Agenda
This year's Solutions Summit is full of hands-on, practical experiences...
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Goodbye, Solutions Summit
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsWhat a great conference this year! We want to extend our thanks to everyone who attended and for all the thoughtful questions and comments. All of us at eSchool Solutions learned a lot from you — and we hope that you’re able to take valuable information back to your district.
To those of you unable to join us this year: Thanks for following the updates on the blog. We hope that you were able to enjoy a little bit of the Solutions Summit experience. Don’t forget to download the presentations next week. We hope to see you next year!
In the meantime, as always, thank you for choosing eSchool Solutions. We appreciate your business and look forward to a long-standing partnership.
End of Solutions Summit from Heather Whaling on Vimeo.
Shared Direct Response Team
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsIn the last breakout session of the day, I sat in on the Shared Direct Response (SDR) Team presentation. Larry Hobson, from Loudoun County Schools, co-presented — explaining how his district has benefited from this service. To give some backgound: SDR teams are comprised of a small group of districts (normally 8 or so regional neighbors). Each team is assigned an eSchool Solutions representative who provides one-on-one support. For districts that place unusual demands on the system, or those that would prefer more personalized service, this is a great option. In addition to the support, SDR team districts receive a customized Performance Analysis and Optimization (PAOP). This service offers thorough data analysis, interpretation, benchmarking and “action items” to achieve substitute management goals.
This presentation looked at how the district and eSchool Solutions are working closely together so Loudoun can achieve 100% fill rate. Having Mr. Hobson participate in this presentation was helpful because the crowd could hear about the service not only from eSchool Solutions’ perspective, but also from the client side. He explained that the PAOP generated outcomes that they’ll be able to implement. For example, now they’ll be more focused on conducting highly targeted substitute recruitment; prepare for seasonal patterns; and optimize search rules. They also discovered new ways to improve training and prepare substitutes (e.g., email lesson plans to substitutes in advance). At the end of the PAOP review, eSchool Solutions and Loudoun County developed an action register to identify goals and set benchmarks for the team to work on going forward.
Understanding Callouts
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsOne of the most important factors is call out list classifications. How your lists are set up will directly impact your system’s ability to get slots filled.
Beth Vinci led a breakout session looking at these types of issues — walking attendees through “best practice” parameters.
Custom lists were a main focus on Beth’s presentation. These search parameters help districts identify some target substitutes and special consideration groups, such as reduction-in-force (RIF) teachers, retired teacher or uncertified teachers. Custom lists do need to be housed in a search rule.
On every list of a search rule, there are levels, which are especially useful when determining how equally qualified substitutes get called. Beth presented a variety of situations and explained when leveling would be useful.
During her presentation, Beth mentioned that her PowerPoint includes a lot of step-by-step instructions. Definitely download her PowerPoint from Customer Center for lots of helpful, detailed tips!
Substitute Training Management System
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsAfter a tasty snack (who could resist chocolate covered strawberries and fruit skewers??), it was time for the next batch of breakout sessions.
John May and Russell Long led a session about a new (actually, sort of new!) product eSchool Solutions offers. The Substitute Training Management System is a new product powered by ERO. ERO is a web-based system whose original purpose was to help districts manage professional development. Well, eSchool Solutions has modified that original product so administrators can now use it to track subsistute training — including orientation and ongoing development opportunities.
Very easy for for substitutes and administrators to use, the Substitute Training Management System creates personalized, pre-approved professional learning programs for substitutes — either traditional classroom-type learning activities, self-paced sessions, or a combination of both.
The major benefits of this system include avoiding scheduling conflicts (registering for 2 activities at same time is prohibited); defining policies and setting controls on costly administrative issues (e.g., late drops and no shows); and informative reports and data exports.
Managing Phone Lines
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsNext up, Chris Delveaux and Jimmy Harris led a session focusing on telephone lines. SmartFindExpress works with both digital and analog phone lines. Chris explained some of the advantages of digital systems, which have only one hook-up to the server (as opposed to analog which has multiple). It seems that most of the larger districts use digital lines, while the smaller ones (6-8 lines) find it more cost-effective to stay on analog.
Some takeaways:
- When determining how many phone lines you need, it’s important to look at the data. More isn’t necessarily always better. Instead, the key is to strike a balance between the phone and the web.
- Setting caller ID is important. On digital systems, eSchool Solutions can control the number that shows up; however, the phone company controls analog numbers. Districts need to work with the phone companies to display the main “pilot” number so substitutes will start to recognize it. Also, make sure you’re not displaying “No Caller ID.” Your subs may not answer the call.
- Every analog line needs to be tested. The current must get to zero every time someone hangs up for the system to work correctly. This doesn’t apply to digital lines.
- Phone companies are used to hooking up lines that just connect to fax machines or telephones. They need to know that these lines are hooked up to a software product.
- Label your analog phone lines
- Keep a list of the phone number to each line. SmartFindExpress allows you to mark each line in the software. Print this out for your records.
There was a lot of great information in this presentation. Check out the PowerPoint on Customer Center (available Monday) for all the details!
Other Uses for SmartFindExpress
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsIf you’re using SmartFindExpress, you’re (obviously) using it to place substitute teachers. But, did you know that it can help you fill other absences? Many districts here at the Solutions Summit use the system with their custodial staff, food service employees, and bus drivers. Lorri Glover hosted a roundtable discussion to help districts understand how SmartFindExpress can be a valuable resource for non-teacher absences. Interestingly, a number of districts use the system to manage absences, but not to handle call outs. As a result, much of the discussion centered on how to deal with call outs. For example, what happens when a janitor — who is supposed to be at work at 4:30 a.m. — calls off at 4 a.m.?
The group talked about the need to train these additional groups on the system so that they trust that it will work. They also talked about union-related issues, how to deal with the clock restraint, and system configurations/rules (both those already existing and those that need to be created).
Welcome to Day 2
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsRested and refreshed, we’re all ready for Day 2 of the Solutions Summit. After breakfast, the morning started with John May offering a brief overview of the SmartFindExpress Advisory Council. Currently, there are 16 returning members and 7 new people. The group, which represents a variety of district sizes and locations, holds quarterly meetings to discuss what’s working well with the product, identify areas for improvement and to offer input for upcoming Solutions Summits. This group provides very valuable feedback to eSchool Solutions.
Following the advisory council introductions, the group broke into a series of roundtable discussions centering on issues related to the “economy down, substitutes up” challenge many districts are facing. Specific topics included:
- How are districts handling the influx of substitute teachers? Do you require degrees? How are you training these people — who have great real-world experience — but no classroom training?
- What are the hardest areas to fill? How are districts addressing this need? What is the single greatest idea for filling these positions?
Judging by the level of discussion and energy in the room, these roundtables were a hit!
After the districts shared information with the other tables, everyone was asked to complete a system usability survey. This was another opportunity to weigh in on on a variety of issues, such as whether the system is easy or difficult to use; if they think people can learn SmartFindExpress quickly; and if the functionality meets their needs. They were also asked to identify their three favorite aspects of SmartFindExpress and their three least favorite aspects of the system.
Rave Reviews for Solutions Summit
April 24th, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsI had the chance to speak with a number of Solutions Summit attendees this morning during breakfast — and they are giving this year’s event rave reviews! The following videos are just a sample of the feedback we’ve been hearing so far!
Happy Clients! from Heather Whaling on Vimeo.
More Happy Clients! from Heather Whaling on Vimeo.
That’s a Wrap
April 23rd, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsWith Day 1 in the books, it sounds like everyone is having a great time — and, more importantly, learning a lot! After his last breakout session, George Rodriguez, with Loudoun (VA) County Schools, stopped by to tell us about his Solutions Summit experience.
Loudoun County from Heather Whaling on Vimeo.
IT Roundtable
April 23rd, 2009 by eSchool SolutionsFor all the technical wizards at the Solutions Summit, one of the favorite sessions is the IT Roundtable, featuring Jack Hine and Rich Barron. This sessions gives attendees the opportunity to interact with the development team. In addition to the questions about programming, servers and technical features/questions, blogging was a hot topic of discussion. It sounds like more and more of you are getting into social networking and would like opportunities to interact with districts online.
