California District Upgrades SIS, Online Registration
The Torrance Unified
School District will replace its current student information
system (SIS) with a new SIS and an online
registration system.
The Torrance
district selected PowerSchool's SIS, a web-based system designed for K-12 schools with a range of
district and
school-level tools for administrators, a gradebook (PowerTeacher
Pro) and other tools for teachers, along with
real-time access to
grades, attendance and assignments for parents and students through a
web
portal or mobile app.
District
representatives said they believe it will streamline processes for the 24,400-student
district.
It will give parents access to information that they have not had in
the past
so they can monitor their children's proficiency on standards and
receive
real-time alerts that are specific to their families.
"We have
an antiquated student information system in place that isn't easily
accessible
by everyone at the district," said Torrance USD Chief Educational
Technology
and Information Services Officer Gil Mara. "PowerSchool is completely
web-based
and device-agnostic, making it easy to deploy for an entire school
community."
PowerSchool
Registration will replace a packet of 20 to 30 pages that
families had to fill
out at the beginning of each school year, as well as eliminating the
massive
amount of data entry school staff members had to then input. The
electronic
format will allow families with more than one child to avoid inputting
information more than once with a "snap" function.
"Parents
were wondering why they had to fill out the same information over and
over
again," said Mara. "It's not efficient and we use too much paper on a
yearly
basis to complete this process."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.