8 Ways to Improve the Family Experience with Technology

There’s a lot to keep in mind when trying to choose the best solutions for your school. From budget to implementation, it’s important to make sure that any tech platform you invest in is a good fit. One of the most important things to consider (and a factor that’s often overlooked) is the family experience. No matter how much time a product saves your school, if families have a terrible time using it, it’s not a good investment. In fact, forcing families to use frustrating, complicated software could even affect your school’s retention rates.

After decades of working with K-12 schools and families, we’re pretty familiar with common complaints that families have about school technology – and we’re sharing the wealth! Here are some of the top things to keep in mind from a family experience perspective when choosing technology for your school.

Don’t Waste Their Time

One of the fastest ways to get families frustrated is by forcing them to log in or fill out the same information over and over again, whether it’s because they’ve got multiple children enrolled at a school or because different platforms do not work together. It’s similarly frustrating to have tech that does not update with important information automatically, making parents wait for information or call schools directly. Fortunately, the right platform should greatly increase your school’s overall efficiency – both for your staff and your families.

Reach Them Where They Are

Let’s be honest: we’re all on our phones more than we care to admit. Chances are, your families will be engaging with your school directly from their mobile devices, meaning it’s crucial that all your most important platforms be mobile responsive. Many families do all of their most important tasks on their phones, including banking. Your school will greatly benefit from ensuring that parents are ably to easily perform actions and complete tasks through their phones, whether it’s uploading documents or checking their child’s grades. Want to go the extra mile? Consider a custom app for your school.

Keep Them Informed

Anyone that’s ever sent a note home in a student’s bookbag (or discovered it crushed up weeks later) knows that parent communication can sometimes be a challenge. We’re all busy, and communication often seems to be hitting us from every direction. The right school tech will help you cut through the noise, allowing you to easily reach families when you need to. Platforms like FACTS Student Information System offer multichannel communication options, with the ability to reach families via email, text alert, or even push notifications.

Don’t Confuse Them

While sometimes it can be hard to communicate with families at all, the opposite problem can exist too. Families often feel like they’re getting mixed messages from everyone associated with their child’s school, with teachers, students, and administrators all providing slightly different information. Luckily, good school management solutions can make these problems a thing of the past. The right student information system serves as a single source of truth for communications, eliminating mixed messaging and keeping communications uniform. Families will know exactly where to look for the final word on all school matters, and schools can rest assured that all their messaging is on brand.

Don’t Make Them Search for What They Need

As we mentioned earlier, the goal is always to save families time. Even if you’ve digitized every important piece of information for your school, if parents have to hunt it down within multiple different platforms, complaints are bound to start rolling in. Look for solutions that offer easy-to-navigate hubs with common sense design. You’d be amazed how happy parents will be if they’re able to pay their child’s sports fees, check their report cards, and scope out this week’s lunch menu all from the same home page.

Keep Their Important Information Safe

Families trust your school with incredibly sensitive information, like their banking details, contact information, and social security numbers. It’s your responsibility to ensure that this information stays safe. Any good tech solution for your school should prioritize safety and maintain strict data security standards. Make sure to do your homework and really investigate a company’s security standards before making any purchases.

Keep Their Specific Needs in Mind

All schools are different and have different needs. Your tech – and the resulting family experience – should reflect that. Look for software providers that don’t take a “one size fits all” approach to school management and are instead customizable with processes, applications, and features that make sense for your community. For example, FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment allows schools to customize application questions, formulas, and allocations in order to create unbiased, data-driven financial awards decisions based on the families their schools serve. Never settle for cookie cutter tools!

Make Sure They Have Support

Even with the best solutions in place, questions are bound to arise. Make sure families don’t feel like they’re on their own by selecting solutions with dedicated support. Whether it’s live chat with customer service agents or a dedicated phone number parents can call with questions, it’s crucial to let parents know they’ve got help every step of the way. The best case scenario, however, is that great software will play its own role in guiding families through processes, letting them know if they’re missing part of an application, notifying them of award status, and more.

Remember, happy families equal happy schools. While it’s important that your team love the school solutions you select, it’s just as (or even more) important that families like it. The right solution in place will not only keep families happy, but also directly benefit your team – less phone calls, improved retention, less meetings…the list goes on and on. Don’t run the risk of frustrating parents with terrible tech. This is one investment you’ll be glad you made!

With tools like a powerful SIS that brings all your school’s most important information into one convenient portal to an incredibly efficient application and enrollment tool, FACTS offers many solutions that improve the family experience. Learn more here.

In the digital age, data has become the backbone of decision-making and progress across various sectors, and education is no exception. As part of the edtech industry, the team at FACTS is constantly looking at how data can shape education and, most importantly, how we can use it to help schools and students. Whether you’ve got tons of data on hand that you don’t know what to do with or are looking for new solutions for your school to provide you with better data, here are some of the top ways that data – and great tools that provide great data – can benefit your school:

1. Personalized Learning

One of the most significant benefits of investing in data-driven solutions is the ability to tailor education to individual students. Every child is unique, and the right data can help to reveal their different strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. This allows teachers to adjust their teaching methods and materials accordingly, creating personalized learning plans that help students reach their full potential.

2. Assessment and Feedback

Effective assessment and feedback are essential for student development. Strong data leads to detailed assessment tools, many of which may be built directly into your tech solutions. With strong assessment tools in place, educators can evaluate student progress regularly and continuously provide feedback to support students in improving their understanding.

3. Student and Teacher Performance

While data is important to evaluating student performance, it can also be used for evaluating teachers’ strengths and weaknesses. Data on teacher performance can help identify areas for professional development like personalized teacher coaching in the areas that would most benefit them. For students, data gives them (and their families) a better understanding of their academic progress, showing how they’re improving over time and leading to improved motivation and engagement.

4. Resource Allocation

Schools often have limited resources, including budgets, time, and manpower. Data-driven software helps schools optimize the allocation of these resources. By analyzing data on student performance and the effectiveness of various programs, schools can determine which areas require more attention and resources. This ensures that resources are invested where they will have the greatest impact, ultimately benefiting the students.

5. Early Intervention

Early intervention is crucial in addressing academic and behavioral issues in students. With the help of data, schools can identify students who are struggling in various subjects or exhibiting behavioral concerns. Early detection allows educators to provide the necessary support, whether through counseling, instructional services, or other interventions to prevent issues from escalating.

6. Parental Involvement

Data-driven tools can be the key to increasing parental understanding and involvement in a child’s education. Invest in a solution that offers parents real-time information about their child’s performance, attendance, and behavior. This transparency promotes a strong partnership between parents and schools, ensuring that parents can actively support their child’s education and quickly address any issues that arise.

7. Accountability and Transparency

In today’s educational landscape, accountability and transparency are paramount. Schools are accountable to students, parents, and communities for their performance. Data-driven solutions allow for the collection and presentation of data on student achievement, graduation rates, attendance, and more. This information can be made available to the public, fostering transparency and trust in the school.

8. Long-Term Planning

Effective long-term planning is essential for the success of K-12 schools. Data helps schools forecast future enrollment, plan for the allocation of resources, and identify trends and challenges. By making data-informed decisions, schools can set clear, achievable goals and develop strategies to meet them.

Investing in data-driven solutions is no longer a luxury for K-12 schools. In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, it’s a necessity. Schools that embrace data-driven decision-making are better equipped to tackle the challenges of the future and provide exceptional educational experiences to their students. To see practical applications of how data is shaping school solutions, explore the FACTS product suite.

After decades of working with K-12 schools, the FACTS team knows how difficult making financial award decisions can be for schools. After all, we all have the same goal: making sure that students receive the best possible education. That’s why we developed FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment, which helps schools to make unbiased, data-driven financial aid decisions through a carefully developed formula.

This solution is full of incredible features that benefit both schools and families. While we’re especially proud of how Grant & Aid Assessment can be personalized for your school’s specific needs, with customizable application questions, formulas, and allocations, there are so many other features to explore! Here are some of the features you may not know about:

Internal Tracking Fields

• Customizable to track school-specific processes, applicant or student information, and notes
• Edit on an individual application, in mass in reports, or import an external spreadsheet that already has the internal tracking field data
• Data can roll over year over year or be cleared out at the end of the awarding year to make room for next year’s data

Award Notifications Customization

• Customize messaging with smart tags that fill in pertinent data such as term, names, award amounts, and net tuition – no manual award emails needed
• Configure multiple messages to specify based on types of funding student received
• Display individual funding received along with total award for a full picture of their financial aid packet

Custom Reporting

• Customize reporting for reviewing applications during awarding season to show the fields that are most important for your school to make equitable awards
• Hundreds of fields available including application questions, assessment fields, tax return amounts, prior year information, calculated fields such as state program eligibility, split household information, and internal tracking fields
• Easily mass edit internal tracking fields or institution adjustments

Emails Direct from System

• Send reminders and updates to families to submit their documentation, finish their application, or login to see their award

Student ID Matching

• Simply import files to have FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment reflect your school’s student ID, creating consistent student IDs across platforms and making it easy to import information from another system into Grant & Aid internal tracking fields

Award in System

• Automate eligibility and awarding decisions, while still having complete control over manual and individual awards
• Award individually, in mass in reporting, or import award decisions

Multiple Layers of Security

• Give staff and committee the level of access they need
• Includes read only and non-PII settings to allow for unbiased evaluation and decisions

Want to know even more? FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment also offers no cost business reviews, seamless integration with FACTS Tuition Management, and is – of course – backed by FACTS’ industry-best customer service.

If you’re ready to upgrade the way your school handles financial aid, it’s time to talk to the FACTS team about the difference FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment can make. Get started here!

To help set yourself up for a successful year, we recommend reviewing your Grant & Aid setup before the business of admissions season really hits. Here’s how to get started.

Update Deadlines

Be sure our Grant & Aid landing page, your website, and communications all accurately reflect deadlines and any process changes.  Let your account manager know about your different deadlines so that we can have those recorded for our teams taking your families’ calls.

Application Questions

To review your current application, go to Grant & Aid >> Term Setup >> Form Preview. Ask yourself some of these questions:

• Are there questions asked on your application that you never review that you could get rid of?
• Do you need to rephrase or eliminate custom pandemic related questions?
• Are there things that you are following up consistently with applicants for that you could ask on your application?
• Are there questions that could be tucked under a conditional question to shorten your application?

Email your account manager to request any changes to your application.

Supplemental Documents

Supplemental Documents allow you to collect and review documents outside of the tax documents that FACTS processes. For those with supplemental documents, review to ensure you still want to collect those documents and consider adding help text if your parents have previously had questions on the documents. For those not using this feature – are there documents you are collecting from parents that you could add to the application process? Email your account manager to request changes to supplemental documents.

Internal Tracking Fields

Once your 2024-2025 term has been created, remove any internal tracking fields you won’t be using.   For any fields that you want the data to roll over from last year, be sure to go in and select “enable term-to-term data rollover” before applications are submitted.  After the first year selecting the rollover setting, you will not have to go back in each year, unless you want to stop the data rollover.

You can set up and edit internal tracking fields by going to Grant & Aid >> Term Setup >> Internal Tracking (under Data Management heading).

Custom Reports

First, get rid of any custom reports you no longer use so that you have less noise during the year. Then, think about data points that you are consistently reviewing, adjusting in the formula, or marking internal tracking fields for that could be done in mass. Consider ways that you could automate processes within a custom report and get those built.

Grant Management – Funds & Fund Eligibility

Have you been leveraging the eligibility criteria to help funnel students into the appropriate buckets or fund? Review that for accuracy and evaluate if there are additional criteria that could help automate your awarding processes, for example an internal tracking field that you mark for a customized status that indicates if they are ready for awarding. If you aren’t using Grant Management, now is a great time to go in and enter (or import!) your 23-24 awards so that you can use prior year awarding information in 24-25. For a training on how to use Grant Management, check out this recorded webinar: https:/bit.ly/FGAAGM

Returning Families

Returning families sometimes need to be reminded (and re-reminded) to submit their application the next year. If deadlines differ from new families, make sure that this is communicated clearly, especially for families in their first year as returning families. To help automate this, set up a student-based report in the 23-24 year in the applications area and add the field “has applied to new term.”  This field gives a yes/no on whether you have an application in the 24-25 term for that student.  Then filter down to the “no,” select all, and email reminders for families to apply.

With tips like these and the right team in place, we’re confident you’ll be ready to tackle the 2024-2025 financial aid application year with ease!

Whether you’re trying to keep parents up to date on everything happening on campus, attract prospective families, or engage your school community, good communication is crucial for any school looking to reach new goals. With 347.3 billion emails sent and received every day, cutting through the noise and getting the right message to the right people at the right time can be challenging. Here are some of our top tips for upgrading your school communication and making sure your message is heard.

Reach Families Where They Are

Be honest – the first thing you do in the morning is likely reach for your phone. People are on their phones more than ever, with over 56% of all web traffic coming through mobile phones as of July 2023. It makes sense then that your best chance of reaching your target audience is by prioritizing mobile communication. While your families might not always be at their computers, they’re always on their phones, whether they’re at work, the gym, or even the airport.

With dedicated school apps like FACTS Family App, you can send push notifications directly to your families’ phones with important information. Early dismissal? Special dress code for Spirit Day? Give families quick reminders that they won’t need to search through their inboxes to find. Apps serve as one-stop-shop for users, too, so parents can check report cards, attendance, and more while waiting in line at the grocery store or DMV – all without touching a computer.

Become of a Part of Families’ Daily Routines

When you check your phone first thing in the morning, you probably run through a list of things to check. From the weather app to your banking app, you’ve got a routine in place that you follow every day. One of the best ways to communicate with your families is to become a part of that routine, which can be simpler than you think with the right tech. With FACTS Family App, users can subscribe to your school’s calendar feed and sync it to their own personal calendars, fully integrating your school’s messages into their daily routines.

Once synced up with a personal family calendar, parents will be able to quickly see when sports practices or school plays are occurring, ensuring that no important event is ever missed. Families can even personalize and color code their calendars for different students to stay even more organized. This is another great way to reach families in places they already are and deliver your message without adding an additional step to an already busy schedule.

Use Data to Focus Your Efforts

We know that regardless of what role you serve in your school, you likely wear quite a few hats. You’re busy, and repeating information over and over can take up way too much of your time. Save time and minimize frustrations by utilizing data to see where to concentrate your school’s communications. The FACTS Family App provides detailed data about where users are spending their time on the app and what content they’re engaging most with.

Having insights on user behavior is a powerful tool because it lets you see exactly where your most important information is most likely to be seen. When you need a message to be heard, you’ll know exactly where to put it in the future. Data like this can also be helpful to understand what areas of your app aren’t being used to their full potential or what areas need further development or updated content.

Keep Community Engagement Simple

School communities aren’t only made up of students, staff, and parents – but it might be a little more difficult to reach people that aren’t in these groups. Many schools are lucky to have very engaged communities that attend school fairs, plays, and sporting events, and keeping them informed of what’s going on is important, too. The same goes for alumni, who often want to engage with their former schools but aren’t sure how to get started.

Tech to the rescue again! With FACTS Family App, you can easily build forms through a simple drag and drop process that can then be posted across the social channels your school community and alumni already follow. Instead of having to sort through their email for info or look through your website, people can share links with their families and friends to buy tickets to the school play or even sign up for an alumni newsletter. A fun bonus? These quick forms can give you valuable contact information that will come in handy for future fundraising.

Tailor Different Platforms for Different Audiences

One of the most important forms of communication schools engage in every day is with prospective families. While there are tons of ways that schools make these connections, one of the first ways that prospects receive communication from your school is through your website. Websites should be created with prospective families in mind, not your current families. This is your first chance to make a great impression on new families, and it’s crucial that your most important points are immediately conveyed.

When thinking of how to approach this communication, simplicity is always key. Prospective families need to be able to easily see how to make an inquiry or set up a meeting with a member of the school. People spend an average of 53 seconds on a website and aren’t afraid to log off even quicker if finding the information they need is frustrating. Make sure your most important information is easy to find, as well as up to date. With tools like FACTS Website Services, schools can easily build and update their sites on their own, even without development experience.

We hope these tips have been helpful in thinking about the right communication strategy for your school and what tools can help make it possible. Now it’s time to put your plan into action!

As summer vacation comes to a close, students and educators across the country prepare to head back to the classroom. While many students are looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers again, there’s one thing that can dull the excitement of a new school year – summer learning loss.

Extended summer breaks can lead to a decline in academic progress, creating frustrations for both teachers and students when it comes to lessons building on what students should already be familiar with. The good news is that there are ways to work through summer learning loss efficiently and effectively, and even prevent it before it happens! Here are some of our top tips.

Make Use of Diagnostic Assessments

Before educators can do anything to combat learning loss, it’s crucial to know what students are affected. Diagnostic assessments help to gauge students’ learning levels and provide insights into the specific area where learning loss has occurred. This can help teachers to not only provide appropriate students with targeted, early intervention, but also to see exactly what subject areas they should be focusing on.

Keep Learning Over the Summer

Of course, the simplest way to address summer learning loss is to prevent it from happening altogether. Summer programs like those offered by FACTS Ed can be customizable, fun, and make use of innovative teaching methods that may not be possible during the normal school year. This is the perfect time to get students involved in hands-on activities and interactive projects that will help them retain knowledge well into the new academic year.

Create Personalized Learning Plans

Based on diagnostic assessments, schools can develop personalized learning plans for each student suffering from learning loss. These plans should include targeted interventions, additional support, and appropriate academic challenges. While this may seem daunting, third parties like FACTS Ed can help schools develop tailored plans with small group and intensive instruction from experienced classroom teachers.

Get Parents Involved

Parents are essential partners in supporting their children’s educations. Schools can facilitate parental involvement in many ways, from sending home regular progress reports to organizing parent-teacher conferences and sharing strategies for learning at home. FACTS Ed can help your school develop special parent and family engagement events where students can learn hands-on alongside their parents, fostering an atmosphere that shows learning is just as important at home as in the classroom.

Make Sure Teachers are Prepared

Teachers are the first line of defense in identifying and treating summer learning loss. Professional development is crucial for educators to recognize the signs of learning loss in students and feel confident addressing them. With professional development, schools can equip teachers with these important strategies and help them introduce students to new methodologies that can create a lifelong love for learning. Some educators may also benefit from personalized, customizable coaching.

Don’t Forget Social-Emotional Learning

Learning loss can really take a toll on students’ confidence. While making sure students are performing well academically is important, it’s also crucial to prioritize social-emotional learning (SEL) to help students cope with the challenges they may face during their return to school. SEL programs can create a positive, support atmosphere the promotes resilience and a growth mindset.

While no educator or students wants to return from summer break to learning loss, there’s no need to panic if it happens. By implementing some of the steps listed above and partnering with an organization like FACTS Ed, it’s possible to bridge the learning gap and ensure a successful academic journey for all students.

Elevate 2023 sure was magic! Last week, FACTS hosted our 12^th Elevate conference at the Swan and Dolphin Resorts in Orlando, Florida. This was our largest Elevate conference so far, with nearly 1600 attendees from FACTS schools across the country gathering to attend thought leadership and training sessions, network, and have some fun!

Inspired by our special setting, this year’s theme was The Magic Starts Here. This not only hints at the magic of our Walt Disney World location – which many attendees took advantage of with discounted twilight theme park tickets – but also at what we hope Elevate is for our attendees. We want Elevate to be a place where they can get inspired, grow the spark of magic they already have, and create incredible stories for their schools.

Sessions, Sessions, and More Sessions

This year, we hosted over 250 thought leadership and training sessions from industry leaders and FACTS experts. Perfect for both new and experienced FACTS users, attendees were able to select classes based on specific tracks that laid out sessions of special interest for Marketing, Enrollment, Financial Aid, and more. Our Whova app made scheduling simple, and classes filled up quickly.

We were especially excited to host sessions from our first annual FACTS Teacher Innovation Awards winners. The five recipients led sessions throughout the conference, presenting on their winning projects and inspiring their fellow educators with the ways they’re making a difference in their schools through innovation. Winners also attended a special lunch with FACTS leadership and were acknowledged onstage during our Wednesday keynote.

Returning Favorites

Feedback is incredibly important in the Elevate planning process, so we made sure to bring back fan favorites! This meant hosting our popular Preconference Workshops for a second year. Offered the first day of the conference, these in-depth hands-on workshops are perfect for beginners and offer a deep dive into specific FACTS products. Additionally, we brought back our Expert Bar, where attendees can meet one-on-one with FACTS product experts and get personalized advice on the best way to tackle their school’s challenges through technology.

While our Exhibition Hall returned this year as well, it was bigger than ever before! We were proud to host 30 sponsors and exhibitors at Elevate 2023, with booths located right beside the main breakfast area to encourage attendees to stop and chat with each vendor. We even hosted an Exhibitor Passport contest through Whova, where at the end of the week, all attendees that got their badges scanned at every exhibitor booth was automatically entered to win AirPods Pro! Our five lucky winners were chosen the last day of the conference and were excited to go home with such a great prize.

Noteworthy Keynotes

This year’s keynote speaker was the inspiring George Couros. Kicking us off Tuesday morning, he set a great tone for the week, reminding attendees of the true meaning of education and that no matter how many negatives there seem to be, we can always drown them out with positives and stay focused on our mission.

On Wednesday, FACTS President Scott Spethman and Managing Director of Product Jeremy Penner took to the stage to share some of FACTS’ most recent accomplishments, important product updates, and what’s next in our story. This main stage session was capped off with an appearance from Courtney Haindel, Product Marketing Manager and our resident FACTS^SPACE expert, who introduced the top FACTS^SPACE users and helped “launch” FACTS^SPACE shirts into the crowd.

An Enchanted Evening

While we always host an evening reception for attendees, this year’s was even more special. Our Tuesday night reception was full of delicious food, drinks, and engaging extras like a 360-degree photo booth, but nothing tops the appearances from some Disney VIPs – Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Attendees lined up for pictures with their favorite characters as they networked and enjoyed special Disney snacks like Mickey ice cream bars. We even offered special Elevate 3D glasses, which made lights show the FACTS logo, and could be used for firework displays the rest of the week in Disney.

New This Year

One final way that we brought the Disney magic into Elevate was through our new scavenger hunt! Owlie’s Magical Mission encouraged attendees to search for 15 versions of our mascot, Owlie, hidden throughout the conference space. Once completing their map and returning to Guest Services, attendees would receive their very own Owlie plushie. It was great to see lots of attendees getting their children and families involved in this activity, as well as hearing from others that they’d love to bring the idea back to their schools. We’re excited to keep this new tradition going!

Elevate 2023 was also home to the first in-person meeting of the Analytics Advisory Board. Comprised of school and diocesan contacts that are advancing analytics in their organizations, this group helps to drive the direction of analytics at FACTS as we develop FACTS Data Insights. The meeting at Elevate focused on dashboards, sparking great discussions and providing the FACTS team with tangible feedback that we can use to continue to refine the dashboards we are creating.

Overall, Elevate 2023 was a huge success, and we’re so grateful to everyone that helped create such a special event. With client feedback, we look forward to improving this conference every year and can’t wait to do it again in Atlanta in 2024. We hope to see you there!

In any school, at any time, hundreds of moving parts come together to create a successful day of learning. One important element? School lunches! After all, it’s hard to get any learning done on an empty stomach. While students may just get to sit down and eat when their lunch period comes around, school administrators know that much more goes into crafting smooth mealtimes than just buying ingredients.

The good news is that FACTS Student Information System (SIS) can help make lunch time simpler, especially with the Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler. Keep reading for more information on this convenient feature and how it can help you save time while planning great meal for your students.

What Does It Do?

The Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler allows you to quickly schedule cafeteria items that are served or offered on a recurring basis. You’re able to customize the scheduler to the exact specifications needed for your school, whether it’s for items offered on certain days of the week, or the foods offered every single day. Additional benefits of the Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler include:

• The ability to ignore days marked as No School Days to limit manual corrections
• The choice to set items to repeat on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
• The ability to set an end date for when to stop the recurrence items from being rescheduled (for a specific date or at end of year/term)

Who Should Use It?

The Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler can be used by virtually all schools. If your school offers the same items every day, such as a milk, water, snacks, or a salad bar, creating a recurrence will safe you hours of administrative work throughout the course of the school year. Once you’ve created a daily recurrence for these items, it’s simple to go in and modify the schedule for any specific days when the entrée is unique.

This tool is also especially helpful for schools that utilize outside vendors or caterers with consistent schedules. If your school has “Pizza Fridays” or “Taco Tuesdays” where outside food is brought in for students, Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler can eliminate any extra paperwork you’re currently dealing with. Utilize the scheduler to schedule menu items from each vendor on their designated day of the week and set it to repeat weekly until the selected end date.

We hope this helps you create mealtimes both staff and students can enjoy. For more information on getting started with the Cafeteria Calendar Recurrence Scheduler, please see our HubHelp guide. Bon Appetit!

With the arrival of summer, chances are you’re already in the midst of planning exciting family road trips and sun-soaked afternoons filled with bike rides, swimming, and ice cream cones topped with sprinkles. While summer is definitely a season for fun and relaxation, it’s equally crucial to keep your child’s brain active, even during those off-school months.

You might be familiar with the “summer slide” (or “summer brain drain”), but are you familiar with the research that backs it up? In a study from Duke University, it turns out that when students go back to school in the fall, they’ve actually lost about one to three months’ worth of learning, with math being the subject that suffers the most.

In honor of June being both World Productivity and Brain Awareness Month, we thought we’d share a brain-boosting summer blueprint to keep kids out of a summer slump. Here are 5 fun ways to keep your child’s brain engaged all season long.

 

1. Establish a routine family game night

Pick one evening every week for some quality time together, engaging in board games with the entire family. This activity not only promotes bonding but also reinforces essential skills. Games like CandyLand and Chutes & Ladders offer young children a playful way to learn fundamental skills like counting, color recognition, and taking turns. As kids grow older, more advanced games like Scrabble and Monopoly open doors to valuable learning opportunities. These games foster language skills, strategic thinking, and social interaction, making them both enjoyable and educational.

2. Embark on a read-a-thon challenge

Create a summer reading list and set aside a dedicated family reading time, where everyone in the family can delve into their favorite books. Ask your child to pick their favorite passages and read them aloud to you. Afterward, take turns discussing and sharing insights about the captivating stories you’ve all explored.

3. Put their memory skills to the test

Engage your child in an exciting challenge of memorization by encouraging them to commit a beloved song or story to memory. Alternatively, foster teamwork by organizing a group of kids to put on an entertaining short play, showcasing their memorization prowess.

4. Plan and cook a meal together

Cooking and baking are great ways to include math, science, and reading into a family activity. Whether your child helps you find the perfect recipe, measure ingredients, or read instructions, you’ll be boosting major brain skills in the kitchen.

5. Take them on a nature adventure

Exploring the outdoors gives children new objects to play with and exciting forms of the natural world to discover and marvel at. The outdoors also provides space for physical play that’s not only essential to children’s motor development but adults’ physical and mental health as well, making it a great activity to do together as a family.

Go for a walk in a park or nearby nature trail, counting or naming insects, birds, trees, or rocks. Take a bike ride with the goal of finding certain numbers or letters on signs. Plan your route using a map and if appropriate, kids can calculate distance and speed or simply time segments of the trip.

 

The advanced chatbot could be an essential time-saving tool for teachers, but some have concerns.

Since its release, ChatGPT has been making the rounds online and creating important discussions around AI and its impact on education. Launched in late 2022 by OpenAI, the AI tool, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, lets you type in questions and receive accurate, sometimes even creative responses. It’s an impressive innovation in modern technology that has the power to do everything from serve as a brainstorming buddy when you’re stuck writing something to answering complex math and science questions.

Though it’s only been around for less than a year, it has educators both embracing it and fearing it at the same time. Regardless of what your stance is on AI, it’s important to remember that technology is a neutral tool and not inherently good or bad. And one thing is certain—it’s destined to impact our culture and change schools across the globe as we learn more about what it’s fully capable of. So, how can educators learn to teach with or around it?

At FACTS Elevate 2023, we’ll offer two informative, can’t-miss sessions about how educators can work with ChatGPT. In the meantime, here’s how the AI tool is starting to appear in K-12 schools and how educators are responding.

Concerns around academic integrity

As soon as ChatGPT was released, educators world-wide panicked and made negative assumptions that it was an easy way for students to cheat on essays and exams. The second-­largest school district in the U.S., Los Angeles Unified, immediately blocked access from its schools’ network to “protect academic honesty.” Other school districts quickly followed.

From Seattle to Alabama in the U.S. to New South Wales in Australia, school districts within the English-speaking world were beginning to ban the software. Other schools and universities warned students against using ChatGPT to cheat.

It’s easy to understand why educators feel threatened. This new powerful and accessible tool popped up with zero warning, leaving school leaders uninformed and unsure what to make of it. With so many things on teachers’ plates, the last thing they need to worry about are new ways their students can be academically lazy or dishonest.

But technology experts warn banning ChatGPT is not the way to go. Why? Because it simply won’t work, they say. Students often have access to laptops, cell phones, or other devices that allow them greater freedom on the internet than what they’re confined to on their school network.

With that in mind, some school leaders took a different approach. Instead of fearing the worst, they looked to the positive and found ways this new, exciting AI tool could enhance the education experience and even serve as a classroom aid.

ChatGPT shows it could actually make education better

Cherie Shields, an Oregon-based high school teacher, recently tasked her students in one of her classes to produce outlines for their essays. These compositions focused on drawing comparisons and contrasts between two 19th-century short stories, exploring themes related to gender and mental health.

After ChatGPT generated the outlines, the students stored their laptops and proceeded to handwrite their essays. Though it created the framework for the assignment, Shields believes utilizing the tool helped her students think deeper and more thoughtfully about the short stories they read.

But assisting students with their class assignments is just the tip of the iceberg. It can also help generate ideas for classroom activities, create solved examples of math problems, make flash cards, and write personalized lesson plans for students, amongst many other possibilities.

Dr. Monica Burns, EdTech and curriculum consultant and presenter on ChatGPT at FACTS Elevate 2023, has produced multiple articles and podcasts about AI in classrooms, which include loads of possible use cases. For example, she writes here about how a teacher could ask the tool to generate writing prompts.

One of the best wins with this advanced chatbot? It saves teachers valuable time. By using the tool to effectively automate routine tasks and amplify their pedagogy, it allows teachers to focus on what really matters. To get more out of it, Dr. Burns also writes about how educators can research helpful tips on using ChatGPT from other educators that have more experience with the tool.

Wondering how other AI tools can enhance the classroom and learning experience for students? From image generators to mind maps, there’s a handful of useful AI teaching tools in the market designed to empower educators and help them work smarter and more efficient.

Now that AI is here, there’s no going back. Instead of trying to ignore that it exists, let’s focus on ways we can leverage ChatGPT to improve teaching and learning, and prepare students for a future filled with powerful technology that has unlimited possibilities.

In today’s ever-evolving world, ensuring the safety and security of students is paramount for schools and a top concern for parents. Implementing comprehensive safety measures not only enhances security protocols but also plays a vital role in fostering stronger relationships between parents and educational institutions. 

In this article, we will explore the importance of improving school safety and how it contributes to building trust and collaboration. We will also highlight ideas to facilitate enhanced school safety.

Creating a Safe Dismissal Process

Efficient dismissal management is a critical aspect of maintaining a secure school environment. This also is one of the most visible processes that parents see because it occurs each and every school day. 

Potential aspects to improve on with your dismissal process are:

• Simplifying how parents communicate dismissal changes to staff
• Streamlining and speeding up the process
• Reducing confusion for staff, students, and parents
• Ensuring that kids are released only to authorized individuals
• Providing automated notifications to parents when students have been dismissed 

This level of transparency builds trust among parents, reassuring them that their children are being released in a controlled and secure manner.

Streamlining Student Monitoring with Hall Pass Systems

Effective monitoring of students within school premises is another key aspect of enhancing safety. A digital solution to monitor students’ movements ensures they are always accounted for and minimizes the risk of problematic behavior. With real-time visibility into student locations, teachers and administrators can quickly identify and address any potential security concerns, creating a safe learning environment for everyone involved.

Digital hall pass systems can also provide additional support for students with diverse needs, such as students on 504 plans or IEPs. Parents gain additional peace of mind knowing their kids are always accounted for and are having their unique needs met.

Efficient Emergency Reunification Protocols

During emergencies such as natural disasters or lockdowns, the ability to reunite students with their parents or authorized guardians quickly and safely is of utmost importance. Here are some tips to help parents feel more confident in your school’s safety plan during emergency reunification:

Develop and Communicate a Clear Reunification Plan

Create a detailed reunification plan that outlines step-by-step procedures for parents and guardians. Clearly communicate this plan to parents through various channels such as school websites, newsletters, and parent meetings. Provide them with all the necessary information regarding the reunification location, identification requirements, and the process to be followed during the reunification.

Conduct Regular Reunification Drills

Organize regular reunification drills to familiarize both staff and parents with the process. These drills help identify any potential gaps or areas that need improvement in your reunification plan. 

Maintain Updated Contact Information

Ensure that your school has accurate and up-to-date emergency contact information for parents and guardians. Regularly remind parents to review and update their contact details, including phone numbers, email addresses, and emergency contacts. 

Provide Regular Safety Communications

Establish a consistent and transparent communication channel with parents regarding safety protocols and updates. Regularly share information about the safety measures in place, emergency preparedness procedures, and any changes or improvements made to the reunification plan. Open and proactive communication fosters trust and confidence in the school’s commitment to student safety.

Collect Parent Feedback

Regularly seek feedback from parents regarding their experiences and perceptions of your school’s safety. This feedback can provide valuable insights into areas that may need improvement or clarification. Actively addressing parental concerns and incorporating their suggestions into the safety plan demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement and enhances confidence in the school’s safety measures.

FACTS + Pikmykid

By implementing safety tools such as Pikmykid’s dismissal management, hall pass system, emergency reunification protocols, and emergency alert system, schools can significantly enhance security measures and streamline daily operations. Moreover, the seamless integration between Pikmykid and FACTS SIS simplifies administrative tasks and optimizes safety procedures, allowing schools to prioritize student safety while fostering trust, confidence, and collaboration between parents and educational institutions.

From elementary schools to college campuses, today’s students need education leaders who are invested in their emotional safety. Unfortunately, mental health is often ignored or underestimated. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives.

Though those numbers are sobering, the good news is that the mental health issues many students face, like anxiety or depression, can be detected early. Given their proximity to students within the classroom setting (1,274 hours per school year on average), educators are uniquely positioned to provide early detection and prevention of mental health issues. While promoting mental health awareness in schools can seem like a daunting task, it has enormous benefits.

By meeting students where they already are, educators can help students adopt behaviors that promote positive mental well-being and encourage open discussions among students about their mental health struggles. When we invest in children’s mental health we improve the lives of not only children, youth, and their families — but our communities too. In honor of May being Mental Health Month, here are 5 ways you can foster a positive mental health culture at school:

Train teachers and support staff

One of the best ways for school leaders to create a safe school environment for everyone is by ensuring that teachers and support staff are receiving the training, resources, and support they need in key areas of emotional student mental health and well-being. By providing the tools to succeed, like those offered through FACTS Education Solutions, education leaders can ensure that school staff know they are valued and that their leaders want them to grow.

Whether they need a deep dive into social-emotional learning or to brush up on the best practices for virtual learning, it’s essential to provide training and professional development opportunities for teachers that can empower them to create a safe learning environment for students.

Teach stress reduction strategies

Students’ stress is typically related to everyday experiences, concerns, and challenges at school, in the home, and within their peer group. Create classroom activities for students to develop stress reduction skills and learn how to feel and cope better without hurting themselves or others. For students, identifying and acknowledging the sources of stress and expressing their emotions regarding them are typically the most effective techniques for mitigating stress levels.

Encourage parental involvement

To create a positive mental health environment in schools, parental involvement is crucial. Studies have shown that students who have parents more engaged in their school lives are more likely to perform better, feel better, and have increased social skills. To encourage parents to be more involved in their children’s emotional lives, teach them ways of identifying signs of distress, how to seek assistance for their child if they suspect any issues, and ways to support their child’s overall mental health and well-being.

Provide access to essential mental health resources

Does your school have a bullying prevention program? If not, create one. It could save a child’s life. The National Center on Safe Supporting Learning Environments reports that schools that have a school safety plan aimed at protecting students from bullying, exposure to weapons, the sale and use of drugs, harassment and violence have better student outcomes.

Sharing important and relevant mental health resources to students and their families, including any programs offered at your school or the educational materials found on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website, can help promote greater mental health awareness at home.

Create an open-door policy

Students often feel more comfortable talking to teachers about their personal issues. A recent study reported that educators are “significantly more” alert than legal guardians to teens’ mental health. When asked if a child has ever approached them about a mental or emotional concern, more educators (78%) said yes, compared to parents (58%).

However, the study also showed nearly half of parents (49%) take the lead in starting discussions about mental health with their child, while only a quarter of educators (22%) do the same.

To ensure that students feel comfortable discussing their mental health concerns and issues, teachers should aim to create an environment that includes fostering open and honest communication, actively listening to students’ perspectives, and providing support and guidance as needed.

The mental health and well-being of students is a critical issue and it’s important for educators to find creative ways to support them and create a dialogue around mental health. Luckily, there are plenty of things we can do to create safe and healthy learning spaces for our students.

Even though the school year’s wrapping up, we know that the work never ends for educators – especially anyone trying to make sure their school’s tech is in fighting shape for the new school year.

This month, we’re starting a new series where we share hacks, top tips, tricks, and little-known features about the FACTS products you use every day, provided directly by FACTS product experts.

First up? Our tips for making the most of the Parent Scheduler feature in FACTS SIS.

Think Beyond Conferences

While Parent Scheduler is most commonly used to schedule conferences, there are so many more ways you can utilize this tool to make it work even harder for you.

Struggling to get parent volunteers into your class? Or having a hard time getting classroom supplies donated? Parent Scheduler may be the solution. This SIS feature not only allows you to schedule physical appointments like conferences but can also be used for managing other class activities like field trips, class supply donations, and more.

Getting Started

Setting up a new request is easy, too. Just follow these steps:

• Navigate to our Calendar feature in the SIS.
• Select the add option, then “class item.”
• Choose Parent Scheduler.
• Now complete the form by selecting your class and adding your request. By adding time slots and the appropriate capacity, the parents of your class will receive an email inviting them to register for an event or to participate in your class supply donation or other activity.

We hope that this gives you more ways to use our parent scheduler feature and helps you manage your classroom even better. Good luck!

In early May, the FACTS Marketing Team joined our larger Nelnet Business Services (NBS) Marketing Team for our annual conference, THRIVE, in Lincoln, NE. With a hybrid team of associates gathering from across the country, the group concentrated on fostering alignment, acquiring new knowledge, and strengthening relationships among team members.

Getting Down to Business

Topics that were covered included:

• NBS Marketing strategic initiatives
• FACTS customer communities, their unique challenges, and how we are currently positioned in the market
• Identification of the StoryBrand model and how it can enhance our business’s marketing and messaging
• ChatGPT, AI challenges, and ways to experiment with it to enhance certain tasks
• Salesforce CRM and its key features that can boost efficiency and utilization

On the final day of the conference, keynote speaker Evan Roth delivered highly valuable lessons on the art of giving and receiving feedback. Through discussion and engaging with each other in breakout sessions, it was great to have associates from across our teams listen and learn from one another.

Giving Back to Lincoln

Afterward, the group participated in various activities with middle school students, including sports, arts, and crafts, at Park Middle School, through a volunteer partnership with the Lincoln Boys & Girls Club. The experience was both fun and meaningful for everyone involved.

 

THRIVE Awards

A special moment during the conference was the award ceremony, where NBS Marketing announced the recipients of the Thrive Award and Thrive Community Award. These accolades recognize team members within NBS Marketing and across Nelnet who exemplify our vision of “Together. We build thriving communities.”

The recipients of 2023 Thrive Awards were Larissa Epp, Graphic Designer, and Jennifer Elliott, Marketing Automation Team Lead.

The 2023 Thrive Community Award 2023 winners were Grant Rogers, Senior Video Designer at Nelnet Corporate Communications, and Dan Samson, Document Services Specialist at Nelnet Diversified Services.

NBS Marketing congratulates the winners of these awards for their exceptional contributions and looks forward to harnessing the momentum generated during the conference to help us all continue to THRIVE throughout the remainder of 2023.

The FACTS Marketing team is looking forward to taking action on many of the topics discussed at this event and can’t wait for next year’s THRIVE!

Elevate 2023 is less than three months away – and scheduling is officially live! To help make selecting your sessions even easier, we’re sharing our top picks for different Elevate attendees. We’ve previously offered suggestions for Business Managers and Advancement Directors…and next up is IT Directors! With 150 sessions on offer, plus our popular preconference workshops, you’re sure to have a packed schedule. Get started with these highlights:

Google Workspace for Education Plus – Advanced Tips and Tricks

This course will focus on all the advanced tools within the Google Workspace for Education apps, such as Google Classroom, Docs, Slides, Sites, Sheets, Keep, Chrome, Calendar, and so much more. Whether you teach Kindergarten or a high school technology course, these tips are going to help you and your students communicate and collaborate to help prepare them for the real world.

How to Use ChatGPT: Time-Saving Secrets for Busy Educators

In this session, we’ll explore the ways in which ChatGPT can revolutionize the way you work as a teacher, helping you to streamline your daily tasks and save time in the process. From automating repetitive tasks to assisting with grading and assessments, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way you work. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this webinar is a must-attend for anyone looking to maximize their time and efficiency in the classroom.

The Top 10 Essentials for Making an Impact with Classroom Technology

Join Dr. Monica Burns, author of EdTech Essentials, for a conference kick off unpacking the top ten essentials for classroom technology use. You’ll explore the core ways to incorporate EdTech into a learning environment and leave ready to choose your own focus area, or “EdTech Adventure,” for the remainder of the school year

Unleash the Power of Create a Report

Unleash the power of Create a Report! This session is sure to leave you with some great takeaways to help your school track data and create reports you never knew you needed.

Are You Accelerated? A Guide to Innovating at The Speed of Change

We’re living in a world of accelerated change, and it’s putting those who can’t keep up at risk. The ability to innovate and quickly adapt to what’s coming next will be the skills most important to creating value for yourself and your organization. This session highlights the lessons and insights from the best-selling book Accelerated: A Guide to Innovating at the Speed of Change. Find out how to build a new competency of innovation and learn new ways to explore, engage, and experiment to turn ideas into valuable innovations.

Your registration also includes access to our exciting main stage sessions, networking opportunities, round tables, evening reception, and discounted twilight tickets to Walt Disney World®. Register here to reserve your spot.

See you in Florida!

 

April is often associated with celebrating Easter and Earth Day, but did you know it’s also National Volunteer Month? This month is dedicated to honoring the amazing volunteers in our communities that give their time and energy to serve others and encourage volunteerism throughout the month and beyond.

With busy schedules and to-do lists piling up, it can seem hard to find ways to fit volunteering into your schedule. That’s why volunteering at your children’s school is such a wonderful place to give back. Whether it is after school, on field trips, or in the classroom, studies show that there are countless benefits to children, their parents, and their school when parents get involved. In honor of National Volunteer Month, here are some benefits to volunteering at your child’s school.

1. It Makes a Difference in Your Child’s Education

A 2008 study from the University of New Hampshire indicates that students perform much better academically if their parents are involved in their school. They also have better attendance and are more likely to graduate and continue their education. When teachers know more about their students’ lives at home, they can provide a more personalized learning experience.

2. You Get to Know the Teachers, Staff, and Other Parents Better

Volunteering is all about community building. Helping at your child’s school is a terrific way to connect with teachers, staff, other parents, and your kid’s classmates. By offering support throughout the school year and learning more about the people involved in your child’s education ecosystem, you will build stronger relationships and bonds with those in the community with your child.

3. Giving Back Makes Schools Better

When parents take the time to be involved in their child’s school, it shows their child they care, and that education is a family value. Teachers, administrators, and staff have so much on their plates every day. When parents volunteer at school, it frees teachers up to do what they do best – educate our children.

4. It Gives You a Chance to Showcase Your Skills

Look for volunteer opportunities where you can share your skills and expertise in a way that’s fun and enjoyable. If you love baking, sign up to help with the next bake sale. If you’ve got a green thumb, help plant a class or school garden. Others will appreciate your skills and your child will be thrilled to share your involvement with their classmates.

5. Volunteering is Good for Your Health

Helping people changes lives. Studies show there are numerous health benefits to giving back. Volunteering not only gives volunteers a sense of purpose and deep meaning in their lives, but it’s also a huge mood boost. By savoring your time spent in service to others, you’ll reduce stress and increase positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine.

One way of giving back to your child’s school is through donating. FACTS Giving makes school fundraising efforts easier than ever! Learn more about our features here.

As we get closer to Elevate 2023, it’s time to start planning how you’ll spend your time in Orlando. To help you get started, we’re sharing handpicked sessions we think different Elevate attendees would especially enjoy attending. Last month, we shared top sessions for Business Managers, but this month we’re focusing on Advancement Directors!

Here are some of the sessions that we think will be a great fit for these important school professionals. With over 140 sessions on offer, however, there are so many more to attend!

Capital Campaigns: Ready? Set? Are You Prepared to Go?

Considering taking the dive and starting a capital campaign? Let’s discuss what you need to be thinking about and what you need to put in place to run a successful campaign.  Whether you are raising $10k or $10 million, the basic steps remain the same.

Generating Greater Gifts Through Awesome Fundraising Practices

Increasing your gifts requires cultivating meaningful relationships with your potential and current donors. In this session we’ll explore time-tested as well as new ways to find new donors and keep the ones you’ve worked so hard to get.

Best Practices for Data Management in the Advancement Office

Garbage in means garbage out. The key to a successful advancement office is having good information about your current and potential donors. In this session, we’ll discuss ways to keep your data clean.

Advancement: It’s Just Me, Myself, and I!

It’s just me, myself, and I – and some planning! Are you an Advancement Office of one, overwhelmed with all the things you could and should be doing for fundraising, marketing, alumni relations, and more?  Join us to discuss how to prepare and automate for a successful year and use the resources you have to make it work!

FACTS Giving – New Features and Enhancements

Whether you have been using FACTS Giving and would like to learn more about all the new features and product enhancements that have been released over the past year or are in the market for a new donor management and online giving platform  – this session will talk all about FACTS Giving and the incredible amount of new features that are available!

Your registration also includes access to our exciting main stage sessions, networking opportunities, round tables, evening reception, and discounted twilight tickets to Walt Disney World®. We guarantee this year will be our most magical yet.

With over 120 professional development and thought leadership sessions on offer, Elevate is a perfect fit for so many members of the education community – not just teachers and principals. In fact, a third of Elevate attendees work in their school’s business offices! If you’re looking for an opportunity to network, exchange trade knowledge, and just get to know other professionals doing the same work as you, you’ll definitely want to add this conference to your calendar.

In addition to offering our popular preconference workshops again this year, we’ve also created system training and thought leadership tracks to help attendees easily see which sessions may be of most interest to them. Feel free to explore the tracks and full sessions list, but to give you a jump start on planning your Elevate schedule, we’ve handpicked some sessions we think will be especially worthwhile for Business Managers.

Serving Diverse Student Populations with Federal Funds

Our schools’ diverse student populations deserve our best, but their different needs and the various funds to support them are hard to track and understand. Participate in this session to dig deeper into the specific needs and funding streams for students with disabilities, English learners, students experiencing homelessness, foster children, and more. The presenter is Nathan Williamson, a former local English learner leader and special education director.

Best Practices in Safeguarding Your Budgeted Tuition Income

This session will discuss the advantages of having an annual financial commitment and a licensed, professionally managed tuition refund program to address tuition income protection and student withdrawal risk.

Q&A – Pick a Federal Funding Expert’s Brain

Got a burning federal funding question? This is your chance to get answers! Federal funding expert Nathan Williams will be on hand to answer your specific questions about federal funding for your school, as well as share his extensive knowledge on navigating Titles I-IV, working with public schools, and accessing helpful resources.

Demystifying the Grant & Aid Formula

Learn everything that goes into calculating your students’ and families’ need. We will discuss the calculation and philosophy of the FACTS formula, customization options, and how to evaluate your families’ financials to determine that customization.

The Family Experience with Tuition Management

Ever wondered what a family experiences while viewing, making payments, and adding funds to a prepay account? Join us for an in-depth session to better understand the family experience with FACTS.

Whether you make it to all these sessions or just a few, we’re confident that you’ll leave Elevate 2023 with a wealth of new knowledge to bring back to your school. Even better? Your registration also includes access to our exciting main stage sessions, networking opportunities, round tables, evening reception, and discounted twilight tickets to Walt Disney World®.

Register here today! We’ll see you in Orlando!

If you’ve worked in the education industry in any capacity, you likely know how much teachers have on their plates. From lesson planning and family communication to classroom management and school dismissals, the average day of an educator can be hectic.

One aspect of teaching that’s taking up an inordinate amount of time, however, is grading. A recent study by EdWeek Research Center found that teachers are spending an average of 5 hours per week on grading and feedback, amounting to 140 hours for a 28-week school year. This average doesn’t include the time spent on report cards, which are typically generated four times per year and add even more hours onto this already labor-intensive task.

Unfortunately, grading isn’t just taking away valuable time for teachers. It’s contributing to teacher fatigue in a time when teachers across the globe are more stressed than ever and considering leaving the profession. A 2022 study by the National Education Association revealed that 55% of educators planned to leave teaching earlier than they’d originally planned, driven in large part by educator shortages and increasing work obligations.

While combating teacher fatigue isn’t a simple task, helping to eliminate the arduous grading process and giving educators time back in their days is a great place to start. Let’s look at some of the additional challenges teachers face when grading and the best ways to tackle the problem.

Grading Challenges

Grading isn’t as straightforward as sitting down with a test and marking answers right or wrong. Teachers must contend with a lot more than just finding the time to get the job done.

Grade Level and Course-Specific Differences

Schools that have a larger range of grade levels often use different types of grading methods. While a class of young students may need to receive narrative, skillset, or standards-based feedback, high school students may have moved on to receiving letter grades. Furthermore, specific courses may have their own grading criteria that’s different from other classes within a grade level (e.g., math vs reading standards). Having to use multiple and different styles of grading makes the process even more time-consuming for teachers.

Reporting Requirements

Governments, districts, and dioceses often require schools report on student achievement in a specific way. It is often a lot of manual work to gather the information from multiple sources and format it according to requirements. This collating and formatting of the data adds additional steps to the grading process. This often involves strict deadlines that teachers must rush to meet.

The Benefits of the Right Tools

While teachers will probably always have to grade, technology can make it much simpler and faster. Investing in the right gradebook software can save your teachers and administrators tons of time, giving them the opportunity to focus on what matters most. When looking for the right platform for your school’s gradebook, keep an eye out for these key features:

• Report Customizability: A good student information system will offer you the ability to customize reports to meet government, district and diocese reporting requirements. You can save these settings and run these reports year after year, significantly cutting down on your administrative time.
• Grade- and Class-Specific Grading: Whether your teachers are handling many different grades or multiple courses with different grading methods, look for gradebook software that allows you to create default settings for each grade level, even down to individual courses. This allows grading to be uniform across specific classes or grade levels and eliminates the need for teachers to create a foundation for each of their gradebooks.
• LMS Integrations: If your school uses a learning management system (LMS) such as Google Classroom, Canvas, or FACTS LMS, make sure your gradebook solution can seamlessly integrate and sync with it. This eliminates the need to double enter data into separate systems.
• Offers Big Picture Data: A comprehensive SIS and gradebook makes it easier for educators to identify at-risk learners more quickly. Being able to quickly see trends and access reports on declining test scores, absences, behavior events, and more can help schools to identify and combat learning loss.

With easy-to-run reports, simplified grading and seamless integration with your existing platforms, the right tech can give teachers hours back in their days – and hopefully lessen some of the load that can lead to burnout.

The FACTS Difference

After decades of working with schools, we here at FACTS are confident that our Student Information System (SIS) and its powerful gradebook, offer all the features listed above plus so much more. From our Family Portal that allows teachers to share student grades and comments with families, keeping them engaged with their child’s learning experience, to our report and transcript features, every feature of SIS was designed with school leaders and their staff in mind.

Thousands of users, like Russel Verster from Cedar House School in Cape Town, have experienced the difference FACTS SIS gradebook has made in their schools. “Our reporting system in the past required an entire team of staff to be involved in all aspects of the process. It was people intensive and this made it a clumsy and time-consuming process. Using FACTS report cards means the process can be managed by a single person who has oversight of all aspects, and then bring all individuals involved in academics into the process of owning the performance reporting that they are responsible for. This creates a sense of ownership of the full academic process.”

Additional features include:

FACTS SIS Gradebook Features/Benefits

• Records grades, homework assignments, and lesson plans.
• Supports grading scales using the point system, weighted percentage, and mixed systems.
• Supports standards-based/skills-based grading.
• Provides web tests and an online homework drop box and electronic student portfolios.
• Grades automatically flow to progress reports and report cards.
• Generates automated notifications to parents for failing grades and missing assignments.

FACTS SIS Report Cards & Transcripts Features/Benefits

• Provides free standard report card templates or completely customized report cards.
• Provides unique report cards for each grade level as desired.
• Transcript offers standard, weighted, and customized GPA calculations.

If you are ready to tackle teacher fatigue this school year, getting your tech in order is the best place to start. Learn more about FACTS SIS and how upgrading your gradebook can benefit your teachers here.

Whether you’re someone with your calendar filled out a year in advance or someone that books vacations hours before the flight leaves, having a plan in place for an emergency is incredibly important – especially when it comes to your children. No one understands this better than schools, who devote countless hours to creating emergency plans to keep their students safe, from running fire drills to crafting detailed communication plans.

While it’s a school’s duty to keep your children safe, there are also steps you can take to make sure that your children are prepared in the event of an emergency on campus. In honor of September being National Preparedness Month, we’ve compiled some simple actions you can take to make sure your family is emergency ready.

Keep the Conversation Flowing

The easiest way to help your child prepare for a school emergency is to simply talk to them. Whether your child has expressed concerns over something scary happening at school or not, making sure they know exactly what to do in a crisis can help them to not panic should anything serious ever happen. Go over general emergency best practices, like what to do in a fire and how to best shelter in place. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has lots of great resources for different age groups, including games and activity books.

Regardless of your child’s age, review any information the school has provided regarding emergencies: maps, reunification points, who to alert if they ever see suspicious activity, etc. For younger children, it’s often enough to remind them that there are rules in place and that their teachers and school administration are looking out for them. For older students with more specific concerns, it may be more helpful to go over specific steps the school is taking (security officers, locked doors, etc.) and how the actions they take can also help to keep their school safe.

Stay Informed

Staying informed is important for both parents and students. Students need to be aware of their school’s procedures in emergencies, as well as basic information like where their nearest exits and stairs are in different classrooms. Your child will likely be given this information early in the school year, as well as participate in different safety drills throughout the year. Parents may need to put in a little extra effort to stay informed, however.

Take the time to become familiar with your child’s school’s emergency protocols. How will you be contacted in the event of an emergency? Where and when will you be able to pick up your child in different emergency situations? What staff members have medical training? It’s also a good idea to know your child’s schedule, especially for older students. Do they leave campus for lunch or free periods? What time does school end and begin? What days do they stay late for clubs or sports?

Make sure to know how your child’s school uses emergency response terms, too. Knowing what is meant when you hear the world “lockout” versus “lockdown,” for example, can save a lot of confusion and stress.

Give Schools the Tools They Need to Succeed

Some schools already ask parents to provide a small emergency kit for their children, but you can still make one if they don’t. These packs typically contain First Aid supplies, a snack, a juice or bottle of water, a flashlight, hand sanitizer, and any other items you think would comfort your child. Whether you give this to your child’s teacher or keep it in their schoolbag or locker, knowing these items are available to them can help students worrying about an emergency.

Even more important is making sure that schools can handle any medical emergencies your child may have. Make sure that the school and your child’s teachers are away of any medical conditions that could lead to an emergency. Provide the school with prescription medicine, inhalers, Epipens, or other specialized medical supplies your child may need. Meet with staff early in the year to ensure they know how to deliver medications to your child in an emergency. It’s also important that your child knows how to safely administer their own medications if a teacher can’t help them.

Empower with Education

Especially for older students, taking a first aid course can be very empowering. Many schools offer CPR or other basic first aid courses as part of PE. If not, these courses are typically held frequently by your local emergency service departments – and are often free. Being self-reliant is an important skill for children to develop as they age, but it’s even more important during an emergency when school staff may not be able to get help to students right away. First aid skills will be useful to your children throughout their lives, as well as enable them to help classmates in the event of an emergency.

Make Use of Tech

Many schools have software like FACTS Parent Alert that allows them to send texts, automated calls, or emails to parents in live time during an emergency. Make sure you’ve registered or signed up for programs like these at your children’s school and that your information is current. Letting your child know that their school has taken this additional step to keep them safe may help relieve some of their anxiety.

Don’t Discount Small Emergencies

Chances are, many of the “emergencies” your child will face at school won’t technically be emergencies. For a teenager or middle-schooler, however, spilling chocolate milk all over their shirt or getting their hair ruined in the rain can feel like a huge deal. Plan for these emergencies by encouraging your child to keep an extra set of clothes in their locker or backpack, as well as a small toiletry bag for things like hair clips, deodorant, and a brush.

With just a little extra planning, both you and your children can rest assured that they’ll be ready for whatever the school year throws their way. Now start prepping!

You don’t have to work in the education industry to know that the last few years have been tough for teachers. While educators have always faced challenges, the stress and constant changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have made the situation even more difficult. A recent Gallup poll revealed that K-12 workers have the highest level of burnout across all industries nationally. This burnout has led to increasing numbers of educators leaving the field, putting even more pressure on remaining teachers.

While there’s no magic cure for burnout, one of the best ways to combat it is to prioritize wellness. You’ve probably heard different phrases emphasizing the importance of self-care, like “you can’t pour from an empty cup” or the popular airplane safety tip to “put your own mask on first.” No matter how it’s expressed, the sentiment is true. Making time for wellness is as important for teachers as grading tests or creating lesson plans – and it’s not only students’ mental health that needs to be a priority for schools.

In honor of August being National Wellness Month, here are some suggestions of ways schools can take the initiative and promote wellness for teachers and staff.

Give Permission to Set Boundaries

Whether we like it or not, technology has made it so that we can work from wherever we are, whenever we want. While this was great during the days of stay-at-home orders, it also means that employees across all industries never feel like they’re truly “off.” Chances are the teachers at your school are checking their email and working on projects long after the final bell rings.

Although emergencies do arise, it’s important to give educators permission to disconnect so that their time off is actually restorative and restful. Set expectations as early as possible that emails sent after a certain time do not have to be answered until the next day. Encourage teachers to establish times when they will shut down for the night and stop checking for new messages. Make sure to communicate this to parents too, so they know what response time to expect when contacting their children’s teachers.

Start the Conversation and Listen to the Answers

Every school faces different challenges that affect staff wellness. It’s important to ask teachers what particular obstacles they’re facing and what changes they’d like to see before deciding how to allocate time or budget. Getting this feedback can take place through group meetings, surveys, one-on-one meetings, or any other form of communication that works best for your school.

Make sure to keep this conversation going with consistent mental health check-ins. This is important not only to see what changes occur during different times of the year or as classroom situations change, but also to see if wellness tactics that have been implemented are working. Most importantly, however, it opens up an ongoing conversation with staff about their overall mental health and lets them know that their school is committed to creating a healthy work environment.

Provide the Tools for Success

Even educators prioritizing wellness through self-care like meditation, eating well, and sleeping enough will experience burnout and stress if they’re constantly asked to do things they’re not trained to do. With nationwide teacher shortages, educators are now often taking on roles they have no experience in, raising their stress levels and speeding up the timeline to burnout and potential resignation.

Give teachers the tools they need to succeed by providing customizable coaching or professional development opportunities like those offered through FACTS Education Solutions. Whether they need a deep dive into social-emotional learning or to brush up on the best practices for virtual learning, providing teachers with the education they need to instruct confidently will make a huge difference in overall workplace satisfaction. Championing a learning mindset that encourages professional development is crucial for staff retention, with LinkedIn reporting that 94% of employees are more likely to stay in a job that invests in helping them learn.

Offer Additional Support for Employee Groups That Need It Most

New teachers are especially susceptible to burnout and turnover, especially when they’ve begun their teaching careers during one of the most chaotic periods in the history of education. Build additional check-ins with new teachers into your school’s wellness plan, including anything from quickly stopping by their classrooms to ask how their day is going to more structured meetings. Encouraging mentorships is another great way to ensure that your newest teachers have what they need to stay afloat.

It’s important to remember that not all teachers are struggling with the same problems. Research shows that racism can play a role in teachers of color leaving the profession. Black and Latino teachers are also more likely to be dealing with the aftermath of losing a loved one to COVID-19. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to wellness. Take into account all the factors that can be affecting your staff’s mental health, ask questions, and make your plan accordingly.

Create a Culture of Wellness

Let staff know that creating a work-life balance is a priority at your school. While it’s always great to encourage self-care, setting an example by putting wellness into action in the workplace is even more important. Discussing mental health openly is the best place to start, but there are other fun changes you can make around campus to demonstrate your commitment to wellness.

Get your team excited to stay hydrated with easy-to-access water stations and fun branded reusable water bottles. Encourage teachers to build quick “stretch breaks” into their schedules, to give both them and their students a chance to get up and get their bodies moving. You can even start incorporating movement and mindfulness into staff meetings. Consider hosting a walking meeting in the school’s gym or around the parking lot or begin team meetings with a short meditation guided by an app to get everyone in the right headspace. Just adding plants to staff break rooms or opening up blinds can do wonders for everyone’s moods.

Show Your Appreciation

The idea of a company pizza party has become almost a joke at this point – just another example of bosses not actually listening to what their employees need. That being said, recognition continues to be incredibly important to employee engagement and satisfaction. Everyone wants to be celebrated for a job well done, whether it’s through a shoutout in a meeting or with a candle or special snack.

When small tokens of gratitude are offered in conjunction with schoolwide wellness efforts, teachers can see that their school is not only trying to create a better environment for everyone, but is also aware of how they specifically are contributing. Make sure gifts are accompanied with a note of thanks and remind teachers that you know they’re doing work worth being celebrated every day.