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Scarsdale Public Schools
Rachel Moseley
Chief Information Officer
Scarsdale, NY
4,700 Students

Scarsdale Predicts Trends and Increases Efficiencies
The Scarsdale Public School District, located in Westchester County, New York, serves 4,700 students. In 2006, Scarsdale was searching for an integrated student information system (SIS) that went beyond simple data collection. Administrators wanted a system that would facilitate forward-looking decision-making while increasing efficiency. Scarsdale found the solution in Infinite Campus®.

Defining District Needs
Scarsdale recognized that efficient and accurate information-gathering was essential for providing a modern education. In order to predict trends and improve instruction, Scarsdale needed a system that could be customized, has an open database, and is web-based, not just web-enabled.

“We were struggling just to get accurate data for simple things like emergency contact information,” says Rachel Moseley, Scarsdale School District Chief Information Officer. “Often the same information was stored in several different schools and offices, but it was not in sync.”

Administrators needed reliable information for decision-making, counselors required accurate student academic histories for effective scheduling, and teachers wanted an SIS that would make data entry efficient to give them more time to teach. With their previous system, teachers and administrators had to walk to the school’s main office to procure information. Nurses and secretaries relied on paper forms for student information and health records. The inherent inefficiencies of this system cost Scarsdale both time and money.

“We picked Infinite Campus because it has a comprehensive set of functionalities that met the various needs of each of our district users,” Moseley said.

Data Analysis Improves Instruction
After more than three years with Infinite Campus, routine data management is no longer a problem and Scarsdale can focus on analyzing data to improve education.

Looking back at the time before Infinite Campus, Moseley says, “We weren’t able to do any kind of real data analysis. We didn’t have a central place where we kept demographic data, grades, household information or what languages were spoken at home. When we wanted to do data analysis, we couldn’t bring relevant information together.”

The ability to access this data from a single source gives Scarsdale the ability to analyze potential trends in student learning and identify and replicate effective teaching approaches.

Moseley notes: “Scarsdale now uses Infinite Campus to analyze data to improve instruction. Questions of correlation and relationship are being explored. For example, the district is trying to determine if there is a correlation between math performance in ninth grade and success in the tenth grade chemistry class. They also want to know if there is a relationship between early intervention in elementary school and the need for special assistance in middle school.”

Scarsdale hopes to answer these questions, use the information and create individual learning plans to give students the best possible opportunity for success. With the efficiency and functionality of Infinite Campus, there is time and opportunity for analysis and planning without additional personnel cost.

Health Office Efficiency
Before Infinite Campus, Scarsdale health professionals relied on paper files for record keeping. Immunizations and mandatory physical exams information required manual tabulation. The health office didn’t have technology available for data management and it was virtually impossible to review statistics of health office visits.

With Campus Health, Scarsdale healthcare staff tracks student immunizations and physical exams. Health office visits and schedules can also be recorded. Instead of compiling years of information from paper forms, each student’s use of the healthcare facility can be compiled into a report and analyzed at a keystroke. Trends of health facility use can be predicted and changes made proactively.

Referring to the reactions of Scarsdale healthcare professionals, Moseley says, “The nurses love the system. They were used to paper records and they were reluctant to adopt the system initially. It was a big change for them. But now that they have used it, they don’t know how they could have ever lived without it.”

Improving Instruction
Teachers can view and analyze comparative and collective experiences through Campus Grade Book. With this information, new goals can be set and new assessments can be put in place to track student progress. As teachers continue to access and utilize this information, students will realize new levels of success through individual learning plans (ILP).

Describing the use of ILP development for Scarsdale students, Moseley says, “I’m impressed by the vision of Infinite Campus, and its plans to transform K12 education. The whole idea that every child should have a learning plan, not just special education students, is very interesting.”

Scarsdale has set high standards for its staff and students. The district is comparing itself to some of the best performing school systems in the world.

“Gathering information and predicting trends will help us reach our goal of being counted among the top performing schools worldwide,” says Moseley. “We are at the beginning of the journey. The next generation of Infinite Campus will give us even more opportunities to improve instruction.”

Customization for Reporting
As state and federal reporting requirements become more complex, administrators need timely access to accurate, aggregated educational data to meet state reporting requirements. Infinite Campus provides customers with built-in state reporting capabilities, customized by state and updated when legislative mandates are implemented.

Infinite Campus has a dedicated group of professional business analysts who constantly monitor changing state and federal reporting requirements, while working closely with customers and its New York channel partner, Custom Computer Specialists, to ensure that the changes are included in a release prior to the end user needing them. Through these efforts, Scarsdale meets New York state reporting requirements.

“State reporting, as it is mandated today, would have been absolutely impossible to accomplish with our old system,” Moseley says. “It would have required an enormous amount of manual labor. With Infinite Campus, it’s pretty much a non-issue. As long as we collect all the data when students enroll, state reporting becomes a relatively smooth event. This allows us to focus our energy on other projects.”

Sharing Experiences
Scarsdale is an active participant of the user group forum. Campus Customers find this is a good place to learn how other districts leverage the product to provide ever increasing levels of information, analysis and decision support tools for their districts.

Regarding the interaction of her user group and Infinite Campus, Moseley says, “I absolutely love the system. I think we have a very bright future together, so I’m happy to talk to other districts and to organize the user group.”