By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees reviewed Costa’s possible transition from PowerSchool, Costa’s current student information system, to Aeries for the next school year at its Oct. 5 Board of Trustees meeting.
At the meeting, the Board discussed PowerSchool’s ongoing challenges in several areas including master scheduling, transcript production and California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, which maintains individual-level data for state and federal reporting.
“We have experienced ongoing frustrations with PowerSchool,” MBUSD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard said. “With PowerSchool, it seems that every time we resolve an issue, another issue pops up or the system updates and the same issue resurfaces, so it feels like we’re rehashing the same ground.”
The Board believes that Aeries may address PowerSchool’s shortcomings since it is a web-based platform with well-developed parent and student portals, a strong master scheduling system and integrated online student registration features, Murakawa-Leopard said.
One benefit of Aeries is that it is less expensive than PowerSchool, Murakawa-Leopard said. Currently, PowerSchool costs a total of $131,646 because it is an all-encompassing system, meaning it requires other programs, such as InfoSnap and Computer Logic, which the district must pay for in order to make PowerSchool work. Aeries would cost $83,940 for the first year and then decrease to $51,240 for the following years, while still retaining PowerSchool’s features, Murakawa-Leopard said.
“I believe Powerschool does get better every year, but at a great expense to us,” MBUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said. “I know the transition to Aeries is not a large cost. I’m not happy that we’re discussing the issue of switching systems after only three years of using PowerSchool, but I think in the end, the switch is the right call.”
Last summer, the MBX Foundation summer school program and MBX staff members integrated Aeries into their classrooms. After using it for one month, teachers provided universally positive feedback, including statements indicating that it was user-friendly to use, Vice Principal Dr. Karina Gerger said.
The Board plans to vote on Aeries at its Nov. 2 meeting. If approved, staff training for Aeries will take place this spring so that teachers can become acquainted with its features before the 2017-18 school year. MBUSD would initiate the system on July 1.
“PowerSchool can at times be frustrating, such as when the system shuts down and doesn’t allow access,” junior Fiona Riverin said. “[If approved], I hope that Aeries will be a more reliable program and that it will ensure that teachers and students will have access to their grades at all times.”
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