Student Information Systems

Firth School District Switches to Web Based SIS

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/04/16

Firth School District 59 in Idaho has implemented a new student information system (SIS) with the goal of improving data integrity and reducing maintenance.

According to Destry Jones, the director of technology at Firth School District, the district's legacy SIS "had a long history of losing data." The system was server-based, so it would cycle information every night, resulting in data loss. Jones also had to spend time outside of school hours updating the system about twice a month. "It was time consuming," Jones said in a news release.

The district wanted a web-based SIS that wouldn't require an on-site server and its associated maintenance. Jones had used the Infinite Campus SIS while working at another school district prior to moving to Firth, and said he liked that it was a "web-based system offering anywhere, anytime access," according to the news release.

In addition to the SIS, Firth School District implemented Infinite Campus Food Service for managing cafeteria operations and Messenger with Voice for communications with staff, students and parents. Both systems integrate with the Infinite Campus SIS and eliminate third-party systems, according to the company.

The district completed its implementation in July 2016, and Jones said the switch has saved him time because the Infinite Campus web-based systems update automatically, eliminating the need for in-house server maintenance.

Firth School District is located in southeastern Idaho and operates one high school, one middle school and one elementary school.