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Fetch Rhode Island school directory data

Source: R/fetch_directory.R
fetch_directory.Rd

Downloads and processes school directory data from the RIDE Data Center. This includes all public and charter schools with contact information, addresses, grades served, and administrator names.

Usage

fetch_directory(end_year = NULL, tidy = TRUE, use_cache = TRUE)

Arguments

end_year

Currently unused. The directory data represents the current school year. Included for API consistency with other fetch functions.

tidy

If TRUE (default), returns data in a standardized format with consistent column names. If FALSE, returns raw column names from RIDE.

use_cache

If TRUE (default), uses locally cached data when available. Set to FALSE to force re-download from RIDE.

Value

A tibble with school directory data. When tidy = TRUE, columns include:

  • state_school_id: RIDE school code (e.g., "28121")

  • nces_school_id: NCES school code

  • state_district_id: RIDE LEA/district code (e.g., "28")

  • district_name: LEA/district name (e.g., "Providence")

  • school_name: School name

  • school_type: School type (e.g., "Public School")

  • school_sub_type: Sub type (e.g., "Charter School", "LEA School")

  • grade_span: Grade range (e.g., "PK - 12")

  • grade_configuration: Grade configuration (e.g., "Elementary")

  • address: Street address

  • city: City

  • state: State (always "RI")

  • zip: ZIP code

  • phone: Phone number

  • fax: Fax number

  • website: School website URL

  • principal_name: Principal name

  • is_active: Whether school is currently active

  • is_charter: Whether school is a charter school

  • is_title1: Whether school has Title I status

  • is_bilingual: Whether school has bilingual program

Details

The directory data is sourced from the RIDE Data Center at https://datacenter.ride.ri.gov/Directory. The RIDE Data Center does not provide a bulk download or API, so the package includes bundled directory data scraped from RIDE. Use use_cache = FALSE to force a fresh scrape.

The bundled data covers public schools only (including charter schools, career/technical centers, and alternative education programs). Private, religious, home school, and higher education entries are excluded.

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# Get school directory data
dir_data <- fetch_directory()

# Get raw format (original RIDE column names)
dir_raw <- fetch_directory(tidy = FALSE)

# Force fresh download (ignore cache)
dir_fresh <- fetch_directory(use_cache = FALSE)

# Filter to charter schools
library(dplyr)
charters <- dir_data |>
  filter(is_charter)

# Find all Providence schools
providence <- dir_data |>
  filter(district_name == "Providence")

# Elementary schools only
elementary <- dir_data |>
  filter(grade_configuration == "Elementary")
} # }