Boise, Idaho
25,000 Students
The
Independent School District of Boise City serves over 25,000 students
in the capital city of Idaho. In 2007, Dr. Steve Tyree, chief
information officer (CIO), directed the search to replace its various
freestanding data management programs. Infinite Campus was chosen to
help Boise City schools move into the 21st century of student management
process and software.
Challenges
Boise
was looking for a student information system (SIS) that could eliminate
paper grade books, achieve consistent data entry, increase
accountability and engage parents through electronic communication in
real time.
The district’s previous system used four to five different systems to
do the kinds of things that are standard within Infinite Campus. For
example, teachers had used a variety of grade book entry tools that were
inconsistent and had very little, if any, connection to parents.
“We were looking for a single database system accessible via the Web to
replace our aging SASIxp system,” said Tyree. “We wanted a integrated
package that included a grade book and parent portal. The ability to
track, report, analyze and communicate student assessments was also
important.”
Solution
After
evaluating functionality and cost, Infinite Campus was chosen to serve
Boise’s sixty sites. According to Tyree, “Infinite Campus was obviously
built as a Web-based application from the beginning. It is totally
integrated and shows what we thought was the best industry model when
compared to the others we considered.”
Using Infinite Campus, administrators enjoy single point data entry and
teachers, counselors, administrators, parents and students all have
real time access to information.
Teachers can enter assignments, grades, assessment information and
progress within standards-based or traditional grading parameters from
school or home at their convenience. Access to the system by teachers,
students and parents through the Campus Portal has been a major plus of
the Infinite Campus transition.
“We thought the Campus Portal was the best by far,” said Tyree.
“Parents absolutely love it,” said Tyree. “We’re in the process of
restructuring our district strategic plan, and in the parent comment
section, several parents stated how much they appreciate having
consistent, ongoing and timely information about their student.”
Infinite Campus provides Boise administrators with built-in state
reporting capabilities and works with the district to customize state
reporting to meet Idaho requirements.
According to Tyree, “After making some adjustments to our internal
business practices, state reporting went well. Infinite Campus is
working just fine and is doing everything it is supposed to do. We push a
button and out comes the data. We’re very excited about our next state
reporting period.”
Results
The
fact that information is transparent to parents is changing how the
district manages data. “It brings a higher level of accountability to
administrators and teachers to enter information accurately and in a
timely manner,” said Tyree.
“One of the things we love about Infinite Campus is that it’s
seamless,” said Tyree. “None of the components are forced to fit
together – rather they were made to work together. We feel Infinite
Campus is providing us with a long term, modern, integrated and
comprehensive solution. We are getting more from our investment in
Infinite Campus than we would have with anyone else.”
Having a truly integrated system, as well as the personalized support
and services that Infinite Campus provides, will help Boise City
accomplish its educational goals today and for years to come.
