Massachusetts School District Finds Follett Aspen “The Be-All and End-All” of Solutions After a Decade of Successful Implementation 

Attleboro Public Schools (APS), a high-performing district in southeastern Massachusetts, serves nearly 6,000 students across 11 schools with over 700 educators and support staff. Recognizing the need for a flexible, scalable Student Information System (SIS) to meet their evolving needs, APS sought a solution that would grow with them. 

“To develop and deliver relevant learning experiences that engage, challenge, and inspire all students to maximize their unique potential and improve our world.” For a district with such a mission, a robust SIS was essential. 

The Challenge 

In 2009, IT Director Jonathan Plourde began searching for a new SIS. APS had been using an inflexible, cumbersome system that couldn’t adapt to the district’s growing needs. Plourde found the solution in Follett Aspen® SIS. Its functionality and potential for growth convinced him that Aspen was the system APS needed. 

Today, Plourde’s vision has become reality, with Aspen exceeding his original expectations. “The integration of Aspen to include multimodule integration of such functions as attendance, grading, demographics, and SPED has streamlined the IT operations by eliminating time-consuming management of multiple systems,” he said. “We brought new modules on individually through careful transition, which also allowed us to save money by eliminating redundant services.” 

An Ongoing Evolution 

The evolving Aspen implementations at APS over the past decade have been integral to improving efficiency, enabling teaching and learning, and fulfilling the district’s mission. Building on the foundation Plourde created – streamlining state reporting needs, fully integrating HR functions, constructing improved workflows, and enabling a new Instructional Management System (IMS) – Aspen has become indispensable. 

Natalie Carr, Education Technology Specialist, shared, “Aspen has made state requirements and federal reports incredibly easy. I am currently in the middle of completing our biannual CRDC report. Aspen has significantly decreased the amount of time it takes to complete that report because it calculates much of the required information for us. Registering students for MCAS has also become easier. All it took to register approximately 3,000 students was running one procedure and one export. Then, with minimal cleanup, I was done!” 

Customizable and Flexible 

Another key implementation of Aspen was the creation of a custom badge template including bar codes tied to student ID numbers. “With all staff and student pictures currently in Aspen, it is very easy for each school to print new and replacement badges for students,” Plourde said. “The system also allows us to track excessive replacement badges through student obligations and implement identification standards across multiple systems, such as food service and transportation.” 

Carr is rolling out new programs tied to the badges. “In addition to providing a new level of security, badges are facilitating other functions. Soon, when students get on and off a bus, they will scan their badges, allowing the district to notify parents of their whereabouts,” she said. The district is also working toward using badges for lunch payments and generating tardy slips. 

“Aspen can pretty much do whatever you want it to through customization,” Carr said. “We’ve just started using the Cashier’s Office to keep track of student fines across the district. We were having a problem where students could not see the Cashier’s Office side tab when they logged into their account. I quickly created a custom navigation feature so students can immediately see the fees/fines on their account.” 

Superlative Customer Service 

Key to APS’s success with Aspen is the impressive customer service provided by Follett. “The neatest thing about Aspen tech support is that it’s consistent. The people who work there aren’t temps who leave in a few weeks. They’re invested employees, and after a while, you develop a relationship with them,” Carr said. “Our CRM, Tara, goes above and beyond to ensure our needs are met. She is punctual, knowledgeable, and pleasant to talk to. Tara will drop everything at 8pm to get you into a training the next day because you thought you signed up but hadn’t. It is extremely rare to get that kind of personalized service anymore.” 

The Results 

With Aspen, APS administrators and teachers now have instant access to accurate data for making critical decisions. Aspen has become an invaluable tool throughout the district, helping save time and money, improve student outcomes, and increase efficiency. 

Plourde and Carr agree that Aspen’s flexibility and customizability are among its greatest benefits. “Aspen is flexible in how it can be used and customized to specific district, school, and individual needs. Follett provides support to integrate data-driven initiatives and custom data gathering and reporting to allow educators to better meet the needs of students,” Plourde said. 

With the help of Aspen, APS is confident in fulfilling its mission to engage, challenge, and inspire all students to maximize their potential and improve the world. 

For more information on how Follett Software can support your district, visit Follett Software.