There have been a lot of changes to school life over the past couple of years, the newest of these being the switch from Tyler SIS to Focus School Software.
Focus–much like the old platform, Tyler SIS–is a student information system designed to help everyone have a more enjoyable school experience. This is the first year that the school is implementing this new program, which means that students, teachers, and administrators are going to have a wide range of opinions regarding its effectiveness.
Sydney Harder (12) shares her feelings on the new changes.
“I think it is a little bit harder, just because, on SIS, everything was right on the front screen. On Focus, everything’s off to the side, in separate sections,” Harder said.
Harder also expressed that since she had been using SIS for her entire high school career the switch was a little complicated.
Other students have also expressed that certain aspects of Focus aren’t working correctly, such as their class schedules or lunch accounts.
On the other hand, some had a much better experience with Focus.
“It is a very good layout. Really easy to navigate. All of the more intricate stuff you find in SIS–past tests and history and all that stuff–it is in one spot,” Ruffus Ganninger (10) said. Ganninger then followed by saying “it is very user friendly.”
The student body’s thoughts on Focus are varied from person to person. But overall it seems that students are slowly getting used to the new platform.
“Over time it will get better,” Harder said.
English teacher Mandy Franke is one of the four lead trainers for Focus in the school. The other three teachers being Ryan Barnes, Mandi McMillen, and Meaghan Sachs. These teachers are responsible for helping both teachers and students figure out the new platform.
While Franke recognized that Focus was having its fair share of problems, she also explained that setting up a whole new system is a big process.
“There’s things that aren’t working right yet, but it will, it just takes time,” Franke said.
Besides the expected struggles of using a new system, Franke claims that from a teacher’s perspective, Focus is a much better program than SIS.
All in all there are mixed opinions about Focus. Some people love the switch while others don’t.
Is this switch truly the right choice? Only time will tell.
