Southern Lehigh School District’s recent switch to the Infinite Campus student information system has been difficult, as every change is. The former system, Sapphire, was in place for twelve years, meaning no current district student has ever used another platform. Sapphire was used through last school year, and the district administration began the transition to Infinite Campus over the summer.
However, the transition raised concerns from students after Spartan Period selections were put on halt and, even more disastrous, senior transcripts were unavailable. These issues pushed back timelines for club fundraisers and restricted students from applying to scholarships in the early fall.
When current seniors found that they were unable to access their transcripts, an essential piece of documentation required to apply to colleges, panic ensued. In past years, transcripts could easily be accessed through Sapphire at each student’s convenience. Unfortunately, Sapphire and Infinite Campus did not fully communicate with each other during the transition, especially for student transcripts. High school guidance counselor Mrs. Tamme Westbrooks played a large role in addressing the issues.
“When the information was transferred from Sapphire to Infinite Campus, there were a lot of errors—and by a lot, I mean a lot.” Mrs. Westbrooks said. “That has probably been the most difficult for us, as that tends to cause the most concern for students trying to send their courses to colleges. We had to literally go through every senior transcript and delete, correct, and hand enter.”
She said that they’ve finalized senior transcripts but will now have to go through the same process with every other grade, and regrets that it has complicated things for some students. Seniors who worked to get an early start on their college or scholarship applications were penalized, as many were unable to access their documents until late September.
High school principal Mr. Joshua Miller said that transcripts were not sent out to colleges from Naviance until September 15th in past years, so the slight delay outweighed the potential consequences otherwise.
“[W]e were two weeks behind schedule,” Mr. Miller said. “But we’d rather send out something more accurate and appropriate than rush then try and figure it out later.”
Additionally, Spartan Period—a 35-minute mini-block in which students have time to meet with their clubs, get help from teachers, and receive tutoring—was delayed by three weeks. In past years, students selected their desired Spartan Periods using a scheduling tool within Sapphire; however, administrators and the tech department were initially unsure of how to replicate this process in Infinite Campus. Unable to find a solution, administrators finally reached the decision to use a Google form and hand-schedule students instead.
Since Spartan Periods were not up and running at the proper time, National Honor Society (NHS) members were unable to meet with students for tutoring. Therefore, junior and senior NHS members are hard-pressed to serve their mandatory tutoring hours and some tutees are struggling due to the lack of extra help available early on.
Additionally, it was difficult for clubs to meet together to discuss and plan events normally held towards the beginning of the school year. With this, some students were even concerned that there would be no Powder Puff games to participate in, since they were typically planned during these early weeks. Not only that, but the first few weeks of school are an integral time for some clubs to select student officers, and without a hierarchy in place it has been difficult for them to organize activities.
“The transition should have been planned out and made before the students even came back into the building,” senior Kasey Snyder said. “The fact that the administration did not take into consideration that they would have to find a way to integrate the Spartan selection system into Infinite Campus and test to see if it worked astonishes me.”
All considered, better communication on how the transition was unfolding, and when the Spartan Periods and transcripts could be expected, would have benefitted staff, students, and parents. Additionally, increased staff training would have been beneficial, as learning to use a new student information system in addition to the typical stresses of a new school year was challenging for teachers. The different forms for Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and methods of documenting grades and attendance, among other things, have presented issues.
“Everyone should have had the proper training, or more training, on the system as well, creating less confusion for teachers,” said Snyder, who has heard that it’s not easy for faculty either. “Personally, I think the teachers are doing their best, and I applaud each and every one of my teachers for adapting to the switch in system; I recognize the struggle for some of them.”
Principal Miller said he hopes that whatever challenges the district faces now will prepare everyone for a much easier time next year.
“I think it’s just a refinement process this year,” he said. “For a senior, it’s a frustration; for the parents, it’s an annoyance; for the staff, it’s, you know, hair tugging. But in reality, the long term effect is us getting everything squared away, and this is no different than when the district went to Sapphire twelve years ago. I think we’re in a better spot to just only have one year of minor hiccups, and then our second year will be much smoother.”