Geneva board hears proposal to replace Naviance with 'School Links'; summer access gap flagged

District staff presented School Links as a proposed replacement for the district’s current college- and career-planning software and outlined an implementation timeline that would begin July 1 to align with the Common App.

Doug Drexler, the presenter introduced to the board as part of the School Links team, said the district’s goal “is for all Geneva High School graduates to leave high school with a workable plan that is based in reality and is well informed.” He described School Links as a central platform that combines learning experiences curated by counselors, career resources embedded in required courses, and parent access. “School Links is essentially a central platform that’s bringing together three different kind of components of the development of this plan,” he said.

Staff said the district evaluated multiple products and conducted student focus groups with current seniors. Drexler told the board that current spending on the provider is “about $9,000 a year,” while School Links is “about $8,000 a year,” noting there will be first‑year onboarding and training costs.

Sherry Klatt, who staff introduced as part of the presentation team, described the product’s college‑exploration and career modules, saying School Links syncs with the Common App, can manage transcript and letter‑of‑recommendation workflows, and offers interest inventories and a mobile app for students. “It will also have a scattergram listed…Other Geneva High School students that attended this university, they’re able to look at where that student fell academically,” she said, describing features that help students find academically and financially appropriate college matches.

Board members asked detailed questions about rollout sequencing and whether seniors would be left without access during the transition. Drexler said there will be a period of time in the summer when neither Naviance nor School Links will be accessible and that the district will need to communicate that to families; he added that School Links can import existing data so students’ profiles will be available in the fall. “There will be a period of time this summer where they won’t have access to Naviance, and they won’t have access to School Links,” Drexler said.

Staff said the initial priority for directed activities will be incoming seniors and that counselors will run individual senior conferences and use usage reports to monitor student progress. They also said the platform allows students to retake interest inventories and that faculty can see which students have completed tasks.

The presentation was for information; staff said the base product is recommended now and that optional modules could be considered later. The board did not take an approval vote at the meeting because the anticipated base‑product purchase falls below the district’s threshold requiring board approval.

What’s next: staff said training and onboarding work will begin before students access the system in August; the district will provide outreach to juniors and seniors to explain the summer transition and early‑access arrangements for students who need to prepare for college visits or Common App submissions.