Student Information System - Pinellas County Schools
John Just leads technology initiatives for Pinellas County Schools, the seventh largest district in the state of Florida and twenty-first largest district in the nation. With experience in both the private and public sectors, he brings a unique perspective to a district with high student mobility and demanding data requirements. He demands that the systems he implements have the flexibility to meet the needs of his end-users as those requirements change over time.
"I believe in partner sourcing," Just comments. Partner sourcing is "an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software. It offers the source code at a reasonable cost with shared burden of change control between vendor and user. When you look around Florida, the mainframe systems were so successful."
In addition to flexibility, PCSB required a system that could pull data from many disparate sources into one location. PCSB has made FOCUS's student information system a central location for many different kinds of data. Specifically, the district has integrated FOCUS/SIS with the ConnectED calling system, Active Directory for authentication, the Moodle e-learning platform, MS Exchange for email, the district HR/Finance system (TERMS) and a number of SQL databases. PCSB also rebranded Focus/SIS the "Pinellas Portal" and added a number of self service programs to the user welcome screen.
"I have been impressed with the ability of Focus to communicate important information to all stakeholders. Focus/SIS is excellent for capturing, translating, displaying and communicating information to all stakeholders in real-time. The teachers like Focus a lot and the parent portal is a great thing for us," comments Just.
The size of Pinellas County Schools required rigorous scalability testing before it could be implemented district-wide. Dell Computers tested the student information system and was impressed. "There are very few people that we think know what they are doing," Just comments. "Everybody that we have worked with at Focus is highly competent, and that has given my people good faith."
When describing Focus to another district, I tell them that it is user-friendly, very intuitive and that the company is always adding functions that meet teachers needs.
Meg Brown - Director of Technology - Flagler County Schools
We are happy to use Focus/SIS. As a new school, we were nervous about choosing a student information system. Focus/SIS has been a great choice. The responsiveness of the Focus team, trainings, troubleshooting and assistance has made using our SIS a breeze.
Malka Borrego - Executive Director - Equitas Academy Charter School
Administrators are able to get information about students in real-time.
Meg Brown - Director of Technology - Flagler County Schools
With Focus we got what we wanted – portal, grades, attendance, etc. - without spending as much...
Adam Lewis - Director of Technology - Elverado Schools
When describing Focus to another district, I tell them that it is user-friendly, very intuitive and that the company is always adding functions that meet teachers needs.
Meg Brown - Director of Technology - Flagler County Schools
The parent portal has been a huge success in getting parents involved in their child/children's education. Parents are very pleased with the ease of the program and ability to view all their children with one logon.
Maria McGovern - Flagler County Public Schools
The program is very user-friendly. If I do run into any problems, I simply pick up the phone or email tech support and I get a response in a timely manner. Everyone at Focus has been very helpful!
Patricia G. Mahaney - Director of Guidance - Kenston Forest School
Personally, I don’t think you need a lot of training with Focus because it is so easy to use.
Adam Lewis - Director of Technology - Elverado Schools
Administration and parents are pleased to have this valuable tool to encourage parent communication. The online gradebook has motivated teachers to be current in posting their grades and their assignments.
Maria McGovern - Flagler County Public Schools
The program is very user-friendly. If I do run into any problems, I simply pick up the phone or email tech support and I get a response in a timely manner. Everyone at Focus has been very helpful!
Patricia G. Mahaney - Director of Guidance - Kenston Forest School
Focus is very good at capturing translating, displaying and communicating information to key stakeholders.
John Just - Assistant Superintendent - Pinellas County Schools
