Blaine, Minnesota
6,465 Students
Centennial Schools serves 31,982 residents in the communities of Blaine, Centerville, Circle Pines, Lexington and Lino Lakes, Minn. In 1993, Founder and CEO, Charlie Kratsch, worked as the Centennial IT Director, and had a big idea to Transform K12 Education by creating a fully-integrated, Web-based student information system (SIS). Centennial agreed to become the first school district to implement Infinite Campus. Since then, Centennial maximized their investment by adding additional products and services, including an ongoing training program – Infinite Campus University.
Staff Professional Development
Centennial subscribes to Infinite Campus University (ICU) to assist in ongoing training. This optional service gives ample opportunity for staff to learn about Infinite Campus and how to use it more effectively. Whether new employees need to be trained, or current staff need a refresher course, ICU provides a variety of learning tools for all users including:
Lunch and Learn Sessions – Learn about new product enhancements and how they can improve your processes.
Core Course Webinars – Explore current and new features on a variety of topics including: Census, Report Card and Transcript, Data Analysis, Scheduling, Posting of Grades and more.
One-on-One Training – Receive single district training that is customizable. If a new, current or group of employees need basic or refresher training, Infinite Campus has qualified trainers on staff.
Fast Track to Training – As an ICU subscribing customer, select option 3 and calls are immediately directed to a trainer, giving personalized attention for product questions.
Training Bundles – Combine training into bundles including, New Staff and Scheduling.
Teacher Tuesdays – These courses are designed with teachers in mind and include the newest instruction modules.
What’s Possible Wednesdays – Make sure your district is utilizing all the tools available with Infinite Campus to its full potential. We’ll teach you how to use them step-by-step.
According to Bonnie Linder, Infinite Campus Training Manager, “Our main goal of ICU is to give customers an inexpensive training option and be a reliable resource for them. Campus Trainers accommodate staff training and quickly answer product ‘how to’ questions. With an ICU subscription, districts explore and use areas of Campus to be more efficient.”
Centennial Tech Team
Joseph Clark, Centennial Database Manager, and Charles Nadeau, Centennial Database Assistant, are relatively new to the district. Their job is to be experts on Infinite Campus so staff have in-house resources for support.
“Any questions or issues that arise are brought to my attention, and then I research for a solution. If I can’t find an answer in the Campus Community, I call the training line for assistance,” said Nadeau. “We document all of our solutions, so if we experience the same problem again, we have the answers readily available. “
Campus Training Staff
Campus Trainers are an invaluable resource to Centennial. “The trainers are on my speed dial,” explained Nadeau. “Having an ICU subscription allows me to speak to a trainer immediately. It’s extremely convenient.”
According to Clark, “Campus Trainers are extremely approachable. They don’t just fix the problem for you. They help you step-by-step so you fully understand how to solve it yourself.”
Monthly Campus Q&A
After working at Centennial for a short time, Nadeau created a monthly Campus Q&A. It’s a great opportunity for staff to address problems or concerns. In addition, Nadeau explains and walks through updates or enhancements that were added to the SIS.
“Only a few employees attended the first meeting. Once the word spread about how helpful the Q&A was, the computer lab was full of employees eager to learn. If there is a question I cannot answer, I quickly call a Campus Trainer for help. It’s that simple.”
Return on Investment
Infinite Campus continues to review and enhance its product to meet the ever-changing demands of K12 education and overall improve its comprehensive SIS. So, free monthly enhancements are added to Centennials system without disruption.
To Centennial, the benefits of ICU exceed the cost. “As a fairly new tech team, ICU has allowed us to become experts on Infinite Campus and keep up-to-date on new developments,” stated Clark. “I highly encourage purchasing an ICU subscription to any district looking to improve staff professional development. It’s an investment that will not go unnoticed.”