Bethel School District (WA) Selects Synergy Student Information System

Strong appeal in parent engagement tools and innovative mobile apps

Bethel School District (BSD) has selected the industry-leading Synergy® Student Information System (SIS) by Edupoint® Educational Systems for its K-12 student data management needs. The district’s Synergy solution will include Synergy Online Registration and cloud hosting to serve over 19,000 K-12 students in the Seattle metropolitan area.

Decision-makers at Bethel began considering new data management options in response to an aging SIS and changes taking place with their existing support provider. After narrowing the field to Synergy SIS and one other product, the evaluation team spent six months learning about each product’s capabilities, ensuring that every role and department in the district had an opportunity to provide feedback.

“We were on an explorer route, looking to discover what a new SIS could bring to our district and what it could support,” said Michael Christianson, Chief Technology Officer at BSD. “We knew there were things we didn’t even think about doing because we didn’t know what to ask for. In the end we chose Synergy because we believed it would have the biggest impact on our staff in schools and on students. We especially liked the mature communication tools for involving parents and the mobile apps that enable principals, security, and other staff to manage anything they want to without having to be at a desk. We’re an Apple district, so the fact that there are native iOS apps was a plus.”

The evaluation team found Synergy to be teacher-focused without a lot of setup. Teachers have quick access to reports in the gradebook, and the flexibility in standards-based grading will allow different teachers to use different sets of standards. Secondary schools can stay with traditional grading now and move to standards-based grading later if needed.

“Bethel School District approached Edupoint with an open mind and allowed us to show them what student data management can be,” said Bob Weathers, Founder and CEO at Edupoint. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Bethel in empowering their staff and helping their students achieve.”