Two FLA Districts Gain Efficiency With New Management Suite

Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) in Sanford, Florida, and the Dixie School District located just west of Gainesville, have implemented the Skyward Student Management Suite, which provides administrative and reporting functions, and facilitates school-to-home communication.

SCPS serves 64,000 students, and prior to implementing Skyward two years ago, used a student system that lacked the capacity to stay current with state reporting requirements.

“Now that we use the Student Management Suite from Skyward, the data we submit monthly to the state is incredibly accurate and multifaceted,” said Tim Harper, director of staffing and state reporting at SCPS. “Additionally, staff members love the myriad functions the system provides, and the rapport we have built with Skyward employees has exceeded our expectations.”

SCPS has experienced increased efficiency with state reporting, allowing it to cut the eight-person team devoted to this process in half. Today, a three-person team focuses on extracting, scrubbing and shipping data to the state, while the repurposed staff members direct their efforts to other areas, such as web development.

With Skyward, teachers at Dixie, a district of 2,000 students, are able to collect student data and analyze key trends that influence student performance. The district also is communicating more effectively with parents, resulting in less truancy and fewer low-performing students.

“One of the biggest ways Skyward has impacted the district is through the Family Access module,” said Karen E. Sapp, management information specialist at Dixie School District. “Parents can access all of their student’s information, from grades and assignments to standardized testing and discipline, in one centralized location, improving communication between teachers, parents and students.”

A case study detailing the increased operational efficiency at SCPS and Dixie School District is available for download at http://www.skyward.com/Page.ashx/News/case_studies.

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