Newton Public Schools in Newton, Massachusetts, faced a significant challenge when their student information system (SIS) reached its end of life after more than a decade. The district needed a new SIS that could handle their complex needs, including high school scheduling and state reporting requirements. The solution came in the form of Follett Aspen® SIS.

The Challenge

Newton Public Schools had initially chosen a new SIS with promising technical capabilities, but it fell short in usability and handling their high school scheduling structure, leading to numerous state reporting issues. “The district looked to make a change,” said Steven Rattendi, Director of Informational Technology & Library Services. “Though we had invested over a year in getting the second system up and running, our users were having difficulty adapting to the SIS’s interface; there were issues with the handling of our high school scheduling structure; and there were numerous state reporting problems.”

The district needed a proven, user-friendly SIS that could handle their specific needs and was customizable. “Aspen is user-friendly, yet powerful. Anyone can start using it with just a few minutes of training, and it’s highly customizable to support district needs,” said Jack Polnar, Data Management Specialist.

The Solution

Newton Public Schools selected Follett Aspen® SIS as their new SIS. Two years after the switch, the school district is very pleased with the results. Follett was one of the few vendors with a SIS used by more than 100 customers in Massachusetts. The local community and highly responsive Follett customer service, training, and implementation experts provided additional support.

“We were impressed that Aspen could be customized to handle our processes and high school scheduling,” said Brian Hammel, Coordinator of Instructional Technology. Katy Hogue, District Student Data Manager, appreciated Aspen’s solid state reporting component.

“What stood out most was the conversion methodology, which allowed us to provide the data and Follett to perform the conversion,” shared Polnar. This process was vital due to the scale of the transition.

Implementation Process

The implementation process, while challenging, was successful due to the collaboration between Newton’s IT team and Follett. “We worked closely with our implementation project manager, who connected us with resources within Aspen and outside of Aspen (the Aspen Community Forum) so we could implement Aspen the way we needed to,” Polnar explained.

Newton’s team took ownership of the transition, working closely with Follett to ensure Aspen met their needs. “With an undertaking like this, it’s important that the district – not just the vendor – is willing to participate fully,” Polnar noted. They held trainings and took time to test and validate the data based on Follett’s guidance.

Newton IT presented an unusual request for a mid-year conversion, which Follett successfully managed. “Follett worked with us to make this happen. The biggest challenge was converting current year schedules, which had to be perfect,” said Tony Sbordone, Data Management Specialist.

The Results

The district’s expectations were far exceeded. “One of the key factors in our decision to select Aspen was its state reporting capability, and we are pleased with the results,” said Brian McCarthy, Data Management Specialist. Kevin Dolan, another Data Management Specialist, added, “Using Aspen enabled us to submit our state reports on time during our first state reporting period after the conversion, and we have been able to complete subsequent reports ahead of state deadlines ever since!”

Newton also transitioned to using the Special Ed module within Aspen, integrating special education data with regular education data. “This capability has allowed us to better meet the needs of our students and teachers, and made meeting state reporting requirements much easier,” Polnar said.

Customization and Support

Newton has extensively customized Aspen’s family and student portal to generate and provide access to report cards, progress reports, and other documents. “We have customized our reports to generate these documents, and we’ve been able to use the custom navigation feature in Aspen, which allows students to access the same reports as families,” said Cliff Aurisma, Data Management Specialist.

Rattendi echoed his colleagues’ sentiments: “Since implementation, we have successfully used many of Aspen’s built-in modules, including Programs, Transportation, Fees, and Special Education. More importantly, we’ve been able to custom tailor these to fit Newton’s needs.”

Follett’s state reporting experts and customer service have been outstanding. “The support provided by Follett and the Aspen team for scheduling a complex high school was invaluable,” Rattendi said.

Conclusion

The implementation of Aspen at Newton Public Schools has enabled smoother processes and better service for staff, families, and students. With accurate, efficient, and centralized data management and reporting at all levels, the transition to Aspen has proven to be a success.

For more information on how Follett Software can support your district, please contact us.