) share the link to their buyer clients.
This is a mistake , do not tell your buyers this , school boundries change all the time and if it is in the middle of a deal you will be held responsible. I always tell them to call the board of Ed.
Margie,
Thank you for the comment. The school attendance information is believed to be accurate and current but is not intended to be used as the sole source for this information. Customers are strongly encouraged to verify the school attendance information with their local school districts.
The Westfield and South Lakes Boundaries are incorrect. I have a listing on Stable Brook which changed last year to South Lakes. The boundary map is showing Westfield.
Fran,
Thank you helping us keep this information "Fresh". We will report this information to our data team for review. Please continue to help us by emailing us at helpdesk@mris.net to report incorrect school boundary information so that we can research the issue.
Fran,
I recommend including the county and state for the school boundaries that you would like us to review. Having this information will allow us to process this information more efficiently. Thanks again.
Feature doesn’t work on IPad or IPhone. Who uses a computer anymore?
Erin,
The school boundary layers do appear on tablets, including the IPad. Please email me with the details so that I can assist you further. Thank you. Adam.Iobst@mris.net
Although I was slightly excited about this, I have to agree with Margie, maybe we can use it as a preliminary benchmark to help with areas, but in the end they need to verify this information on their own.
Exactly right, Tamika! This information will allow real estate professionals to identify the schools associated with properties much more efficiently than previously possible. However, as I previously stated, this information is not intended to be used as the sole source for this information. Customers are strongly encouraged to verify the school attendance information with their local school districts. Contact information for most school districts can be found on the GreatSchools.org website.
If each school board has a boudary map for each school in their district. Can mris use the map as an overlay. That way we would not have to do the polygon search.
Lscott,
We plan to add this functionality in the future. A "one-click" function to covert a map boundary to a search polygon is what I am working on with our technical team.
[...] happy to see so much response to our latest Matrix map layer enhancement. The new School Boundary layers are designed to give you the resources you need to find the school information you’re [...]