Forsyth County Schools Enterprise Electronic Records Management

Centralized Registration and Records Center

Sue Derison Director, Information Systems and Support Forsyth County Schools

“To provide internal and external customers with an accurate and reliable information/records management system that creates, maintains and archives school system records according to local, state and federal guidelines.”

Mission Statement

Summer of 2005 Needs Assessment for Registration and Records Capacity

n 10 fastest growing counties in the US n Student population projection 2010­11 is 52% increase from 2005­06

n Building plans are in place for 11 new schools by 2010 n Centralized registration in place n Space for registration limited n No centralized records center in place n Increased external customer requests n Climate of accountability and assurance of compliance

On the Registration Side. . .

n The Hill Education Center in Cumming, Georgia n Centralized Student Registration n Transition Center

¨ Non­English Speakers ¨ Homeless

n 3,800 new students 04­05 n 4,300 new students 05­06

Pick from list below to add main highlights

And on the Records Side. . . n Records were not stored in one

location for a student; multiple resources required for record retrieval

n A fire at the Forsyth County Courthouse during the 1970’s destroyed many records

n School registrars were filling records requests

n Procedures existed, but no centralization or electronic means of storage, retrieval or destruction

Forsyth County Schools Centralized Registration and Records Center

In October 2005, the Forsyth County Schools Board of Education and Cabinet approved the creation of a centralized Registration and Records Center at the Hill Educational Center, utilizing an electronic records management application to archive and retrieve both electronic and paper files.

Records Center Project Plan § Meetings with cabinet and staff: Student Support Services; § Special Education; § Records Committee

§ Consultation with Andrew Taylor, Assistant Director, Georgia Archives and author of Guide to Managing Public Records in Georgia

§ Input from school systems with electronic records management programs: Fayette County, GA; Fairfax County, VA

§ Identify needed resources: Hardware and Software; Space Remodel

§ Policy and Procedures Review

Compliance and Accountability

Legal Issues and Compliance

n Family Educational Records Protection Act (FERPA) n Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) n Georgia Records Act n Open Records Requests

Hardware Requirements

n Use virtual server for application operating over the wide­area network

n Scanner software converts image to PDF or TIFF n High speed, high volume scanners for Records Center n Individual scanners for departments and registration center staff n Workstations – already in place

Software Requirements

n Records management application n Organization of all record types according to indexing systems n Ability to retrieve cross­dept records according to subject n Security system to restrict viewing of files n Ability to apply retention schedules to content n Ability to report on records inventory and disposition n Ability to redact confidential information in duplicate file format n Efficient processing, ease of use, affordable n Application which was inclusive of features

Hardware and Software Selection

TOWER Software’s

Kodak Scanners ­ Capture and Capture Lite scanning software

Media Center Remodel

Spacious Place for Parents

Private Space for Interviews

Kid’s Corner with Student Art

New File Room

Policy and Procedure Review

n Board Policy n Conduct procedures review for student records n Facilitate procedures creation for departmental records n Create and implement procedures for email n Georgia Retention Schedules followed as “minimum” guidelines

Development of FCS Retention Schedules: Student Records

Permanent – FOREVER § Transcript § Report Cards if not recorded on transcript § File folder with enrollment, attendance or grade information § Test card § Individual test reports if no sticker § Legal papers § Alternative school enrollment and achievement if not included in

transcript § Records Requests from out of district

Non­Permanent: DOB + 25 Years

§ Home School Declaration and Attendance Reports § Health/Origin: copy of birth certificate and immunizations § Discipline / Tribunal Records § Programs & Services

Development of FCS Retention Schedules: Student Records

Implementation Plan November­December 2005

n Collected student records at Hill Education Center n Merged different area folders to file by student A­Z n Reviewed policies, procedures, and guidelines for Student Records n Reviewed retention schedules and accessibility procedures n Established naming convention and file plan n Purchased and installed scanners n Completed reconfiguration of Hill Education Center Rooms

Implementation Plan January­March 2006

n Purchased and installed records management application, TRIM, scanners and configured storage hardware.

n Imported 45,000 current and former student files

n Configured system for Human Resources and Financial archive files

n Trained Staff

Implementation Plan April­July 2006

n Tested and revised purging processes, scanning processes, TRIM functionality

n Attached more than 3,000 PDF student record files to records in TRIM Context

n Finance and HR continue to scan and archive records n Configured TRIM Context for Food Services, “print” into TRIM, n Reduced paper in file cabinets after purging at rate of 50% n Signs: DO NOT OPEN THIS DRAWER, LOOK IN TRIM

Implementation Plan August­November 2006

n 4,800 students registered for 06­07 n Converted “old” PDF; 28,000 records n 1 Drawer, 1 person, 1 day n Reduced paper overall by 70% n Increased staff n Moving scanners and TRIM into other departments

With great appreciation, we accept…..

Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (Georgia Archives, Department of Secretary of State)

n 2006 Award for Excellence in Archival Program Development

Visits from school systems, state and local governmental agencies

On the Horizon…. ELECTRONIC PERMANENT RECORD

n Scanning birth certificate and immunizations into Infinite Campus at registration to attach to Infinite Campus

n Movement of all files into archival system electronically ¨ SST, Special Education, ELL, Gifted ¨ All transcripts ¨ Summary discipline reports for grades 6­12 withdrawn students ¨ Scan birth certificate and immunization at registration

On the Horizon…

n Build and implement electronic registration system to create pre­ printed registration forms and to communicate with schools

n Use Trim for Applicant Processing on the front end of the Human Resources archive process

n Creation of Student Educational Records Manual in online form: ¨ All information on the life cycle care of student information ¨ Website departmental pages

On the Horizon…

n Installation of TRIM Context at all high schools for retrieval of graduate records prior to sending to Records Center

n Expansion of TRIM Context to more departments to archive paper and electronic documents

n Expansion of TRIM Context to include email retention at administrator level

The Bonus: Lessons Learned while

Improving Efficiencies and Mitigating Risk n Rules and Laws change – sound business principles don’t

n Quality and Standards­Based Solutions

n Understanding how do we really look for information? ­ The Information Architecture Concept

n How does the Information Continuum apply?

n The Benefits of Managing Information as an Asset

For More Information Records and Information Management Services

http://www.GeorgiaArchives.org/ Click on “Who are We?”

Click on “Records and Information Management Services

TRIM Context – Peter Green peter.green@towersoft.com

Forsyth County Schools ­ Sue Derison sderison@forsyth.k12.ga.us http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us

Our new mission statement:

DO NOT OPEN THIS DRAWER,

LOOK IN TRIM