Client Profile: Diamond R-IV School District, Missouri

• Industry: School District
• Location: Diamond, Missouri
• Number of Employees: 140
• Number of Students: 790
• Tyler Client Since: 2020
• Tyler Products Used: Absence & Substitute, SISFin
• Website: diamondwildcats.org

Challenge

Prior to 2022, Diamond R-IV School District in Diamond, Missouri was accustomed to using manual staffing processes to keep up with their teacher absences and substitute needs. Substitute teachers had to be individually recruited and hired. Once positions were filled, providing substitutes with classroom materials was also done manually.

Since teaching vacancies can occur with limited notice, these processes often had to be done swiftly. “We had no formal process. We had a spreadsheet that we tracked manually. It was very time-consuming and it presented opportunities for error,” said David Smith, district bookkeeper. “Our administration team was coming into work first thing in the morning and manually calling substitutes to fill vacant positions for the day.”

Smith reflected on the moment his team realized their current system could no longer meet the needs of their evolving district. “The breaking point for us was when payroll was disrupted. We were missing substitute days on the payroll side, which caused us to run additional, manual payroll processes to make sure they were paid.” The district knew they needed a reliable and automated solution to help prevent future disruptions.

Solution

The right system for Diamond R-IV School District had to be efficient to assist with time-sensitive tasks, while providing accurate data to prevent manual corrections. After considering multiple solutions, the district ultimately determined Tyler Technologies’ Absence & Substitute was the best fit. “Absence & Substitute’s simple user interface stood out for us, and we wanted something that would integrate with our current software to prevent communication gaps between programs,” Smith explained.

The district was already using SISFin, Tyler’s trusted school ERP solution for Missouri districts, for their financial needs. Due to its high level of integration with SISFin, implementing Absence & Substitute was an easy choice for the district. They completed implementation in less than two months, and started the new school year with their revamped processes in place. “The transition to Absence & Substitute was seamless,” Smith said. “With the training we received, we were able to start using the system a week before school started, and we hit the ground running with it.”

Results

Once the school year was underway, Smith noted the district saw immediate improvements with filling teaching vacancies. “We’ve had an almost 100% fill rate since we implemented the program. We’ve also seen tremendous growth, as we’ve had more substitutes added to our substitute pool this year than the previous three years combined.” Absence & Substitute empowered the district’s staff to automate the process of seeking out the most qualified candidates for their classrooms. The software’s notification options, including text messages, emails, phone calls, and push notifications, allowed the district to reach substitutes with their preferred communication method. This also reduced unnecessary manual work during recruiting. “Substitutes get alerts when a job is posted, so they have more opportunity to apply. Removing the manual process of having to call substitutes has been great,” said Smith.

Absence & Substitute also increased automation in the district’s data entry processes, including payroll. “In our first payroll run, we had no substitutes missed. Duplicate data entry was also less frequent,” Smith explained. The district was now able to run payroll accurately, and seamlessly integrate this data with their ERP system.

Substitutes themselves also are seeing the benefits. The software helps ensure that substitutes are set up for success with the use of easy processes for sharing classroom materials. Teachers can access the materials swiftly to be best prepared for any upcoming substitute jobs.

Smith concluded by saying, “Our experience with Absence & Substitute has been very good. The immediate feedback from our teachers, substitutes, and administration team was that we should have made the change years ago.” The district looks to Absence & Substitute to empower them with automation, reliable data collection, and maintaining high fill rates in order set up each future school year for success.