5 Signs It’s Time to Switch Your District’s SIS

Not all K-12 student information systems are built equal. That’s why it’s critical to look beyond basic functionality that all systems should offer.

Most SISs maintain the basics like your student data, scheduling, attendance, and a digital gradebook. But not all prepare you to succeed into the future. For that, you need to look at deeper functionality like how well your SIS offers things like flexibility to support your changing needs, student data protection, interoperability, parent engagement tools, and growth and investment of the product. Your SIS should serve as the heart of your digital ecosystem by powering operations with secure, accurate, and accessible data and insights.

Whether you’re looking to improve your system for the future, or if your current SIS is being phased out or no longer supported, here are top signs to look for to know if it’s time to change.

District tech directors are concerned with the security and privacy of their student data. According to the CoSN EdTech Trends 2021 survey of K-12 edtech leaders, “When asked to identify their top three unmet technology needs, cybersecurity was ranked number one, by a large margin.”

In the 2021-22 school year, 56% of schools worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks. Between 2016 and 2021, edtech vendors were responsible as the entry point of 55% of K-12 data breaches.

Your SIS should be built securely, backed by a dedicated security team, to help protect against threats. At a minimum, the SIS needs 24x7x365 monitoring of applications, databases, cybersecurity, and infrastructure operations.

Additional security measures your SIS should offer include secure cloud hosting, fully redundant infrastructure services, multiple levels of data recovery, and cutting-edge security technologies.

“I feel PowerSchool is doing an excellent job maintaining secure student data. Our servers are stored offline with redundancy, so we will never lose data or have to worry about old hardware upkeep and replacement,” says Elizabeth Migalla, Information Technology Coordinator, Winnetka School District 36, IL.

Here are a few other security features to look for in a new SIS:

• Datacenter facilities with physical and virtual security measures in place and compliance with IT security standards such as FERPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001:2013 certification
• Ensured continuity with a robust and resilient systems backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities
• Multiple levels of protection, prevention, and mitigation against emerging cybersecurity threats, certified by internationally recognized standards for security posture and business continuity frameworks

If your SIS doesn’t smoothly integrate with the other products you’re using—like your LMS, assessment software, or finance and HR software—you’re not seeing the whole picture that all your data can provide. Plus, if you’re sharing data through a cumbersome import/export function, you’re slowed down and unable to see information quickly.

With true interoperability of your SIS with other products, you get a more seamless, efficient user experience, and you can also reduce operational costs, improve data connectivity, increase collaboration, improve student data security, privacy, and accuracy, and enhance reporting. An interoperable SIS should meet recognized data standards, making it easier to report student performance to the state.

• Benefits of an interoperable SIS include:
• Data updates in real-time across systems
• Efficiency by streamlining access to applications and providing visibility into student performance
• Single sign-on with one account and login for all programs
• Seamless user experience with a familiar interface across programs
• Security across systems
• Family engagement, giving parents access to student progress data, grades, attendance, discipline, and more

After 10 years of using its old SIS, Redondo Beach School District needed a change. Staff was unhappy with the old system, which wasn’t working to meet their goals. One of the main reasons the district switched to PowerSchool SIS was because they wanted an interoperable system that integrated with other core products, according to Derek Kinsey, CTO, Redondo Beach School District.

“One of the key features we were looking at is we wanted a system that would give us everything from a single pane of glass. We were looking at a system that had a learning management system, assessment piece, online registration—everything that rolled up into one.”

Teachers appreciate the integration of PowerSchool SIS’s gradebook, PowerTeacher Pro, with PowerSchool Schoology Learning. “When we were selecting our new system, our teachers wanted a system that was easy to use and also easy to integrate with our learning management system,” Kinsey says. “Now, we’re seeing all the information in real time, where students can do their assignments on their Chromebooks, hand it in right away, and teachers can grade it right there and get feedback in real time. Our parents also really love this feature because they can see all of their students in one single pane of glass and see where they’re at in any given time.”

Is your SIS only allowing you to store data and providing minimal additional features—with infrequent updates and upgrades to the system? That doesn’t cut it in today’s modern education environments. Schools and districts have changing needs, as evidenced by the uncertainty and challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

A student information system should give you the flexibility to adapt to K-12 education changes, backed by a company that invests in innovating and improving the product for your needs.

“We were also looking for a company that was investing heavily in their technology and bringing it to a bigger breadth of what they were doing for the future,” says Kinsey. “Technology is changing rapidly. As we were looking at systems and where we’re at today, it was very important that we had knowledge of the company and where growth was going and that was with PowerSchool.”

A practical way to determine if an SIS is built to give you scalability for the future is whether you can easily add new fields, pages, and screens for your unique data collection needs—without needing coding knowledge or requesting it from the vendor. Also, can you access deeper analytics and insights from your data?

Does your SIS offer quality support when you need it, and multiple training options tailored to how and when you best learn? For instance, does it offer 24×7 access to training and support, or availability through phone, email, chat, webinars, and community forums?

Look for an SIS that offers training through on-demand, online, and in-person classes.

Another thing to look for is how active users are in forums and user events. A strong user community supported by your SIS vendor can help you learn how to use products better, learn tricks and tips, and network with fellow educators.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, PowerSchool support has been amazingly responsive to different needs,” says Sean Coffron, Instructional Technology Training Specialist, Manassas City Public Schools, VA. “Additionally, the PowerSchool community has become a wonderful hub of collegiality and information.”

If you’re struggling with a complicated interface or overall usability of your SIS, you can end up wasting time or missing key functionality. Software should not be difficult to navigate with a challenging learning curve, no matter your technical level.

Your SIS should be built with a modern web design framework that provides an interactive, user-friendly, and robust experience on any browser or device—including smartphones and tablets.

As part of the SIS, your gradebook should be easy for teachers to use and save them time that they can spend focused on their students’ learning. It should support teaching and learning, provide flexible setup options, eliminate tedious tasks, and work on any web-enabled device. Teachers need the ability to automatically load all classes, rosters, student demographic information, grading periods, standards management, grade calculation setup, and grade scales into the gradebook.

“(With PowerSchool SIS) all levels of staff, even those with no formal training, can just intuitively pick it up. It’s very user-friendly. I train teachers, secretaries, and administrators, and there are literally no issues with their understanding of any part of it,” says Judy Williams, EMIS Coordinator and District PowerSchool Administrator, Washington Local Schools, OH.

Usability also includes parents and students, who should have instant access to grades, assignments, and attendance from the mobile app or parent and student portals.

Master schedule building shouldn’t be complicated. You should be able to complete it in just a few clicks while considering all student and teacher needs and requests.

Choosing the Right SIS for Your Needs

While changing student information systems can seem stressful, it’s important to factor in the benefits the right SIS can give you. Instead of settling for an outdated or legacy system, consider whether it’s meeting your needs or preparing you for the future.

“We are very confident PowerSchool SIS is a product that will continue to grow,” Kinsey says. “They continue to invest in the product, and that’s very important for us. We want to make sure later on down the road, we don’t want to go to another student information system. We want an SIS that continues to grow as we grow.”

Watching out for the above signs can help you determine whether it’s time to upgrade your system.