Diocesan School Case Study: Archdiocese of Mobile, AL

The Challenge

One of the greatest challenges the Archdiocese of Mobile faced was finding an affordable software solution that addressed the requirements of their elementary schools, including student data, attendance, discipline, and report cards. The 14 schools in Alabama were using an out-of-date student management system that no longer met their needs, and those who had been familiar with it had either retired or moved on.

The Archdiocese was also in need of a system that met the mobile demands of the parents who depended on their phones to receive information about their children. Some families in the rural areas of the Archdiocese didn’t have great internet connectivity so having access to data on their mobile devices was vital.

Time and organization were also key factors in the Archdiocese’s decision to move to a new system. They needed each of the schools to be set up quickly so that everyone was up and running by the end of the 2016 school year. And, because each school would mirror the next, the setup required an organized, structured schedule.

The Solution

In 2015, the Archdiocese set out to find a system that would best suit the needs of its elementary schools. First, a search committee consisting of principals, teachers, and office staff was created and charged with developing a list of the capabilities they required in a student management system. Next, they sought out vendors whose systems could handle the needs of each individual using the software. Their goal was to find a system that could easily be used across all levels of ability, from the novice user to the savvy IT coordinator.

The search committee scrutinized each vendor’s customer base and history, looking for a system that was both economical and easy to use, as well as functional across all areas, including school administration, school office staff, and teachers.

Rediker Software was selected in late 2015 after meeting all of their criteria; each decision maker felt their individual needs had been addressed and that the student management system could essentially run all of their operations.

Karen Abreo, Associate Superintendent for Academics, Larry Hamilton, Director of Technology, and Sherry Cook, Tech Coordinator at Christ the King, worked with Rediker’s implementation team to organize the project into three phases: planning, configuration, and training. The process began by defining what would be standard across all schools and what would be up to the individual schools. Although initially, they thought all of their data should be stored in one location, after more consideration, they decided they wanted each school to store its own data, citing that users and permissions should be done at the school level and that parents' information at one school should not show up in any other school’s data.

The Results

The Archdiocese began implementing AdminPlus in 2016. Once completed, the elementary schools will have the integration they are seeking to enable school administrators and teachers to manage all student, staff and school data across all 14 schools in the Archdiocese. They can also instantly engage with parents and students in a secure environment.

“We see Rediker Software and Administrator’s Plus continually growing in capability to offer us a complete, unified solution the Archdiocese can use for years to come,” notes Abreo. “AdminPlus goes far beyond the ability to just track and record data. Rediker’s design lets Catholic schools of all sizes, as well as entire Archdiocese’s economically construct systems to meet their exact needs.”

To accommodate the Archdiocese, each school’s data is being configured to adapt to their processes. At the same time, Rediker continues to design the system for ease of use to ensure that users at all levels of technical proficiency can use the system effectively.

By partnering with Rediker Software, the Archdiocese of Mobile is seeing numerous benefits:

Instantly sharing information online:

Parents are often just as hungry for information about their children as teachers and administrative staff. Parents in the Mobile Archdiocese depend on their mobile devices to receive this information. Rediker’s PlusPortals provide multiple, integrated, and convenient channels for delivering information to, and facilitating communication with, parents and students. Providing that information via a cellphone app not only makes the stakeholders happy, but it reduces the administrative burden inherent in manual communication throughout the Archdiocese.

Accessing student and staff data on iOS and Android devices:

When staff are away from their computers they can still have their important student information at their fingertips with Rediker Software’s AP Mobile Apps for iOS & Android®. And with the TeacherPlus Gradebook app, teachers can take attendance and enter grades while up and about in the classroom or on the go.

Automating the Re-enrollment Process:

With AdminPlus Online Forms, Rediker Software can also help save parents the frustration of completing the same paper enrollment forms year after year, and the Archdiocese staff from manually updating records in AdminPlus. Online Forms streamline data collection in a paperless process that eliminates hundreds of hours of data entry, and will ultimately save each elementary school time and money. Staff can easily create their own forms to be filled in by their school’s constituents online.

Searching across all schools:

The Archdiocesan administration can now quickly call up a student or staff member in any elementary school in the Archdiocese to view photos, demographic data, and other critical information. Built-in statistical reporting tools also allow staff to easily produce diocesan-wide reports, pie charts and graphs using live data or historical data in just a matter of minutes.

Long-term partner for success:

The Archdiocese of Mobile’s expectations for Rediker Software are being met. As Abreo and the key players at each of the schools work with the training and implementation teams at Rediker, they are receiving the support they need to become successful. “We couldn’t be happier with the process so far,” Abreo said. “We have found the Rediker staff to be so supportive as we plan out step by step how we will configure the data at each school. And we expect that training at the Rediker headquarters will be second to none.

“The Rediker team is in tune with the needs and wants of school administrators and support staff and have developed solutions that are relevant and practical for all school personnel,” she said.