January 2010 CRS Advanced Technology
IN THIS ISSUENEWEST SUBFINDER CUSTOMERS PAYING TOO MUCH? MONTOURSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT NETBOOK-LAPTOP DEBATE HAITI: HOW GREENIES CAN HELP
QUICK LINKS CRS WEBSITE NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE SUBFINDER MEET MAXX
Welcome to the first edition of InTouch Online for 2010!
It is January, a new year! For some it is just the start to another month and a new year. To others it means a new beginning, and a new start to a year of achievement and happiness.
Whatever way you celebrate your new year, all of us at CRS want to welcome you to 2010 – a year that will be filled with continued customer growth and success.
Not only is this the beginning of a new year, but also the beginning of a new decade! And now on to the first NEWsletter of the NEW year! Enjoy!
Welcome To Our Newest SubFinder Customers
We would like to welcome our newest SubFinder customers:
Logan County BOE - West Virginia
George County Schools - Mississippi
State College Area School District - Pennsylvania
East Whittier School District - California
San Mateo UHSD, California (made the SWITCH to SubFinder!)
Dixon USD - California
Logan County Schools - Kentucky
STS Staffing Agency - Pennsylvania
Orange County School District - North Carolina
Washington USD - California
After researching other absence management and substitute placement solutions, our newest customers found that SubFinder could make the most of every dollar, every day while offering peace of mind that the most qualified substitute will be placed in the classroom every time. There is no better SUBstitute solution!
Have an Absence Management Solution and Paying Too Much?
Switch to SubFinder and Save!
SubFinder is the leading absence management and substitute placement solution, trusted by districts for over 20 years.
SubFinder is easily accessible by both the telephone and Internet. This affordable solution can be configured to meet your organizations specific needs.
SubFinder has the ability to integrate with your payroll and HR software to increase accuracy and save valuable time, seamlessly creating a paperless environment.
From day one, you will have access to ALL SubFinder options! And as ALWAYS, upgrades are FREE! Our exceptional service support team is available 24/7/365 to ensure you get the most from your SubFinder solution.
What are you waiting for?
With SubFinder your organization has options. You can host your own hardware, software, and phone lines - OR - we can host it for you.
Call us today at 800.782.3463 and learn how you can save up to 40% when you switch to SubFinder!
Customer Highlight:
Montoursville Area School District, PASubFinder Has Been a Convenient Decision
Interview by: Corinne McLaughlin, Marketing Coordinator
Interview with: Bonnie Stavisky, SubFinder Operator
I decided to start off the 2010 Customer Highlights with a customer of ours that is located just blocks from the CRS Advanced Technology home office. Meet Montoursville Area School District! Montoursville is a quaint borough located in Lycoming County situated on the mouth of the Loyalsock Creek on the west branch of the Susquehanna River. It is believed to be that Montoursville began its history in the mid-1700s by “Madame Montour”, who was a known interpreter, diplomat, and local leader. She was said to be born as Isabelle Couc (where later she referenced herself as “Madame Montour”) in Canada from a French background. According to Madame Montour, at the age of ten she was captured and raised by the Iroquois Indians. Much speculation behind the true background of Madame Montour is still researched and studied; however, in 1711 she began working as an interpreter and diplomatic consultant for the province of New York. Sometime around 1727, she and her husband moved to the province of Pennsylvania where she settled on a village named Ostonwakin, near modern day Montoursville. After her death, her son, Andrew Montour took over the village of Ostonwakin, inheriting much of his mother’s gift of translation for both settlers and local tribes. Sometime later, Andrew Montour migrated to western Pennsylvania, and in 1850 the village of Ostonwakin was officially named Montoursville, founded by John Burrows.
Present day Montoursville is still enriched by its past history, which is one of the many reasons it is a close-knit community. Many generations still live in the area, making it a very family oriented and an attractive place to reside. Striving to provide the highest level of education, Montoursville Area School District holds true to its mission: to provide comprehensive programs that comply with the Pennsylvania and National Academic Standards. These programs will empower all students to use their individual abilities and capabilities to be life-long learners and successful contributors in a global society. One of the many visions Montoursville commits to is to provide the appropriate integration of technology into curriculum, instruction, administration, and communication; that is where SubFinder fits in! Over the holiday break, I was fortunate to go over some questions with Bonnie Stavisky, SubFinder Operator and secretary to the superintendent and personnel about their SubFinder system and the many benefits it has provided them over the past year and a half.
Tell us a little about the Montoursville Area School District. How many sites are there? Number of teachers? Staff? Substitutes?
There are four schools in MASD. They include two elementary schools (Lyter Elementary and Loyalsock Valley Elementary), one middle school (C. E. McCall Middle School), and the Montoursville Area High School. The district employs 279 administrative, professional, and support staff members. Currently, there are approximately 151 professional staff and 127 substitute teachers. Our district has a student enrollment of 1,934 students.
When did Montoursville implement SubFinder? What were the reasons behind using an absence management system?
The SubFinder system was implemented in our district in November 2008. There were many advantages to switching to an automated system - the convenience of reporting staff absences being a major factor. Our building secretaries appreciate knowing teaching staff illnesses before the start of the school day so they can prepare accordingly. SubFinder also helps our secretaries find substitutes for “days-ahead” absences such as conference and personal days.
How was the training you received from CRS when implementing SubFinder? Did you feel that the CRS staff was responsive and receptive to your questions and concerns?
CRS offered excellent training beginning with intensive training for the designated SubFinder operator and then the teaching staff. The few problems encountered (as with any new system) were quickly addressed by our account specialist.
How did your teachers, administrators, and substitutes adjust to SubFinder? What do you feel they benefit from the most?
There is always an adjustment period for any new system, but the transition was not complicated and the teaching staff was able to use the system from the very first day. Again, convenience seems to be the biggest benefit. A teacher can use the telephone or Internet any time of the day to report an absence. Being able to communicate detailed instructions for the school day has been most helpful to the substitutes.
What improvements has SubFinder brought for the Montoursville Area School District?
One improvement I notice is that, in the past, finding a half-day substitute has always been a problem. Our two elementary schools are able to coordinate absences and offer two, half-day assignments to one substitute, which results in the higher likelihood that a substitute will accept the job.
I want to thank Bonnie for being our first Customer Highlight for 2010! If you would like additional information SubFinder and how it can help improve your substitute fill rates, please contact us at 800.782.3463 or subfinder@crsadvtech.com. To read more about the Montoursville Area School District, go to http://www.montoursville.k12.pa.us/.
Netbook-Laptop Debate
Schools Weigh the Cost Savings of Netbooks Versus the Digital Power of Laptops
By: Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Associate Editor for Education Week
n the quest to achieve 1-to-1 computing in schools, a growing number of ed-tech leaders are concluding that less is more. Instead of using their limited technology dollars to purchase laptops, they are turning to smaller, cheaper netbooks to equip students and teachers with the tools they need.
IA consortium of districts in Maine recently purchased 3,000 netbooks to extend the reach of the state’s laptop initiative beyond middle school and into high schools; the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in Southern Indiana handed out netbooks to each of the district’s 7,200 high school students at the start of this school year to jump-start its transition from print textbooks to digital materials; and in rural Armada, Mich., students were given netbooks as part of a federal study to determine if there are achievement benefits to 1-to-1 computing.
To read this article, please go to http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2009/10/21/01netbook_laptop.h03.html. Visit Education Week's Digital Directions at http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/ for trends and advice for K-12 leaders. Articles from Digital Directions are free to both members and non-members to read!
By: Amanda Wills, Associate Editor for Education Week
One of the No. 1 questions on social media outlets and blogs during the aftermath of last week’s 7.0 magnitude Haitian earthquake was How can I help?
While President Obama has pledged $100 million in disaster relief, there is an onslaught of mass mobilization efforts to deliver aid on a citizen level. Casualty estimates have towered above the 100,000 mark, and hundreds of thousands of structures have crumbled to the ground.
As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the estimated billions of dollars of needed for future rehabilitation and cleanup efforts in Haiti may be hard to come by.
On Jan. 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and more than 20 aftershocks hit the small impoverished island of Haiti and its 9 million inhabitants.
CNN reported last week that the top resource aid workers are asking for is monetary donations. But with the alleged scams floating around the Internet, how do you know what organization properly handle your donation? We dug up some cool charities that are doing things for Haitians on two levels: disaster relief with an environmental twist.
1. Donate your old laptop.
In the aftermath of the disaster, humanitarian relief organization World Concern searched the rubble of its five offices in Haiti for survivors. Of the 120 staff members, about 80 have been accounted for. While the group is undergoing its personal loss, it is still set on providing blankets, plastic sheeting and emergency supplies of water to the victims of the earthquake.
Seattle-based InterConnection.org is now working with World Concern to start the rebuilding process by sending refurbished laptops to the organization in Haiti. InterConnection will take your working Pentium 3 or 4 laptop, wipe its hard drive, equip it with French Microsoft Windows and Office and ship it to the the communication hubs in Haiti.
“The bottom line is that this is super easy. Anyone can fill out an online form, and we’ll pay your shipping costs. Our goal is to get at least 100 laptops to Haiti.” InterConnection Director Charles Brennick told Earth911. “Laptops make more sense in this situation [as compared to desktops] because, in Haiti, there isn’t a reliable power source, and there are a lot of mobility issues.”
The ShelterBox team arrived in the island’s capital on Jan 14 and have already been in contact with government officials. The completely self-sufficient team has set up base with the help of a Haitian.
2. Give shelter in a box.
With more than 3 million living in makeshift shelters among the destruction, U.K. based ShelterBox is moving quickly to provide temporary refuge by literally distributing shelter in a box.
Each box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.
The cost of a box is 490 British pounds (about $800). This includes direct delivery and a unique number so donors can track their contributions. So far, the organization has already sent out more than 700 boxes.
“Our team around the world are doing all they can to ensure aid reaches the people of Haiti as soon as possible. With each day the need grows and we’re doing all we can to get help to the thousands of families affected by this tragedy,” said Founder Tom Henderson.
“The response from our volunteers and supporters has once again been sensational. We can’t do this without the public’s compassion and generosity. If you can help us, even in the smallest way, then please do.”
3. Send in your cell phone.
In a scene that has been compared to the “apocalypse,” communication for both families and aid workers is paramount for survival. Last week, ReCellular partnered with the American Red Cross to provide communicative support by accepting used cell phones for donation.
“The devastation in Haiti is slowly becoming all too clear,” said Steve Manning, ReCellular CEO. “Sending in your used phone is a simple and effective way to help with the rescue and rebuilding efforts already underway.”
With more than 1 billion used phones sitting on household shelves, chances are you may find that old Nokia in a box at the top of your closet. Rummaging through your storage and donating that defunct phone may be instrumental in providing relief.
All you have to do is simply download a prepaid mailing label. ReCellular will give 100 percent of the phone value as a contribution to the American Red Cross. Charities have already earned more than $20 million dollars in contributions through their partnerships with ReCellular.
Reports from the ground say Haitian structures have crumbled and folded "like pancakes."
4. Help rebuild it sustainably.
Just one day after the life-changing quake, Architecture for Humanity Executive Director Cameron Sinclair tweeted that the organization had raised more than $7,000 for @archforhumanity in first day for rebuilding Haiti – and that was just through Twitter.
A nonprofit sustainable design company, Architecture for Humanity will primarily work in the reconstruction phase of post-disaster Haiti, focusing on transitional and permanent housing and community structures.
The organization noted in a New York Times article that Haiti’s pre-quake construction already had significant foundation flaws, making the structures fold like pancakes.
Sinclair says the need for now is relief and recovery, but that will very soon grow into long-term construction projects. You can support Architecture for Humanity through online donation.
5. If nothing else, send a text.
“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now,” said Yele Haiti Founder and Grammy-Award winning musician Wyclef Jean.
A native of Haiti, Jean is pushing his grassroots movement to build global awareness of the disaster – and his main platform has been through social media and texting. Donors can make a $5 donation in less than 30 seconds by simply texting YELE to 501501. A trending topic on Twitter for most of last week, Yele raised more than $1 million in donations in just one day.
But Jean isn’t sitting in his posh celeb digs in Hollywood. The Goodwill Ambassador has been on the scene, clearing bodies in Port-au-Prince as he calls for the government to declare a state of emergency. According to AFP, Jean is calling for at least $1 million a day in donations for the country and that within a matter of days, the whole country will be in a state of chaos.
Visit Earth911.com at http://earth911.com; your one-stop shop for all you need to know about reducing your impact, reusing what you've got and recycling trash.
From all of us at CRS Advanced Technology, we want to welcome you to 2010! If you would like more information about SubFinder, please contact us at 800.782.3463 or at subfinder@crsadvtech.com.
Happy New Year!
The CRS Advanced Technology Team
