Brookville Area Transitions To New Information Systems

BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – Brookville Area School District will be using several new information systems during the 2015-2016 school year.

The new programs include: Sungard eSchoolPLUS, a new student information system; SchoolMessenger, a notification system; and Transfinder, a new transportation routing program.

Brookville Area School District leaders have said they appreciate the patience and cooperation of families as the transitions are made to a new student information system, notification system, and transportation system.

Sungard eSchoolPLUS

For the past eight months staff at the Brookville Area School District have been working to make the transition to a new student information system, Sungard eSchoolPLUS. Employees have gone through numerous trainings on the new software and have spent countless hours reviewing data before it was loaded into the new system.

District teachers are currently being trained on the grade book portion of the software called Teacher Access Center. The district plans to monitor the use of Teacher Access Center during the first quarter of the new school year and address any issues that may arise. It is anticipated that the district will open the parent/student grade portal, Home Access Center, at the end of the first nine weeks of classes. Additional information about Home Access Center will be released prior to making Home Access Center available.

SchoolMessenger

In early 2015, the Brookville Area School District was notified that SchoolReach, the district’s parent notification system, had been bought out by another company and that company planned to phase out the SchoolReach product. SchoolReach customers were given the opportunity to transition to SchoolMessenger at no charge.

As of Tuesday, September 1, 2015, the Brookville Area School District will begin using the SchoolMessenger notification system.

The district has worked very closely over the summer with Sungard, the district’s new student information system provider, and SchoolMessenger to get the SchoolMessenger system prepared for the new school year.

The SchoolMessenger system will be updated on a nightly basis with data exported from the student information system. Only data for contacts in the student information system marked as guardians will be imported into SchoolMessenger. Data being imported includes the guardian’s first and last names, home phone number, cell phone number, and email address.

Guardians with valid email addresses in the system will be able to use SchoolMessenger InfoCenter to view the student(s) they are associated with in the system as well as their contact information loaded into the system. Additionally, guardians will be able to view and retrieve any messages the district sends through the system and also set their notification preferences for the various broadcast types used in the SchoolMessenger system. Guardians can access InfoCenter by visiting https://infocenter.schoolmessenger.com and/or by downloading the free SchoolMessenger InfoCenter app on the Apple App Store or the Google Play store.

In order to maintain data integrity and accuracy, the district kindly asks guardians to refrain from calling into the school offices to request changes to their contact information.

Guardians can request changes to their personal contact information by visiting www.basd.us/SchoolMessenger and filling out the online form or by stopping into the Brookville Area High School office (for guardians of Jr.-Sr. High students) or the Hickory Grove Elementary School office (for guardians of elementary school students). Guardians should allow 1 to 2 business days for the changes to be made by office personnel. Lead times may be longer at the very beginning of the school year.

The SchoolMessenger system will initially be used for telephone and email notifications. The ability for guardians to opt into text notifications will be available later this fall. Additionally, the district anticipates that SchoolMessenger will give guardians the ability to add additional telephone numbers, email addresses, and text messaging numbers on their own through InfoCenter by the end of the calendar year.

Transfinder

The Transportation Department at the Brookville Area School District has made the transition to a new routing program.

Postcards are being sent to parents/guardians this week with bus/van stop and time information for their students. Additionally bus/van stop information will be posted on the district website at www.basd.us under Parents > Transportation.

If parents/guardians believe there is an error or need to changes their child’s information, they should contact the district transportation office at (814)849-1101. Parents/guardians are also reminded that per policy 810.2 video/audio surveillance will occur on school buses and school vehicles. Video/audio recordings may be used for investigative and disciplinary purposes.