Small Texas District Uses One Software Provider to Balance All Student and Business-related Needs

Case Studies > Small Texas District Uses One Software Provider to Balance All Student and Business-related Needs

Skyward’s Qmlativ Education Management System helps Axtell ISD manage SIS and ERP tasks in a single solution

In small school districts, employees often find themselves juggling a lot of tasks, and sometimes even multiple roles.

For Axtell Independent School District in Axtell, Texas, technology director Janice Hornsby is one of these jugglers. When her district needed a new SIS and ERP provider, she needed a partner that could help her tackle all of her responsibilities in one place.

"Technology is an important tool for teachers, and we try to give our teachers every advantage that we can."

Switching to Skyward

Prior to using Skyward, Axtell ISD was using an outdated system for their student and business software. Though they are a small district, Axtell ISD highly values technology, and their outdated system did not fit their needs.

“Technology is an important tool for teachers, and we try to give our teachers every advantage that we can,” said Hornsby. “If a teacher asks for something, we always try to give it to them because if they ask, it means that they’re going to want to use it. Whether that’s a laptop or something more, we try our best to help them out.”

When the district decided to move to Skyward, they decided to use the company’s latest technology: the Qmlativ Education Management System. The biggest perk? With the decision to use both the SIS and ERP sides of the software, Axtell ISD was able to keep all essential tasks in one, easy to use system. This proved to be crucial for busy employees like Hornsby.

"When we were coming onto Skyward we had some shifts taking place internally, so it made sense for me to handle both the student and business sides."

Wearing many hats

As technology director for Axtell ISD, Hornsby is responsible for a lot more than others in a similar role because she takes care of both the business and the student side of district software.

“When we were coming onto Skyward we had some shifts taking place internally, so it made sense for me to handle both the student and business sides,” said Hornsby. “Since switching, I’ve kept up knowledge of the system as a whole.”

Apart from being the technology director, Hornsby also teaches a class, and is a parent of a student in the district. Needless to say, she is active every day in all aspects of Skyward.

On the business side of Qmlativ, Hornsby enjoys the purchasing tool:

“We haven’t quite gotten it up and running yet, but I like the fact that everyone can get involved with purchasing, including teachers,” said Hornsby.

On the student side, Hornsby likes the ease that the gradebook provides teachers. As a parent, Hornsby finds online forms helpful to avoid endless piles of paper to fill out throughout the school year.

Used to wearing these hats every day, Hornsby knows more than anyone the value of having everything in one software package, and shares her thoughts whenever possible.

"We have a close relationship with a lot of the districts near us, and try to be there for them in their transition to Skyward as best we can."

Advocating for others

Sitting just outside of Waco, Axtell ISD is a rural district surrounded by several other small districts. Many of their neighboring districts use the same system Axtell ISD was previously on, but are looking to make the move to Skyward. For those districts, Hornsby and her team have been great advocates.

“We have a close relationship with a lot of the districts near us, and try to be there for them in their transition to Skyward as best we can,” said Hornsby. “For example, when a nearby district was trying to get their online registration up and running on a time crunch, we provided some of our forms for them to reference and use in the meantime.”

Besides sharing resources, Axtell ISD keeps in touch with other districts through emails, calls, and technology group meetings. Since these small districts are all used to juggling a lot, being there for each other is essential.

“We knew why we moved to Skyward, and we share our experiences a lot,” said Hornsby. “Skyward is also growing and changing, and they’re constantly trying to get better. Personally, I can see a lot of our neighboring districts moving over to Qmlativ soon.”

Planning ahead

In the future, Axtell ISD looks forward to more growth with Qmlativ.

“I’m excited to make some advances with the time tracking feature,” said Hornsby. “We have some dual rate employees, so calculating their pay requires a spreadsheet right now. Skyward is working with us to figure out a solution, which we’re looking forward to.”

Axtell ISD is also starting to implement Applicant Tracking, and are looking forward to moving files online and shuffling less paper.

For other districts thinking about moving to a new SIS or ERP system, Hornsby offers some great advice:

“Be sure to keep your ducks in a row in your old system. It makes a world of difference to know how and what data is moving over.”

Skyward looks forward to continuing to help Axtell ISD juggle as much as possible.

“We made a great choice by going with Skyward,” concluded Hornsby.