People and Technology: A Culture of Connection

Replacing a student information system can be a challenging process for any school system, requiring the establishment of employee ownership, a seamless data transition, and the maximization of training opportunities. This is not a cavalier decision, and it is essential to partner with a vendor, such as Rediker who understands the needs of schools.

The First Challenge

For more than 10 years, the 15 elementary schools within the Diocese of Paterson utilized a single student information system to manage attendance, report cards, and other administrative tasks. While it initially fulfilled their requirements, the system gradually became obsolete. The system failed to cater to the diverse family structures by lacking suitable parent contact information storage. Additionally, there was no secure centralized location to store student and staff documents, and the teacher software was inadequate to meet their needs.

Furthermore, the old database lacked flexibility in customization, resulting in challenges when generating reports and a lack of options for parents to update their native language and demographic information. Inadequate support and technical assistance from the SIS vendor further compounded difficulties in obtaining answers regarding the software.

The Solution

In 2016, the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Paterson formed a search committee to evaluate several systems that could deliver better performance, up-to-date features, and an overall improved user experience. Additionally, they sought a company that could provide comprehensive user support, ensuring assistance was available when and how users needed it.

After researching numerous vendors, the diocese selected Rediker Software as it provided the best solution to better serve the school communities. With an intuitive interface, the new SIS was designed to be more user-friendly and gave teachers and administrators the tools to manage student data and communicate with parents effectively.

Nevertheless, implementing the software posed several challenges. While many faculty and staff members were enthusiastic about the transition, some remained hesitant to embrace an unfamiliar technology. The primary concern was the difficulty in learning the new system, coupled with the fear of encountering issues while attempting to execute a task without the requisite knowledge or recall of how to complete it.

So, rather than implement the new system in all the elementary schools at once, the committee chose four schools to pilot the program. "We thought it best to win the people over who wanted the change first," explained Mary Wrenn, Director of Educational Technology. "It was important that these four schools were receptive to pilot the SIS. They showed their colleagues the change was necessary and beneficial."

Wrenn, who at the time was working as a teacher and tech coordinator at one of the four pilot schools, transitioned to her new position in 2017 where part of her job was to get the remainder of the schools on board. This included scheduling and attending the training sessions for each school's teachers and AdminPlus users. With encouragement, guidance, and support from both Wrenn and Rediker, users were able to overcome anxiety and roadblocks.

The Second Challenge

By 2018, all the remaining elementary schools had adopted AdminPlus, and implementation and training commenced. However, in 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 compelled the schools to close, necessitating a shift to remote or hybrid learning for students. Fortunately, the schools had the necessary resources and tools to manage this situation.

"Because of Covid restrictions, the Parent Portal and email capabilities in AdminPlus were progressive steps in report card distribution," noted Wrenn. "It required the schools to encourage parents to be more accountable for checking in online through the portal."

The departure of experienced teachers resulted in the hiring of teachers unfamiliar with TeacherPlus Gradebook, which can prolong the implementation process. This created the additional obligation of having to train new teachers by the first day of school so they could hit the ground running. Training new teachers and integrating them with the rest of the staff was paramount.

The Results

Since the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Paterson implemented AdminPlus, the robust system has met all of their core needs. It has proven to be a powerful solution that's user-friendly, allows easy access to all student data, and provides essential information for parents and students to open up lines of communication.

"When it comes to AdminPlus, the home screen is intuitive, giving users the ability to sort and pull up what they want and send it to an Excel file to work with that data," noted Wrenn. The database is more easily customized and has the ability to email report cards or any other documents or attachments without leaving the program.

The software is built so that users can set up and save the views they need. For example, when it comes to creating rosters for testing, or finding information on student demographics, Wrenn is able to easily and quickly gather the data to run reports.

The feedback on the gradebook has been overwhelmingly positive, primarily due to its interface, which resembles a traditional gradebook. It boasts of user-friendly features that simplify the grading process. Additionally, the Parent Portal has been a powerful tool, with some schools using the Portfolio feature since inception. Administrators upload report cards in the Portfolio and encourage parents to access them. This functionality has proved to be a convenient way for parents to keep track of their child's progress.

Being proactive throughout the implementation and training process has also driven success and helped form a strong partnership between Rediker and the Diocese. "The training and support are just fantastic," Wrenn said. "Engaging (the new users) with Rediker's support was a huge help to bringing everyone else on board. Everyone is increasing their use of the software day by day," she said.

With the help of a dedicated Success Manager at Rediker and an implementation team helping drive success, the outcome has been a positive one for all. Success Manager Sharon Swaby noted, "It's been a great partnership with the Diocese. We've been able to get through some tough hurdles (but with our support) it has really cemented our partnership."

"Creating a partnership with Rediker, onboarding stakeholders to the process, and giving the schools the time needed empowered them to embrace the change of a new system, overcome their challenges and take full ownership of their student information," said Mary Baier, Superintendent of Schools.

Today, progress is increasing with the use of new products such as the billing and admissions software."Rediker's quality products combined with the outstanding tech support, not just at the time of implementation, but years later especially when added to the various avenues of training available, has been an equation for success," said Wrenn.