Challenges
- Changing state regulations and technology demands
- Staying on top of state reporting requirements
- Adapting quickly with little disruption to users
Solutions
Results
- PowerSchool’s regulatory team monitors state requirements and recommends changes as needed on hosted weekly calls
Port Arthur Independent School District, located just a few miles north of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, educates more than 9,000 students at 12 schools.
When the district chose PowerSchool eSchoolPlus SIS, staff were excited by the partnership of both the technology as well as the company’s team of edtech experts. In addition to monitoring regulatory issues for the district, PowerSchool’s trainers recommended using Career Planner within eSchoolPlus to meet the newest state reporting regulations.
In 2013, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 5 (HB 5), a new regulation that made substantial changes to the state’s curriculum and graduation requirements, assessment program, and accountability system. These revised state requirements help students work with parents and educators to map their coursework to align with their aptitudes and interests.
The HB 5 change needed to be reflected in how PAISD was using eSchoolPlus. That’s why PowerSchool recommended the Career Planner feature, which was already a part of the program.
“We moved to Career Planner because of House Bill 5, an initiative for Texas that requires a career plan for students. One of the PowerSchool trainers helped us get set up and on track to where we’re able to use the program now,” says Anthony Jackson, Chief Technology Officer. PowerSchool partnered with PAISD to assist with training and rollout.
Over the past few years, as state regulations have changed and technology has advanced, Port Arthur Independent School District has continued to work with PowerSchool on new ways to use the system and its added features.
How does eSchoolPlus help the district drive student success?
Port Arthur ISD uses eSchoolPlus’ Home Access Center, providing parents access to helpful information that supports and guides their children through the educational process. Home Access Center helps eliminate communication barriers between teachers, families, students, and schools by facilitating conversations and improving student accountability with anytime, anywhere access to grades, progress, and responsibilities.
Through a web portal, Jackson says, “Parents are able to review students’ grades, attendance, and discipline.”
In addition to support, according to Jackson, “eSchoolPlus is a powerful, robust tool with quite a bit of information that we can get to on our students without digging. Our administrators also use the Admin App with great reviews.”
How has communication evolved with PowerSchool?
In addition to the support offered throughout the transition to new features, PowerSchool hosts a weekly regulatory call to support districts within each state.
“We have a support call every Tuesday that’s a really helpful call where we get a lot of information on Texas regulations and things happening. It’s been really helpful to gather information from the call and hear from other districts on what they’re doing and how things are happening with them,” says Jackson.
Helping district success and student achievement.
PowerSchool eSchoolPlus SIS is helping Port Arthur ISD streamline the management of its K-12 student information system so school administrators and educators can focus on what’s most important—giving students the best education possible.