Students, teachers and parents will learn two new words before coming to school this year: Infinite Campus. WCSD is launching the new student information system, Infinite Campus at all 94 schools and 8 charter schools beginning in July. Infinite Campus is accessed through the Internet and will be used district-wide to track all student information including attendance, test scores, grades and demographic data. The parent portal Edline was replaced by the Infinite Campus parent portal and will be available to all grade levels.
The district previously used the student information system, SASI since 1999. Pearson Digital Learning, the company that owns SASI, issued an "end of life" statement for the product in June of 2008, and discontinued support for the software on June 30, 2010.
Superintendent Heath Morrison is looking forward to seeing the benefits of this system including leading to increased student achievement, efficiency and transparency for the district. "Infinite Campus is an outstanding vehicle for parent involvement, and will be an important tool in our reform initiative and strategic plan. The system will specifically provide greater access for parents, students and educators which is imperative to increasing the graduation rate."
The replacement of Infinite Campus did not impact the general fund, as it was funded by the 2002 Rollover Bond. Chief Accountability Officer Paul LaMarca says with the existing student information system no longer being supported, the silver lining associated with the turn of events was the ability to implement a better product for supporting student achievement and the school district's reform agenda. "After an extensive selection process which included community input and a committee made up of classified, certified and administrative employees, Infinite Campus was the clear choice for WCSD. LaMarca continued, "We are excited to launch this student information system for the 2010-11 school year. It provides the most cost effective option and excellent service for our students, parents and staff."
The project has a $2 million budget and was part of the approved 2009 Capital Project Allocation Plan. It was approved by the Oversight Panel on June 18, 2009 and by the Board of Trustees on June 23, 2009.
Infinite Campus integrates the student information system, teacher grade book, and the parent portal into one system, reducing the paperwork and duplicate entry of data that the old system (SASI) required. It not only saves time for teachers, but also allows the school office and parents to see immediate information from the classroom. Infinite Campus will provide 24-hour availability to student information anywhere there is Internet access. The parent portal will open for middle and high schools in mid-September, and at the elementary level in early November. This is the first parent portal that will be available to WCSD elementary students and parents.
The district's Information Technology (IT) Department worked extensively training teachers and staff over the past several months to gear up for the switch. The Implementation Team has developed 'SWAT' teams to give on-site support during the first day of school, to answer questions and make sure every teacher can log-in and take attendance.
The CEO and Founder of Infinite Campus, Charlie Kratsch says the cooperative efforts between their company and the district was top notch. "Washoe County School District is the fourth largest district that we've implemented. The team was forward thinking and well prepared, culminating in a very successful go-live." Infinite Campus was the only student information system to be awarded the highest rating (strong positive) by the Gartner Marketscope Report for 2009.
During a demonstration of Infinite Campus at an informational fair this spring at North Valley's High School for students and parents, one high school student summarized the benefits of the new system by saying, "Infinite Campus rocks. I can see everything I need to do, when I need to do it, and all of my grades are in one place."
An Infinite Campus instructional video is available for parents and students online at the Infinite Campus button located on the WCSD website at www.washoe.k12.nv.us.
About Washoe County School District: The Washoe County School District includes the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, Empire and Wadsworth, Nevada. The District provides each of its 63,000 students with a superior education in a safe and challenging environment and is committed to graduate every child career and college ready. For more information visit: www.washoecountyschools.org. Follow us on Twitter at WCSDTweet.
