Student Information Systems

Massachusetts District Aims To Improve Efficiency with New SIS

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 07/09/15

Newton Public Schools is adopting a new student information system (SIS) in an effort to improve efficiency and student outcomes.

With more than 12.500 students across 21 schools, the Massachusetts-based district issued a request for proposals, created by a stakeholder search committee, with more than 400 attributes regarding the SIS it sought, as well as implementation and training relating to the system. Following demonstrations from four companies, the district settled on Skyward .

"We were looking for more than what the product can do for our district, but also for a company our district can partner with on the training and implementation of this student information system," said Jack Polnar, information technology services manager at Newton Public Schools, in a prepared statement. "Skyward was above the rest of the systems we reviewed for reasons such as the extensive feature set within the Family and Student Access portal as well as its reporting capabilities and more."

The district will be the first in its state to adopt the Skyward SIS.

"Entering a new state requires a working partnership with the district and we couldn't ask for a better partner than Newton Public Schools," said Kevin McFerrin, executive vice president of business development at Skyward, in a prepared statement. "As we expand our presence in Massachusetts, we look forward to working with Newton to help them achieve their goals through thought leadership, best practices and software tailored to their specific needs."