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School committee approves move to Skyward’s Qmlativ student information system after debate over teacher input and data security
Summary
At its Jan. 29 meeting the North Providence School Committee voted to approve administration’s recommendation to adopt Skyward’s Qmlativ student information system, after discussion of training, teacher participation in the selection process and a national data breach involving another vendor.
At its Jan. 29 meeting, the North Providence School Committee voted to approve the administration’s recommendation to adopt Skyward’s new platform, Qmlativ, as the district’s student information system.
The committee discussed the vendor selection and rollout at length before voting. District data director David McNally described the selection process and the technical work that would follow, saying the change would require “data scrubbing” and rebuilding any custom forms or staff access that do not migrate automatically. McNally said the new dashboard feature would add real‑time data capabilities and estimated the licensing cost as “about 90¢ per student additional cost” if the dashboard is included.
Why it matters: the student information system holds core student records, attendance and many operational tools used by teachers and administrators. Committee members pressed administrators about teacher involvement in the selection committee, training and interoperability with the district’s special‑education software.
Several committee members said they were concerned about the amount of classroom teacher input during vendor evaluations. A committee member who identified herself as Mrs. Picard said she did not feel there had been enough elementary teacher participation and urged greater use of school improvement teams for stakeholder review. McNally and Assistant Superintendent Seitzinger (spelled in the meeting materials as Seitzinger) said the district organized targeted sessions for nurses, principals and administrative staff and offered optional sessions for teachers over the past year.
Security was a decisive factor in the recommendation. Administrators and legal staff reported that PowerSchool had experienced a recent, large national data breach; the district’s legal counsel advised caution about moving to that vendor. The administration said legal review and a conference call with counsel informed the recommendation to remain with Skyward and adopt its new platform.
Committee members also discussed logistics of the migration. McNally said Skyward provides migration toolkits but that “any custom forms…we would need to rebuild and test.” He outlined a training plan that includes vendor videos, online modules and local “super users” who will build and test district configurations before go‑live.
The motion to approve the contract for the new student information system was made, seconded and carried. One committee member abstained, saying they did not feel they had the information necessary to make an informed decision. The administration said the rollout will include phased builds, testing and training with stakeholders before the system goes live.
What’s next: the administration will finalize contract details and begin the vendor‑assisted migration, with scheduled training and testing phases for central office staff, principals and teacher “super users.”
