June 2004 — Applications
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West Clermont's 'Small Schools of Choice' Rely on Student Management Software to Evolve
Our Master Schedule Builder/Student-Scheduling software made a daunting task relatively easy. We copied masters for courses offered at all 10 schools, and then added courses specific to individual schools. At Glen Este High School, Principal Ashworth explains: "I can set small schools of 200 to 260 students on their own separate schedules. They're separate entities in the computer. We have five small schools with five different bell schedules, and we offer one-, two- and three-trimester classes." In addition, he adds, the principals can run a schedule for a small school in about seven to 11 seconds.
To maintain the accuracy of our students' GPAs when we converted from semesters to trimesters, we used a program developed by ACE to reflect what we'd done under the old semester system and converted it to trimesters. We used mathematical formulas and did a lot of double-checking to ensure that we didn't hurt anyone. To calculate GPAs today, instead of dividing things by two, we're now essentially dividing by three. Having one-, two- and three-trimester classes adds to the challenge, which our software has met flawlessly.
Team Effort
The benefits of our software and support in our conversion to 10 high schools were immediate and obvious, although difficult to quantify. Stahl says it best: "I just think about copying all those reference files, which took the software probably about an hour. I can't imagine how many days it would have taken us to input all that - plus the mistakes that undoubtedly we would have made."
My advice to any district that decides to undertake an effort similar to ours is that you first need a product with the power and flexibility to handle multiple small schools. But you also need a high level of service and communication with your vendor. We had constant contact with ACE personnel as we developed questions on the processes we should use.
Our use of technology will change as our "small schools of choice" evolve. For example, we are presently installing ACE's 'WEB Parent/Student/Staff" module that allows parents, students and staff to access and input student information via the Web at any time from anywhere. One thing that won't change is technology's all-important role in the team effort of our small schools' endeavor.
- Dave O'Toole
Contact Information
ACE Software LLC (800) 837-2692 www.acesoft.comCite this Site
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