The go-live date of the new student information system — called "Infinite Campus" — will be August, with staff training to take place in August and September. Parents and students will be able to access the new system later in the 2006-07 year.

So what will this replacement for the AS-400 actually do? Answers to that question and many others are below.

What is a student information system?

A student information system is the computer system that stores all student records and data for students enrolled in a school district. It begins with information about the very youngest child first registering and enrolling prior to Kindergarten and continues past graduations with student transcripts.

Besides basic information about demographics, a student information system contains information about the student's household members, addresses, enrollment history, attendance, courses taken, grades, test scores, behavior records, health records, special program services, activities they have been involved in, awards earned, fees paid, and more.

Who uses a student information system?

Many, many persons use information in a student information system on a daily basis. Secretaries register and enroll new students and track students when they move from school to school. Teachers take attendance and record grades. Counselors assign students to courses. Nurses note health-related interventions. Special education teachers update Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Social workers record home visits.

And the list of users will expand when the new student information system, Infinite Campus, is rolled out to parents later in the 2006-07 school year.

Why are we changing from the system we use today?

The current system was implemented in 1987. That makes it close to twenty years old. Technology has changed significantly in that time. The Internet wasn't even much more than a figment of someone's imagination then. Today, with newer systems like Infinite Campus, information is accessible anywhere one can jump onto the Internet.

How can we do this at a time when budgets are being cut?

The new system is cost neutral to the district's budget. The system's fees are paid for by reductions in other areas. The system will save more than its cost virtually immediately after it is deployed.

What other benefits does the system provide?

One of the key benefits is the amount of information readily available at the hands of so many more school staff.

The current system generally requires staff to request information from a smaller group of individuals either at the school building or in the central office. The new system will provide teachers and other school staff with access to basic student information anywhere they can log into the web, including at an Internet accessible home computer.

Parents will also benefit from being able to access nearly real-time information about their children including such things as attendance, schedules, and grades. This builds yet one more communication bridge between home and school. Parents can become more effective partners in working proactively on behalf of their children by monitoring and responding to the information they see on the system.

The system will also end up saving money currently spent on other processes that will become obsolete in the future. For example, of the thousands of reports that are mailed home to parents each year even a small proportion of parents opting to receive the information electronically will save significant costs in the way of paper, printing, and postage, not to mention staff time.

Where can I learn more about this system and Infinite Campus?

The MMSD Infinite Campus Web site is available on the District-wide Web (dww). To see it from a district computer, click here. This site is pretty new but has links to the MMSD Implementation Plan and to an online demonstration of Infinite Campus.