Blog
September 10, 2017

Make your school’s software transition a breeze with these four tips


September 10, 2017
 / 
Gary Falcon
 / 
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One of the biggest questions from schools taking on new school administration software is how to easily transition staff, teachers, students, and parents to the new system, particularly in the midst of a school year. It may sound like a daunting task, but with the right software vendor you’ll have the support you need to have a painless transition. Here are four things to keep in mind as you select – and roll out– your school’s new software.

  • Focus on the immediate needs of your school first – Learning management systems and student information systems often come with dozens of features to meet the needs of a wide variety of schools. As you begin the process of selecting your school administration software, it is important to pinpoint which features are most important so that your training and implementation can focus on those. The checklist at the bottom of this page can help you in this process!
  • Research the implementation and training process your vendor provides – Your software vendor can truly make or break the transition period. Do they have a clear outline with best practices? Do they offer to train your teachers in addition to the administration? Are they available to assist with support tickets? What is the average response time for returning phone calls and emails? If you are confident in your implementation and support team, moving to a new school administration system becomes just series of small tasks for you to tackle.
  • Set reasonable milestone goals – It is critical to have milestones in place to help keep your staff, teachers, and families moving toward your shared goal of using the new system. You’ll want to focus on finding a right balance between a swift transition and giving everyone time to adapt. The right length of time will vary based on your school size, how much you already use technology, and how excited you and your school community are about jumping in to your new learning management system or student information system. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from various members of your school community to help set the pace for your transition.
  • Breathe! – Once you’ve decided to reap the many benefits of state-of-the-art school administration software, you’ve taken the biggest step. The improved efficiency and time savings you’ll see in the coming weeks and months are going to make running your school a much easier process. Enjoy knowing you’re on the right path!

Still not sure which type of school administration software you need or what kind of tools you could be taking advantage of? Please download your checklist to assess your school’s needs.

 

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