Filters help families narrow your list to the sites that fit their needs. You choose which filters appear, what each one is called, and how your filters are organized.
Choose what to filter on
Filters work best on fields with a short list of distinct options:
- Grades or ages served
- School or program type
- Full day or half day
- Transportation provided (yes or no)
- Before- and after-care (yes or no)
- Specific programs (Montessori, IB, dual language, magnet)
Filters don't work well on free-text fields, like descriptions or mission statements. Families can use Keyword search for those instead.
Focus on the filters that matter most to families in your community. Too many filters can overwhelm people.
Add a distance filter
The distance filter lets families limit results to a set distance from their address. It turns on after a family enters an address. You choose:
- Maximum distance, for example 10 miles
- Increment, how much each step on the slider changes the distance, for example 0.1 mile
Set up each filter
For each filter, your setup spreadsheet asks for:
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Label | The filter name families see | School Type |
| Options | Each choice families can pick | Elementary, Middle School, High School |
| Reference column | The data sheet column the filter checks | school_type |
Options must match your data exactly. If the option is "Middle School" but a site's data says "Middle," that site won't appear when families pick Middle School. Options are case sensitive.
Display order of filters. You can determine the order in which your filters display. We recommend putting your most used filters at the top. During initial setup, tell your Avela representative your preferred display order.
Show filters only when they're relevant
Some filters only make sense after an earlier choice. For example, when a family picks Childcare, Explore can show age and provider-type filters that don't apply to high schools. See [Conditional filters].
Example filter set
| Label | Options |
|---|---|
| Distance | Up to 10 miles |
| Grades Served | PK, K, 1–12 |
| School Type | ECE, Elementary, Middle School, High School |
| Choice Programs | Montessori, IB, Dual Language, Early College |
| Aftercare on Site | Yes, No |
Combining Multiple Filters
When you select more than one option within a filter, Explore shows sites that match any of the selected options (OR logic; e.g. filter schools with grade PK OR Kindergarten).
When you use more than one filter at a time, Explore shows only sites that match all of them (AND logic; e.g. filter schools with grade PK AND an after-care program).
Check your filters after updates
Whenever you update your data, test each filter:
- Pick one option at a time and check that the right sites appear.
- Look for sites that should appear but don't. This usually means a spelling or capitalization mismatch.
Related articles
- Conditional filters
- Preparing your Explore data file
- Designing school profiles in Explore
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