Surprise, Arizona
24,000 Students

Dysart Unified School District had used SASIxp for 11 years. When support for SASI was discontinued, Dysart was ready for a change. The limited product functionality and maintaining several databases was no longer acceptable. In December 2009, Dysart selected Infinite Campus as the best solution to meet their needs.

Challenges
When Dysart issued its request for proposal (RFP), they were looking for a system that would deliver where SASIxp had come up short. Lacking an integrated central database, Dysart had been managing data with 24 separate databases. Information was entered separately for each student from one family, causing data errors and increasing data entry time. Limitations in record retention required the installation of a separate system for housing historic student records. Year-end rollovers were cumbersome and class scheduling was inefficient.

Solution
Infinite Campus was chosen to resolve Dysart’s system deficiencies. “Infinite Campus offers solutions to the challenges we experienced with SASI,” said Suzanne Smith, Dysart Application Analyst Coordinator. “Its integrated applications, robust query and report building functionality, ability to track the many requirements for health reporting, and the capability to create personalized learning plans (PLPs) for ALL students is exactly what we were looking for.”

For more than a decade, Dysart had different data entry processes for each building. Moving to an integrated system required a first step of cleaning up the data. Dysart used Campus Data Health Check to identify where there were problems with the data. “We used data health checks during each conversion,” said Smith. “This ensured squeaky clean data from day one. These extra steps contributed to Dysart’s successful implementation and ‘go live’.”

Infinite Campus has a proven track record of fast and effective implementations led by professional project managers. Dysart took the initiative to develop an internal plan to create enthusiasm for change. Designing a strong communication plan, encouraging staff participation at all levels and providing proactive leadership set the stage for positive and widespread user acceptance of the new system.

Working together, Dysart and Infinite Campus achieved the goal of a successful ‘go live’ with district-wide acceptance. Dysart set an ambitious goal for implementation as they felt confident it could be done in six months. Expert users from across the district served on the selection committee and became advocates for Infinite Campus.

“These district experts acted as our Infinite Campus ambassadors. They believed in the product and were equipped with facts about the new SIS,” said Smith. “They answered questions and promoted Infinite Campus even before we began the implementation.”

With a successful implementation in the bag, improvements in district processes were easy to see from the start. Communication and record keeping features now allow attendance clerks to list absences along with contact information, including all available telephone numbers. The classroom monitor enables them to see which teachers have not taken attendance, to email that teacher, and to enter guest teacher attendance all from one screen.

Some additional reasons for Dysart’s excitement about their SIS include:

• Campus Grad Planner provides the tools to review graduation requirements and monitor state testing and current credits earned.
• Ad hoc reporting and data tracking help to assess student achievement and make informed decisions.
• Online course requests dramatically reduce data entry time and errors.
• Tracking positive behaviors for student awards and recognition.
• The direction of the company for individualized education for all students is clear and Dysart wants to be a part of the innovation.

Results
Administrators and counselors report that scheduling is efficient and reliable. Registrars and data record technicians say that Infinite Campus is truly a point-and-click solution.

Nurses find that health information is accurate and easy to access. Infinite Campus saves time for staff and dollars for the district. “With the scheduling capabilities, one of our high schools reduced their amount of data entry time by 80 hours,” said Smith.

“Infinite Campus has a detailed strategy for implementation that contributed greatly to our success, and the product is flexible and comprehensive enough to meet our future needs,” related Smith.