St. Joseph Catholic School
A Connected School Transformation, Powered by Blackbaud Integrated Technology
K-12 Schools
As a parent, I have definitely saved time compared to what I used to do in surfing for information, and all the papers that had to be filled out.”
With a nearly 70-year history of serving students and families, St. Joseph Catholic School approached the future with a bold vision for deeply connected community—but they knew their piecemeal technology approach could undermine their goals. They needed a connected school with integrated technology. With a trusted partner in Blackbaud, they transformed the school experience for families and staff—just before they faced the COVID-19 pandemic.
St. Joseph School realizes full potential of an
integrated, total school solution.
As Principal Joe Zmikly considered how to bring to life his vision for a deeply
engaged parent and student community at St. Joseph Catholic School in
Lake Orion, Michigan, he knew his school needed an integrated, cloud-based
technology solution—one that would make staying informed and connected
easier than ever. But with the school’s initial attempt to leave behind a
piecemeal approach of disconnected technology that required a reliance on
manual data entry, paper records and multiple logins, they chose a vendor
with a flawed, unfinished system—a move Zmikly described as “maybe the
worst decision I’ve ever made in my professional career.”
Plagued by persistent parent log-in problems and other unpredictable
“funhouse” twists, the principal and his team took the bold step of
abandoning that system mid-school year, using the transition as an
opportunity to rethink change. The stakes were high. “Whatever we selected
next would have to be a home run, or I thought they might ride me out on
a rail,” said Zmikly, who researched the options extensively. “I knew that
Blackbaud was going to do what it said it would, and it worked the way that a
system should work.”
Zmikly’s decision has paid off. A year after adopting Blackbaud’s cloud-based
education management solution, St. Joseph School scored better than the
average of Archdiocese of Detroit schools in 14 of 18 parent satisfaction
categories during the pandemic. “A huge reason for that was what we could
do with Blackbaud,” the principal said.
Benefits of Integrated Solution, Strong Support
Blackbaud provides St. Joseph Catholic School with integrated solutions for
enrollment, student and learning and tuition management—all available to the
user with a single sign-on. In addition, schools can utilize partner solutions
that integrate with Blackbaud’s open, standards-based APIs, allowing users
a single sign-on experience. For example, St. Joseph’s uses pickAtime for
scheduling conferences.
Carolyn Westmoreland, St. Joseph’s technology director, appreciates the
simplicity for users and said the integration of solutions has saved her
time and improved key school processes. In the past, the school lacked an
organized system for enrollment inquiries, and Westmoreland suspects the
school may have lost track of some emails and phone calls from interested
families. Now, Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™ ensures
systematic follow-up, and once a family joins the school, their information
seamlessly carries over into Blackbaud’s other solutions, including financial
arrangements with families.
St. Joseph School also was able to deliver an integrated contract-to-tuition
billing management process with Blackbaud Tuition Management™ that
significantly reduced paperwork and manual data entry. “We’ve got the
whole parent record right there in our system,” Westmoreland said.
She also praised Blackbaud’s “superb” onboarding process, including training
provided by Blackbaud University and the honesty of the timetable she
received. “When I implemented this, I had an entire schedule laid out for me.”
“I don’t know what we would have done without Blackbaud during distance learning. It would have been a lot more difficult and a lot less successful. COVID really forced us to use Blackbaud to its full potential. ”
Staying Connected During the Pandemic
When Michigan schools switched from in-person to distance learning in
March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Joseph School’s teachers
had the advantage of Blackbaud Learning Management System™ for posting
assignments, entering grades and day-to-day communications along with
Blackbaud Student Information System™, which facilitates attendance,
grading, report cards and more in-depth reporting.
“I don’t know what we would have done without Blackbaud during distance
learning. It would have been a lot more difficult and a lot less successful,”
Zmikly said. “COVID really forced us to use Blackbaud to its full potential.”
Blackbaud’s total school solution also helped St. Joseph School promote
a sense of community as it shared daily updates and prayers. Even as the
school returned to in-person learning in the 2020-21 school year, Zmikly kept
Fridays as distance learning days, and thanks to Blackbaud, could easily direct
families to a livestream of Friday Mass, in addition to schoolwide Rosaries
and other resources. That faith connection is important to the school,
which is affiliated with St. Joseph Catholic Church and draws over half of its
350-student enrollment from active parishioners.
“(Blackbaud) has allowed us to reach out to parents to build their faith in ways
that we couldn’t have otherwise,” Zmikly said, highlighting another way their
technology partner’s total school solution has proven its worth that goes
beyond ease and efficiency to enhancing families’ overall experience. “It’s
transformed everything.”
“It’s transformed everything.”
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