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Menasha Joint School District
Dr. David Gundlach
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Technology
Menasha, Wisconsin
3,650 students

Omaha Public Schools
Matthew Ray
Project Manager for the Implementation of Infinite Campus
Omaha, Nebraska
47,000 students
 
Owatonna Public Schools
Dr. Stephen O’Connor
Director of Instructional Services
Owatonna, Minnesota
5,000 students

Campus Process Consulting Receives High Marks from Three Districts
Owatonna Public Schools (MN), Menasha Joint School District (WI), and Omaha Public Schools (NE), are three districts with one thing in common – a need to understand the advanced functionality of their student information systems (SIS). They hired Campus Process Consulting to maximize their use of Infinite Campus.

Standards-based Grading
Dr. David Gundlach, Menasha Joint School District’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Technology, wanted to improve the use of Infinite Campus for standards-based grading. Specifically, they needed to import and properly set up standards to interface with the Campus Grade Book, ultimately feeding the standards-based report card.

“This service had not existed at Infinite Campus before, and it was a welcomed addition from our perspective. Stephen Hallman, Campus Process Consultant, worked with us on importing data into our standards bank,” says Gundlach. “He then helped us work through the process a teacher would use to generate a standards-based report card. It was a tremendous help.”

Menasha now has an established process to train staff members in using the Campus Grade Book and standards-based grading.

Menasha is now ready to bring this another step further. Gundlach says, “We are about to connect our curriculum to instruction to hopefully see evidence of increased student proficiency. This will allow us to create a systematic network of interventions to help students who are not proficient in a given area, or provide appropriate next steps for those who have already mastered a topic.”

Innovative and Creative Applications
Stephen O’Connor, Owatonna Public Schools Director of Instructional Services, hired the
Campus Process Consultant to help them collect, track and report information that could enhance instruction, improve efficiencies and, ultimately, student achievement. They looked to Infinite Campus to provide a creative and innovative solution for the district.

“The training session was immediately effective, because Hallman placed the learning in the context of our operations, increasing staff acceptance of Infinite Campus advanced functionality,” said O’Connor. “With a deeper knowledge of the system capabilities and a staff willing to use it, our district has more flexibility to choose which features will fill their data management and information needs.”

Preparing for Go Live
Omaha Public Schools (OPS) made the decision to include Campus Process Consulting in preparation for going live July 2009. They wanted a thorough analysis of the district’s current procedures and how best to utilize Infinite Campus. With more than 7,000 employees involved in the daily operation of the district and its schools, OPS recognized that the establishment of best practice was imperative from day one.

Referring to the importance of Campus Process Consulting as an integral part of preparing for system implementation, Matthew Ray, OPS Project Manager for the Implementation of Infinite Campus says, “We were willing to spend a considerable amount of our time learning how Infinite Campus would impact our district and what changes we must make in our procedures, as well as the in-depth understanding of the functionality.”

Hallman worked closely with the OPS Core Project Team, with measurable success. “I would encourage other districts to use Campus Process Consulting option from day one,” says Ray. “I am not sure
how a district would implement without the service.”

Beyond Basic Training
Campus Process Consulting provides a service designed to address the specific needs of every district. Basic systems training provides district personnel with the knowledge and skills to operate Infinite Campus. However, to keep pace with district growth, changes in state and ad hoc reporting requirements, data analysis, and all the demands unique to each district, a deeper understanding of Infinite Campus is typically required.

The Campus Process Consultant analyzes these needs through observation and interviews. Hallman combines years of experience as an educator and Campus Trainer with complete understanding of the potential of Infinite Campus to assist Campus customers in meeting their data management and analysis needs.

“This service goes beyond implementation training,” says Hallman. “Consulting provides customized assistance in using the advanced features of the system, including tracking curriculum, assessment reporting and analysis, individual learning plans, and more.”

Different Needs, One Solution
While the expressed needs and expectations of Owatanna, Omaha, and Manasha were different, all three districts experienced success. After a detailed process of consultation and analysis, Campus Process Consulting guided all three to a deeper understanding of the functionality, enabling an increased level of efficiency throughout these districts.

Speaking to other districts asking about the service, Gundlach says, “Campus Process Consulting was well worth the time and money invested”