SIS Replacement

With integrations to a large number of tools and resources, our Student Information System (SIS) is a central part of the District’s suite of applications used to monitor student progress, engage with families and support staff in their roles and responsibilities. As our source for collecting, and reporting on, student and parent information, the SIS is a critical District system.

Over the past academic year, the District has experienced regular technical support challenges with upgrades and updates completed by our vendor. In addition to support challenges, we have also experienced significant outages that have impacted the overall SIS experience. For these reasons, we are investigating if there are better options to provide services to our students, staff and parents.

In consultation with the Superintendent’s Cabinet, the Board of Education, the Indian Prairie Education Association Teacher Administrator Communications Team, we identified that the District’s next step was to initiate the search for a replacement SIS and to be available by August 2020. At the April 8th, 2019 Board of Education meeting, Technology Services announced the start of the search process for our new Student Information System (SIS). A copy of the presentation is available at http://bit.ly/TechPlan19-22.

The student information system project will be completed in the following phases and overall timeline:

SIS Selection

April - August 2019

Setup and Data Migration

August 2019 - September 2020
  • Technology Services System Administrator Training
  • Migration of Data from the Former SIS
  • Migration and Integration of Third-Party Applications and Systems
  • Core SIS Configuration of the District and Schools

Training

January 2020 - Ongoing
  • Self-Service Online Training
  • Module and Role-Specific In-Person Training
  • Documentation and Knowledgebase Resources

Synergy Rollout

June 2020 - August 2020
  • Online Registration for the 2020-2021 School Year
  • Launch of the Parent, Student and Staff Portals

Module Rollout

June 2020 - Ongoing

SIS Selection

Phase 1: Project Kickoff

As part of phase one, our project kickoff includes the following milestones:

Project Milestone  Target Date Status Health
Focus Group Workshops April 8 - May 3, 2019  Completed
April 29, 2019		 ◉ Green
Technology Services conducted focus group workshops to speak with District staff to gather feedback on the features and elements of a system that are important. District staff were identified by either a building principal or another staff member based on their experience with our current SIS. Participants provided valuable insights as members of our search committee.

Our areas of focus included, but were not limited to:
  • Ad Hoc Reporting
  • Analytics
  • Assessments
  • Athletic Eligibility
  • Attendance
  • Behavior
  • Check-In and Event Management
  • Communication
  • Course Catalog
  • Curriculum
  • Data Migration
  • Early Alerts & Interventions
  • Fees
  • Free Reduced Lunch Eligibility
  • Grade Books
  • Health
  • Individualized Education Program
  • Integrations
  • Parent Portals
  • Report Cards
  • Scheduling
  • State Reporting
  • Transcripts
  • Transportation
Technology Services completed thirty (30) focus group workshops with representation and membership across District staff and roles - ahead of schedule. Our meeting findings from each of these focus group workshops will be available on this site by May 15, 2019.
  • Click here for a copy of our informational flyer provided to workshop participants.
Availability of Intent to Participate May 3 - 17, 2019 Posted
May 3, 2019		 ◉ Green

Beginning the week of May 3rd, Technology Services will accept Intent to Propose forms to be considered for the Student Information System replacement process.


  • Click here for the introductory letter and key timeline dates for the first round of demonstrations.
  • Click here for the "Intent to Propose" letter which must be received by 5:00pm on May 17, 2019 to RFQ-sis@ipsd.org.
Development of Cases and Structure for Vendor Demonstration Rounds May 3 - 13, 2019 Completed
May 12, 2019		 ◉ Green

Use cases provide an opportunity to take a different approach to functional requirements analysis through the use of actors (someone who performs a behavior), stakeholders (someone with a vested interest in the system), scenario (the stage for a set of conditions), pre-conditions (what must be true for the case to be started), triggers (an event that causes a case to start), expectations and outstanding questions.


From the District focus groups, Technology Services developed nine use cases based on feedback and common themes. These use cases will be used by each of the vendors to provide a 2-hour presentation. From these presentations, two (2) vendors will move forward for larger consideration by the District in a second round demonstration presentation. Each scenario task will be evaluated on the ease of use for staff or respective user, the level of functionality and compatibility with District needs.

  • Click here for the nine (9) Round 1 demonstration cases that were developed based on feedback from our District focus group workshops. These cases are included in the full RFP document below. The demonstration cases for Round 2 will be released as an addendum.
Request for Proposal (RFP) Development May 3 - 24, 2019 Completed
May 24, 2019		 ◉ Green
Over a three week period, Technology Services developed Request for Proposal resources that incorporated District feedback from the thirty (30) Focus Group Workshops.
Request for Proposal Packet Available May 24, 2019 Posted
May 24, 2019		 ◉ Green
The resources included below will be used by prospective vendors in developing their proposals for the District's next student information system.
The following resources are provided for vendors and required to complete a Proposal response:
The following resources are informational and not required to complete a Proposal response but indicate the communications about the District's SIS RFP:
  • Click here to view the public posting in the Naperville Sun for the District's RFP process. Click here for a PDF version of the posting.
Pre-Proposal Conference May 28, 2019
11:30am		 Completed ◉ Green

Virtual attendance is available by Zoom Meeting. Attendance is preferred but not mandatory. All questions from the conference will be posted as an addendum on tech.ipsd.org/Subpage.aspx?id=1447 in the “Phase 1: Kickoff” section. Join the meeting from your computer at ipsd.zoom.us/j/518360634, or by dialing in by phone either at (929) 436–2866 (New York, NY) or (669) 900–6833 (San Jose, CA) and using Meeting ID: 518 360 634.

The following resources were presented to 16 online participants during the Pre-Proposal Conference and are available for review:
Questions Deadline June 5, 2019
12:00pm		 Closed ◉ Green
Questions and District Responses Posted June 7, 2019
5:00pm		 Completed
June 6, 2019		 ◉ Green

The District accepted RFP questions from prospective vendors from May 24, 2019 until June 5, 2019 at 12:00pm. Addendum C has been issued to ensure that prospective vendors have access to the thirteen (13) questions received during the question period and the District responses. All questions are listed in the order received from earliest to latest and are provided as written with no corrections.
RFP Submission Deadline for Proposers June 14, 2019
12:00pm		 Completed ◉ Green

All proposals are due online at http://bit.ly/SISResponse.

The window to submit proposals has closed. The District is no longer accepting proposals for the Student Information System RFP process. The District received six (6) proposal responses.

The following page updates were made during the RFP submission window:

  • 6/6/19: Questions and District Responses Posted
  • 6/4/19: Pre-Proposal Conference Recording Available
  • 5/30/19: Addendum B is available responding to a "Letter of Intent" question.
  • 5/28/19: The Pre-Proposal Conference slides are available.
  • 5/28/19: The Pre-Proposal Conference questions and District responses are available.

    		•
    Round 1 - Initial Demonstrations of SIS Proposals June 17 - 20, 2019 Completed ◉ Green

    Technology Services and other District evaluators participated in six (6) Round 1 Case Demonstrations at the Crouse Education Center (CEC) between June 17 and June 20.
    Proposal Evaluations by the District June 14 - 24, 2019 Completed
    June 22, 2019    		 ◉ Green
    Evaluation Outcome and Finalist Notifications June 24, 2019
    by 5:00pm    		 Completed
    June 22, 2019    		 ◉ Green

    Technology Services notified all Round 1 participants by June 22, 2019 of their finalist status. Addendum D is posted to provide additional information and context for the Round 2 demonstrations. This is also listed in the RFP packet above.
    Round 2 - Finalist Demonstrations, by Invitation Only July 16, 2019 Completed
    July 16, 2019    		 ◉ Green
    Over the past four months, the District has been engaged in a Request for Proposal process to identify our next SIS. We received six responses from prospective companies. Through our first round of vendor demonstrations and a review of technical requirements, we have narrowed down to two prospective companies – Follett Aspen and Edupoint Synergy.

    District staff, parents and students were invited to watch recorded demonstrations that were provided at Metea Valley High School (Room F215) on July 16th. Due to privacy and protecting the intellectual property of each vendor, access to the recordings of the demonstrations was limited to a 48-hour period and secured with a password.

    As of July 19, 2019, the review and feedback period closed. The demonstration recordings are no longer available for review.
    Legal Review June 24 - July 26, 2019
    by 5:00pm    		 Completed
    July 30, 2019    		 ◉ Green
    Recommendation to the Board of Education August 12, 2019 Completed ◉ Green
    A copy of the public memo to the Board of Education, including a full summary of the proposals received, click here.
    Fully Executed Contract August 13, 2019 Completed ◉ Green

    Setup and Data Migration

    Thank you for your interest in the second phase of the District's Student Information System migration. This section will be updated when a vendor is selected based on the RFP timeline available by clicking here.

    Training

    Thank you for your interest in the fifth phase of the District's Student Information System migration. This section will be updated when a vendor is selected based on the RFP timeline available by clicking here.

    Synergy Rollout

    Thank you for your interest in the third phase of the District's Student Information System migration. This section will be updated when a vendor is selected based on the RFP timeline available by clicking here.

    Module Rollout

    Thank you for your interest in the fourth phase of the District's Student Information System migration. This section will be updated when a vendor is selected based on the RFP timeline available by clicking here.

    ◊