The "Keys to SIS Success" Project
SIS Success Blog (www.SISsuccess.com) is launching a “Share and Learn” project and will be interviewing the technology and information management leaders in the school divisions throughout Virginia and Maryland to discover how they chose their current Student Information System and to spotlight specific ways they are leveraging their systems to streamline processes, improve parental access, and support student and teacher excellence.
Over the next 45 days, we will be interviewing CIO/CTOs from Virginia’s 135 school divisions, other district stakeholders who have been involved in selecting and implementing their student information systems, representatives from several “leading edge” Maryland divisions who are using their SISs in innovative ways, and the education, technology, and information management leaders in the State government and board of education.
The end result of this project will be a resource guide which we will share with the CIOs/CTOs and stakeholders in each school division so they are able to “stand on the shoulders” of their colleagues and accelerate their success in choosing, funding, implementing , and leveraging the RIGHT Student Information System/Educational Platform in their school district.
Some of the topics that will be covered in the guide:
- “Is it Time for a Change?”: Diagnosing Your Current System and Doing a “Cost/Benefit” Analysis
- How Districts are Funding Their Systems: And What to Do if Money is Tight
- Scheduling an Implementation Rollout for Maximum Success
- Going “Beyond SIS”: How to Use Your System as an Educational Platform to Support Teachers Teaching and Improve Student Performance
- “One Big Happy Family”: Top Ways School Divisions are Getting “Buy In” from Students, Teachers, Admin Staff, and Parents
- “If I Knew Then, What I Know Now": CIOs Share Their Mistakes to Avoid
- Getting the Data: The Top Reports Schools Want
- “I Didn’t Realize It Could Be This Easy!”: Making the LEAP from Manual Scheduling to Schedule Builder
- A Comparative Analysis of the Primary SIS Providers
- Red Flags and Signs of Trouble
- Becoming the Squeaky Wheel: How to Get the Training and Service You Need: And What to do When Your Providers Fall Short
Answers to our two most frequently asked questions:
• “How do I get my copy?”
Please visit www.SISsuccess.com to register to receive your copy (once completed).
• “How do I provide my information? When/where is the interview?”
I will be reaching out to the School CIO/CTOs over the next few weeks (beginning Sept 15th) to inform them about the project and to provide them with a couple “things to think about” prior to the interview.
During the 15-30 minute interview, I will confirm your mailing address and find out whether you’d like additional copies for additional stakeholders.
Process for Surveying/Interviewing:
- Online interview – complete at your own leisure through our online process
- Email interview – review questions and answer via email (I will call to confirm and to get clarification on any points)
- Telephone interview (PREFERRED) – I will go through the questions, recording the answers for later use/transcription (no “60 Minutes” gotcha questions, I promise!)
X2, the producers of the Aspen Student Information System, provider to some of the largest (and smallest) school districts on the East Coast (from Miami-Dade, Florida to Howard County, Maryland to Bedford, Massachusetts).
Lead: Frazier O’Leary is the editor for SISsuccess.com. He is also the Student Information Systems Advisor for Virginia, Maryland, and DC for X2 (Aspen). A former high school teacher in Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia, Frazier has 15 years experience facilitating networking between business organizations and supporting school districts with curriculum resources and technology. Before joining X2 Development, Frazier worked with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Stargazer Foundation, both organizations innovatively use technology to promote educational excellence.
Frequently Asked Questions:
• Why are you doing this?
Our mission at SISsuccess.com (supported by X2) is to enable technology and information management officials in our school divisions to have breakthrough success with leveraging student information systems. We ensure that our product, Aspen SIS, is the most stable, innovative, and comprehensive student information system on the market by staying connected to and supporting CIOs/CTOs in our local school divisions. We believe the more CIOs/CTOs know about what CAN be done with their SISs, the more teachers, parents, and ultimately students benefit and succeed.
• Who is funding this project?
Frazier O’Leary, the lead editor/publisher for SISsuccess.com, is employed by X2 and is the Student Information Systems Advisor for Maryland, Virginia, and DC.
• What will be done with the results?
We will be sharing the relevant results of the interviews (and the research) through the blog and then, once assembled and organized, through the Resource Guide, which will be distributed to school district CIOs/CTOs who participate or who are interested.
