Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Autauga County Schools will be moving to an online platform for the registration process and first day of school forms for this coming school year. Where new and returning student’s parents will have to complete all first day forms online through PowerSchool months prior to the start of the school year.
“I’m excited. I mean, I’m a parent in the district too and I’m always excited about learning how their first day was versus having to worry about if I filled out all the right forms. I’m not going to be worried about the mountains of paperwork that have to go back the next day,” communications coordinator for Autauga County Schools Rebecca Thomas said.
Returning students to the district will not have to re-enroll and provide proof of residency and so forth unless it is a first-time student to the district. This software is meant to automatically populate information to make a more streamlined process for the district, students and families.
Questions and concerns can be directed to (334) 365-5706 or [email protected].
In-district transfers: Choice of Autauga County Schools
The district is also giving the option to parents in having the choice of where their student can attend school within the district, to an open enrollment policy officially known as an in-district transfer. There will be an application process to go through and ACBOE Superintendent Lyman Woodfin confirmed it will be very similar to the hardship process which is now being replaced.
“If they’re wanting to possibly look at transferring schools within the district, there will be an application process. It’s going to be very similar, basically like our hardship process and policy. We’re just putting that process in black and white on paper,” Woodfin said.
Spots will be limited and they will at first be based on what the principal thinks the capacity of that school can hold. If there’s a need for it, a lottery system will be put in place based on the needs and numbers of students per school.
“We’re trying to help our parents have more say in their kids’ education,” Woodfin said.
This will also give the district insight on where parents want to send their students and why, to better prepare resources and staffing within the district for each student. To be eligible for a transfer, there are policies in place, Woodfin confirmed.
Woodfin also confirmed that there is not an out of district policy at this time, and transfers are only possible within the district.
“This first year, it’s not just going to be a free for all, so to speak. We have to make sure we have capacity in each school, and quite frankly, it’s such a big deal and I want to make sure we execute it right,” Woodfin said.
In the policy, to be eligible for transfer there’s a few components to be eligible. According to Woodfin, one of the reasons a student could be ineligible for transfer is if a student has had any major disciplinary infractions or if a student has had three minor infractions. This would make them ineligible.
“We have to do it that way so that you’re not having issues with students that are getting in trouble at one school trying to transfer to the other to get out of the discipline. That part of the process will be reviewed by a committee. They’ll look at that stuff to make sure that they’re eligible. Then it just boils down to numbers,” Woodfin said.
Other components for ineligibility could be behavior infractions, attendance, or academic issues. This ensures that any issues a student is having aren’t just being swept under a rug.
“With in-district transfers, as long as there’s no behavior, attendance or academic issues with that student, their new school becomes their base school. So, once you’ve applied for an in-district transfer and you’re approved, whatever school you’re approved for becomes your new school. That way you’re not redoing that appeal every year,” Thomas said.
All documents moving online to PowerSchool
Thomas also confirmed that with the centralized registration, all these forms and documents will be in one place for parents and administrative convenience.
“If there’s any words that I can echo, we’re trying to be as efficient as possible,” Woodfin said.
The process will be moving to an online base in PowerSchool where first day forms, enrollment, registration or withdrawal will be made online through PowerSchool, in one central location.
PowerSchool is a cloud-based software for K-12 education that houses student records and forms for all students. Adopted in 2021, this cloud-based software enables the schools and the district to provide families with class schedules, attendance and grades all in one place.
The school board has voted to move forward with this new process in December’s board meeting and will start as soon as March in having parents fill out the first day of school forms. The district will be asking parents to complete the first day forms on computers or tablets as mobile devices are not recommended.
Thomas has confirmed that administrators will be in the community a couple of times per month through the spring and summer. During these “workshops” computers and help will be available for first time or long-time parents within the district. This is to ensure the first day forms get completed and give access to families that may not have a computer or access to the internet at home.
Specific days and times of these workshop sessions within Prattville, Autaugaville, Billingsley, Pine Level/Marbury will be announced in February by the ACBOE. On those specific days, computers will be available as well as help from personnel to help new and veteran parents of the district to get through the process, Thomas confirmed.
“We’re trying to be as accommodating as we possibly can. Again, we know it’s a shift in culture, a shift in thought process. But whether we like it or not, we have to adjust. And just to benefit operationally, we have to do it,” Woodfin said.
Woodfin confirmed that the benefit of having all information online in one specific location is crucial for the first month of school. Having everything online and easily accessible helps the school nurses, teachers and students have a smoother transition into the new school year. Particularly, this is in regard to health information and who to contact for an emergency for each specific student.
“The nurses have limited knowledge about the health concerns of their students. The school administrators have limited knowledge about changes in the student’s family or other concerns,” Thomas said. “The information needed to fully open the school year hinges on these first day forms, that in the past, schools collect for weeks after the first day.”
“Another issue that we’ve dealt with for as long as I’ve been in Autauga County is our bus routes are never finalized until after Labor Day,” Woodfin said.
With these first day forms and information being completed well before the school year starts it allows for bus routes to be made well in advance of the first day of school.
New GPS software for bus routes in 2024
The ACBOE is also moving forward with bus GPS software through a company called Transfinder. Through the centralized registration process and having all of Autauga County students’ information on one platform, the county can move forward with assigning bus routes before the summer is over.
“This allows us to hit the ground running on day one. I know it’s going to be difficult. We’re trying to do something that’s never been done in our district. But if we can get our parents to buy in and go ahead and get everything done this year, I really do believe moving forward, this will be a huge step forward for our school system,” Woodfin said.
This GPS navigation system will have the bus routes specifically mapped in the most efficient way possible. Thomas confirmed that the GPS is similar to what is being used in cars or the navigation on phones in such a way that if there are road closures it will map a different route with the district route coordinator.
Other capabilities that are available through the Transfinder software is that it will tell bus drivers how many students get off at each specific stop and with photos of who gets off at each respective stop. The system is able to populate with the first day forms with important and pertinent information such as emergency contacts, allergies or specific medical needs for each student.
First and foremost, the district is focusing on establishing the turn-by-turn directions with Transfinder first, then other capabilities listed above could follow.
“We have problems because right now everything’s handwritten. It’s turn at the third house on the left. We can’t operate like that. This is in real-time,” Woodfin said.
The district will also be able to track and see where all buses are in real-time with this software. Woodfin confirmed that as the district and software evolve and get comfortable, that more bells and whistles will be available to parents and the school system as they move forward.
“This software is pretty neat because the route coordinator for our district can adjust those routes at any time. So, when that route pulls up on the iPad, that bus driver or sub driver can see, for example, these three children get off at this stop and their photos will pop up. Or here’s their parents’ information that populates if you need to make a quick phone call,” Woodfin said.
Everything the school system needs in terms of safety and information about their students will be housed in an easy-to-access software system, all of them PowerSchool approved plugins. These new systems all communicate with the district’s system of record for all student, Thomas confirmed.
‘This is going to change how we operate. When we think about it as parents, this is going to give us back lost time. Mr. Woodfin, for example, has five children in the district. They literally have stacks of paperwork on the first evening of school, having to repeatedly sign everything over and over,” Thomas said.
Now, all first day forms will be completed to give the school district a look forward for organization and prepared planning before students are even in session. “This gives parents their evening back to focus on their children, not paperwork,” Thomas said.
“Everything ties into PowerSchool. It’s going to be a really nice deal because, again, all the programs communicate with one another. We’re not naive to the fact that it may take us two years to truly pull it off. We’re going to pull this off,” Woodfin said.
“We can’t let fear of failure keep us from trying to do new things, especially when it affects our kids’ learning environment. These changes give parents an option on what to do with their kids. We just can’t let that fear of failure keep us from making positive changes,” Woodfin said.
