Skyward, Inc. announced today that Newton Public Schools will be the first district in Massachusetts to implement its student information system. Massachusetts is the 21st state in the U.S. to have district partnerships with Skyward.
A suburb of Boston and the seventh largest district in Massachusetts, Newton Public Schools serves more than 12,500 students in 21 schools. When the district began looking for a new student information system, key stakeholders formed a search committee that compiled a Request for Proposal (RFP) with more than 400 requirements related to product attributes, training and implementation process. The committee then narrowed its search to four companies for demonstrations, and ultimately selected Skyward.
“Entering a new state requires a working partnership with the district and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Newton Public Schools,” said Kevin McFerrin, executive vice president of business development at Skyward. “As we expand our presence in Massachusetts, we look forward to working with Newton to help them achieve their goals through thought leadership, best practices and software tailored to their specific needs.”
One of the core values of Newton Public Schools is innovation, and the district is a recognized leader in education and curriculum development. By implementing Skyward’s student information system, the district aims to model innovation for districts across the state and around the country.
“We were looking for more than what the product can do for our district, but also for a company our district can partner with on the training and implementation of this student information system,” said Jack Polnar, information technology services manager at Newton Public Schools. “Skyward was above the rest of the systems we reviewed for reasons such as the extensive feature set within the Family and Student Access portal as well as its reporting capabilities and more.”
