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Citrus schools choose Focus for student information system; migration to take about a year
Summary
After a multi‑vendor review, the Citrus County School Board approved a master student data privacy agreement and purchase of Focus student information software, with a projected one‑year migration and 2026–27 go‑live.
The Citrus County School Board approved purchasing Focus as the district’s next student information system (SIS) and authorized a master student data privacy agreement at its June meeting.
District staff presented a multi‑stage review that compared Focus, PowerSchool, Skyward (current SIS) and other platforms. The committee — made up of teachers, counselors, principals, data staff and other stakeholders — rated Focus highest for a modern, Florida‑aware platform, unlimited data migration and built‑in early‑warning tools.
Why it matters: the change affects how teachers enter grades and how families register students; staff said the migration will require training and a parallel run of systems before full adoption in 2026–27.
Details from the review
District staff described Phase 1 and Phase 2 of their vendor review and sandbox testing. Advantages cited for Focus included daily updating early‑warning dashboards, an integration pathway for CTE and postsecondary data, a Florida presence that tracks state reporting requirements closely, and an unlimited migration offer that would allow the district to move its full historical record from Skyward rather than a truncated subset.
Staff proposed a phased migration beginning in July with data preparation and training, an approximately year‑long migration and a 2026–27 school‑year go‑live. During the transition teachers will continue to rely on the current gradebooks while training and data migration occur; staff said teachers will be trained in 2025–26 so they are ready for the 2026–27 switch.
Formal action
Board Member Frank moved to approve the master student data privacy agreement and the purchase of Focus; the motion passed by voice vote. Staff also noted the district will continue using Skyward for the business/back‑office functions at least during the migration.
Clarifying points and next steps
Staff emphasized that Focus’s Florida‑specific features and early‑warning dashboards were major reasons for the recommendation. The district will run both systems in parallel, train teachers and parents, and work to retire overlapping vendor products where appropriate once Focus is fully operational. Staff also highlighted potential longer‑term savings in servers and backup costs because Focus is cloud‑hosted.
Quotes
"Focus was modern and user friendly… integrates with our CTE tools and will allow unlimited data migration," a staff presenter said.
Ending
The district will begin contract and migration work in July, train staff and parents during 2025–26 and target a full Focus go‑live for the 2026–27 school year.
