Today’s parents are more involved in their children’s education than ever before. They want to know what’s happening at school, how their child is performing, and when their next tuition bill is due. Communication is key to keeping families informed and engaged.
Unfortunately, not all student information systems are built with communication in mind. We recently spoke with three schools who moved to Veracross after several years with FACTS. Keep reading to learn why they were so impressed by Veracross and how they’ve improved family relationships as a result of our powerful communication tools.
Accurate Contact Information
Before you can communicate with anyone, you need a way to contact them. It sounds simple, right? These days, everyone has at least one phone number and email address. But if your SIS has multiple records per individual or doesn’t sync across departments, you’ll find yourself in trouble.
St. Luke’s School in New York, NY experienced this firsthand. “We had a lot of different systems that really didn’t talk to one another… we were constantly given incorrect information which led to problems amongst our community,” says Sheila Sheldon, CFO.
If changes were made in one system — like a parent’s divorce, for example — they wouldn’t update across the entire system. This inaccurate data was not only creating confusion but dampening the school’s reputation within their community. “The school didn’t look organized… there was more confusion and uncertainty, that leads to distrust,” says Sheldon. “We wanted to migrate to one platform with consistent records, so we didn’t have to worry about which is the most updated record.”
Lakeland Christian School in Lakeland, FL faced a similar challenge. “[Prior to Veracross], we had data all over the place,” says Joe Hatch, Controller. “Trying to keep a simple thing like an address updated in three or four different systems was becoming overwhelming… Now, I can update an address here… and everyone is looking at the same email address and the same phone number in the same record, which is huge.”
One-Stop Shop for Families
Family experience is another huge priority. How easy is it for families to find the information they need at your school? If you rely on multiple systems and logins for managing grades, tuition payments, and school calendars, you’re making it difficult for parents to easily find information.
“We felt like how we were asking our parents to communicate and keep in touch with us was all over the place,” says Hatch. “We had a site for this, a login for that, another app… communication channels and tools were all over. We wanted one spot — a portal, if you will — for parents where we can communicate with calendars, emails, updates, and everything in one location.”
Lakeland Christian School found their communication hub within Veracross portals, a web-based platform that serves up curated content within a user-friendly interface. Portals can be customized for every user group in your community based on the information that’s relevant to them. They’re dynamic, too.
“You can publish or update new content to multiple portals at one time,” says Hatch. “Or you can filter content based on different groups of people — like high school parents — to curate their view… The ability to have dynamic communication with parents is huge.”
At Trinity Christian School of Fairfax in Fairfax, VA, they use various Veracross portals to communicate with prospective families, new families, parents, and faculty. Because each portal is built within Veracross, they’ve been able to create a consistent experience across all portals. “We take a lot of the question of ‘where can I find information?’ away because it’s all in one spot and it all looks familiar and everyone knows where to go,” says Jen Fletcher, Dean of Enrollment.
Customizable Emails
Many schools rely on email communication to share information, whether it’s a one-off announcement, a weekly newsletter, or a personal update. Veracross’s drag-and-drop email builder makes it easy to draft emails with text and images, view analytics, and make sure that send lists are accurate and up to date.
“It’s an easy tool,” says Fletcher. “There’s consistency in what parents can expect every week. A lot of what I like about Veracross is that it intuitively trains parents to know where to find information. If we’re doing our job of putting the right information in its place, then our community is finding that information, and that’s been a huge blessing for us.”
Hatch adds that “The email tool is pretty robust as far as how you’re able to bring in groups of students, parents, and constituents… Design is also really important; being able to brand [emails] and being able to brand them differently depending on who’s sending them.”
As an added bonus, Veracross emails are also accessible through portals so families can view their messages even if they missed it in their inbox originally. “Having them post and upload to the parent or staff portal is huge,” says Hatch. “That way you never get the ‘I never got the email’ remark.”
Communicate Better with Veracross
Since moving to Veracross, these three schools have been able to connect with their communities in new and exciting ways. Consistent and clear communication have helped them strengthen their relationships with families and repair their institutional reputations. To learn more about their journeys from FACTS to Veracross, catch up with our on-demand webinar.
