From Clunky to Connected: One School’s Transformational Switch to FACTS

When Greg Sattler, M.Ed., stepped into the principal’s office at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Toledo, Ohio three years ago, he discovered technology that felt more like an obstacle than an ally. “We were going into sometimes six or seven screens just to find what we wanted,” he explains. “And even then, it was the bare-bones version of the data we needed.”

With nearly 400 PK–8 students and a busy staff, Sattler’s team needed technology that could simplify their lives, not complicate them. Ease of use was priority number one as Sattler began exploring new software for his school. Staff needed faster access to information, families needed a more intuitive portal, and everyone needed more reliable support. But Blackbaud simply didn’t deliver. “Teachers have a million things to do,” he says. “Needing to find the precise ‘right’ screen isn’t the most ideal.”

As the St. Joan of Arc team evaluated alternatives, FACTS quickly rose to the top. From the very first demo, it was clear that FACTS hit all the key elements the school was looking for in their school technology. “FACTS understood their product better than just about everybody else and were able to home into exactly what a school of our kind would need to see,” explains Sattler.

The decision was soon made to switch to FACTS Student Information System (SIS), Application & Enrollment, and Payment Plans and Incidental Billing, offering St. Joan of Arc School data interoperability and convenient integrations that would simplify their day-to-day operations. Sattler states that they knew they made the right decision almost immediately upon beginning implementation, as the FACTS team offered exceptional customer service and training that gave staff the confidence to hit the ground running.

“The idea that anybody from our school can reach out to FACTS and get an answer was a huge benefit to us. With Blackbaud, you would send an e-mail or a chat, and it was kind of a toss-up of when you’d hear from somebody. It was just very apparent from the beginning that FACTS had the support team there to take care of things for us,” says Sattler.

This support, combined with FACTS’ user accessibility made an especially strong impact as St. Joan of Arc doesn’t have a dedicated IT team. Sattler explains that having such great customer service and people “who know our system inside and out” means that no one person has to dedicate their full efforts to system management, allowing the school to focus on what’s most important.

After implementation, the school began to see positive changes immediately, with both staff and family praising the difference in FACTS’ ease of use. Teachers loved the simple navigation, menus, and comprehensive student information available just by accessing the student’s name. Families loved the changes, too. “One of the complaints I heard early on was that our previous solution was not parent friendly. They didn’t even know where to go to find grades or how to log in. With FACTS, parents said setup was super easy and quick,” says Sattler.

Other major improvements? Speed and communication. Sattler and his team noticed that grades were getting entered faster than ever before, as teachers could easily navigate the SIS interface, getting grades to families quicker. Sattler also calls out FACTS’ extensive reporting as a factor in their new efficiency, specifically mentioning the convenience of the Missing Assignments report. With simpler data management and improved reporting, communication with families increased, and teachers could communicate with parents directly through FACTS instead of navigating to a new page or system.

FACTS’ Parent Alert also helps keep families in the know. “We found very quickly that text messages are the absolute best way to communicate with our parents. Their involvement, knowledge, and ability to get things in on time has increased drastically because of that communication ability,” states Sattler.

The most immediate improvement came with FACTS SIS. Previously, student data was fragmented; grades and contact information were there, but only in the most basic form. With FACTS, teachers and staff now have a full picture of every student, which is especially important in a school where students may attend for up to 10 years. They can view grades, attendance, IEPs, and even more nuanced details like uniform sizes or a student’s favorite activities, all in one place. “Now we’re looking at the whole picture of a student and get to really know who they are, not just their grades and attendance,” Sattler explains.

There were also huge changes with the implementation of FACTS Application and Enrollment. Enrollment used to be one of the most frustrating tasks of the year for St. Joan of Arc staff and families. But with Application and Enrollment, they’ve cut down significantly on information collected and reduced paperwork to just two physical forms. “It also allows us to customize the process, so we collect the data in the order we want. We’re able to weed things out and control the process,” adds Sattler.

Positive responses from families have been overwhelming, with an overall appreciation of the streamlined enrollment and re-enrollment processes. Sattler states that with their previous solution, it would take up to four hours to get through the entire process. With FACTS, families can complete student re-enrollment in under 30 minutes. Even better? Managing everything isn’t time-consuming for St. Joan of Arc staff with Application & Enrollment’s automations. “It’s made us more efficient, it’s made us more responsive, and it’s helped our families understand the process a lot more,” explains Sattler, highlighting the decreased burden on his team.

That more intuitive experience, from enrollment through everyday communication, has helped create stronger family engagement and satisfaction, which ultimately supports long-term student retention.

While FACTS SIS and Application & Enrollment made a huge impact on the school, Sattler cites switching their payment technology to FACTS as the best part of the transition. Their previous solution wasn’t just outdated; it was confusing. Parents often struggled to understand what they owed, when it was due, and how to make payments. This created tension for families and extra work for the school’s business office.

“With FACTS, everything is right there. They can see every single transaction and where they stand,” says Sattler. Parents appreciate the transparency FACTS Payment Plans and Incidental Billing offers, with one convenient portal to see everything from field trip fees and lunch orders to school merch purchases charged directly to their account. This has allowed the campus to go completely cashless, with no money exchanging hands and less confusion for both staff and families.

When asked to describe FACTS in one word, Sattler doesn’t hesitate to respond with “efficient.” He mentions that he speaks with other school principals about making the switch often and encourages them to really think about if their processes could be easier. When he was considering changing platforms for his school, it didn’t take him long to discover that FACTS was capable of creating efficiencies his team hadn’t even thought of.

“FACTS is the fifth student information system I’ve used, and it is by far the most streamlined, efficient, easy-to-use, and most informative system that I’ve used,” he says. He also appreciates how FACTS goes the extra mile, listening to suggestions and constantly updating features and solutions. His final words to anyone considering the switch from Blackbaud? “Do it. You won’t regret it.”

St. Joan of Arc School eliminated reams of paperwork, reduced enrollment time, and gave families and staff tools they actually enjoy using. The same changes are possible in your school. Contact the FACTS team to learn more.