WCS Streamlines Registration Process For Parents
Summer is beginning to wind down and parents and children alike are beginning to think about school preparations. As students begin to lament the end of summer, many parents are similarly lamenting a long registration process, the hunt for school supplies and the dreaded school wardrobe shopping day. However, thanks to Warsaw Community School Corporation, this process has become much simpler.
Last week, the registration portal officially opened for WCS parents. Though parents are usually mailed a letter with log in information for a school registration site, this year Chief Accountability Officer Dani Barkey and WCS staff launched a new initiative to make the sign up process as quick and painless as possible.
The corporation has begun using InfoSnap, an intuitive information collection program. Though the implementation process for InfoSnap is typically 9 weeks long, Barkey notes the corporation had to adapt the timeline to a six week schedule to meet necessary registration deadlines.
Instead of having parents manually fill out information for each child, the program allows parents to snap information from one student to another quickly and efficiently. Different tabs allow parents to select either new student, returning student or out of district transfer registration. Once in the proper section, parents are able to utilize drop down menus for things such as allergies or special needs, or, simply breeze past the section all together if it isn’t relevant. There are a total of 5 different pages in the registration process according to Barkey.
Though the program is incredibly useful to parents, allowing registration to be completed in under 10 minutes for an entire household, it is also very useful for the school corporation. The program allows for schools to retain contact information for students and maintain records without having to go through a long retype process at the beginning of the school year.
Additionally, if educators notice a potential discrepancy in data entered into the system, they are able to directly email a parent for clarification. Additionally, addresses can now be easily transferred to the transportation department, streamlining the route planning process for bus drivers at the beginning of the school year.
Barkey noted approximately 25 percent of students have already been registered for the upcoming school year in just under a week.
“We have never seen that kind of response in the past in the first week,” explained Barkey. “This looks really, really good. We also have more out of district and new students than ever before at this point in the year… This hasn’t changed the in-building process at all. It has just streamlined the paperwork.”
Parents of both returning and new students can visit www.warsaw.k12.in.us to register their students today. WCS encourages parents to register online prior to the building registration dates to expedite the process in the buildings.
In-Building Registration Dates and Times:
- Wednesday, July 29, 2015 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursday, July 30, 2015 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, July 31, 2015 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Contact the WCS Central Office if you have questions or concern: (574) 371-5098.