When the districts of Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales, located just north of Portland, Maine, learned they would be consolidated into a regional school unit, RSU4, it seemed the best time to assess their student information system (SIS). The new school structure required an integrated system to maximize efficiency across the district. In addition, RSU4 wanted to streamline state reporting, engage parents and save time and money. Infinite Campus was seen as the best solution to support this newly-formed district.
Right Time for Change
For the past seven years, Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales were using MMS student management systems, which was sufficient for them as independent, smaller units. But with consolidation imminent, integrating data seamlessly among the three districts became a high priority.
“As separate districts, we had many silos, inconsistent data entry, and differing data management processes,” said Cathy McCue, RSU4 Assistant Superintendent. “We knew we had to bring them all together to share information easily and manage our data more accurately. The school board saw the switch to Infinite Campus as a cost savings, so it was a no brainer for us.” The consolidation became an opportunity to evaluate and improve processes.
Making the necessary commitment of time and resources to clean up data, manage district-wide training and oversee the implementation, RSU4 had a successful go live and an SIS that brought the separate schools’ data together seamlessly.
Improved State Reporting
Prior to the consolidation, RSU4 schools had three separate groups working on data entry for state reporting, with no clearly defined processes. When the schools merged, they discovered problems with inconsistent data that would negatively impact state reporting. These issues have been resolved with the integration of Infinite Campus.
Because the state of Maine uses Infinite Campus State Edition, RSU4 now has a distinct advantage over districts on other systems. “We share our information with the state all the time. With Infinite Campus our information has fewer errors,” said McCue. “It is much better than last year.”
RSU4 has reorganized their staff to have one central data manager to handle state reporting. That person has developed written data standards and clear guidelines for what data is needed and how it should be entered. This process ensures greater data integrity and saves valuable time.
Power of Integration
As a web-based, integrated system, RSU4 has already experienced several benefits with Infinite Campus. “Having real-time information shared across the district is a huge time saver,” said McCue. “In the past, we were always importing and exporting data. To have it all in one system is great.”
Staff and teachers have expressed how much easier Infinite Campus is to use. “For teachers to have access to student data is so helpful. All the information is right there – accessible from anywhere – and with the most current information,” said McCue. “It really saves staff a lot of time searching for information and money printing out forms.”
RSU4 is developing a report for individual students that displays attendance, behavior, academic work, and assessment results all on one screen, so when teachers attend a meeting, they are well informed. Teachers spend less time searching for information and more time with students.
The registration process has changed for the better. McCue explains. “We now have a central registrar and a clear method on how we take in registrations. It’s much cleaner and faster. We catch mistakes right away, and no longer go months before we get a report and find them.”
Added Value
The Campus Portal was opened to parents as soon as possible. Teachers enter grades and lessons in the grade book, allowing parents and students to keep up-to-date on school work.
Guidance counselors are using the Campus Scheduler for the first time. “We are hearing from everyone who has used the scheduler that it is much easier than the old way,” said McCue.
When time and resources are limited, Infinite Campus provides added value. RSU4 purchased Campus Food Service and already has realized savings. “Campus Food Service is amazing,” said McCue. “We didn’t have anything like this in the past. Instead of taking two weeks to do balances and reporting, it’s ready in real time. It’s the big thing we were looking for and supports our efforts of bringing all major functions together across the district.”
Getting a Return on Investment
Within a year, RSU4 has seen efficiencies in data entry and printing costs. Data is cleaner and with more efficient state reporting, the burden of limited staff hours has been eased.
However, real ROI comes in many forms. “I’m not sure you can quantify this, but having parents and students use the Campus Portal for communications is a tremendous benefit,” said McCue. “We have never had better communications than what we have now. It’s made a big difference.”
At RSU4, students regularly check grades, lunch balances and attendance. Parents are more proactive if they have a concern about their child. They are also aware of district-wide news and become stronger members of the RSU4 community. McCue believes having improved communications via the portal has a real impact on student achievement.
The Right Choice for RSU4
Change is often feared and a transition to a new way of doing business can be a challenge. But RSU4 knew they would realize definite benefits with Infinite Campus.
“We’re only eight months into using Infinite Campus and already we’ve seen positive results. Infinite Campus is a comprehensive system and I look forward to seeing how much more it can do for us in the future.”