How community service tracking software works to improve compliance issues, lowers the cost of administration and improves the quality of a school’s program.

In this digital and mobile age, software is almost always a viable option for improving any process that requires communication between multiple stakeholders. This is especially true when that information has historically required a paper and pencil process. Educational community service programs are no different.

A community service tracking software will save time and money by reducing staff time needed to identify, communicate and track service opportunities. A community service tracking software will allow students to find opportunities faster and it will allow both the students and counselors to focus on quality educational and service experiences. All of this will ultimately have a significant impact on your community service program for both the student and the community.

In addition, at Transeo (a team of educators serving educators) we know that our software will also have the ability to remove several areas of friction that exist with the paper, pencil and spreadsheet process within current community service programs. It will eliminate friction especially in the area of communication with stakeholders outside of the direct day-to-day engagement with the program. Here is some insight as to how Transeo directly impacts these unique areas within a school district.

How Community Service Tracking Software Works to Reduce Friction with Student Compliance

The primary purpose of any community service program is for the students to volunteer within their communities to gain valuable experience and make a positive impact. Core to completion of the program is the requirement for students to track, log and verify they have completed that service and actually served the community. With a paper and pencil process, there is a lot of friction due to the fact that students are not always accurately verifying or turning in the required information on time.

Most counselors have had to deal with parents sending their students to school with a community service packet. The student misses the deadline and “swears” they turned it in. And then an argument between the student, counselor and parent ensues.

Rather than focusing on the quality of the experience, the focus almost always turns to compliance. It ends up being an unnecessary fight between the parent and the student because the student didn’t get credit for the service, didn’t understand the requirements or simply missed the deadline. Parents and counselors begin arguing because the student couldn’t get their high honors or cord for community service at graduation. All this happens because the focus was on the compliance piece and not on the value of the community service. And the compliance process was/is riddled with areas that are error prone.

Transeo is designed to put the focus on the quality of the service and eliminate the friction and dissonance around student compliance. The posting, tracking, logging and verification are all just one click away. And that click can occur on mobile devices, a laptop or a desktop computer.

Co-Founder and National Superintendent of the Year,  Dave Schuler,  Shares Concrete Examples of How Transeo Serve Reduces and/or Eliminates Friction Between Students, Counselors and Parents

Current and Future Mandated Government and Program Compliance

The history of compliance starts in 1965 when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was first passed by Congress and signed into law by President Johnson.

At first, the focus was on access and equity, ensuring every student had access to the same educational opportunities as other students. This focus continued until 2001 when No Child Left Behind was passed. This was a very well intentioned piece of legislation but the focus then shifted to testing, testing and more TESTING. That has been the focus as a country and the educational system from 2001 until the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed in 2015.

In 2015, ESSA was a bipartisan piece of legislation that was designed to shift the focus away from teaching and testing and actually ensuring opportunities for all of America’s students from a broader perspective. The growing consensus is that students are MORE than a score they earn on a standardized test

Now all schools that receive federal funds in the United States are required to comply with ESSA. As part of ESSA, states are required to incorporate a non-academic indicator as part of their state accountability plan. Many states are using community service as part of their non-academic indicators, so community service is becoming a compliance issue in some states. And research shows that 93% of programs are still tracked with paper and pencil or on spreadsheets. There is clearly a problem and this is definitely something a software system can solve.

Transeo’s Community Service Tracking Software will help districts comply with ESSA in four main ways.

1. Transeo software makes community service verification, logging and report generation easy and intuitive for both the students and counselors.
2. The accurate, real-time data automates the production of district compliance reports that can be uploaded to state agencies seamlessly.
3. Transeo enhances the validity and authenticity of data for superintendents and also eliminates the cumbersome time-consuming, paper-based processes (eliminating the risk of error in reporting)
4. With SIS integration, the reports are automatically updated daily to reflect any changes in your student enrollment status. With a push of a button, Transeo can generate reports to be uploaded to state agencies by student, school and/or at the district level.

Watch this Short Educational Webcast to Learn More About ESSA Compliance and How Transeo Serve Helps

Summary

Transeo has automated collection, verification and quantification of data by creating a community service reporting system. By having those things in place, Transeo enhances the validity and authenticity of data by eliminating the time-consuming, paper-based processes within 93% of schools today. Transeo enhances the likelihood of schools sending valid data to state agencies and providing accurate information to share with parents and students. Counselors, students, club sponsors and administration can now focus their time on quality experiences for the student within their communities.

About Transeo Serve

Transeo Serve is an affordable, cloud-based and mobile-first software that allows you to track, manage and report on your community service program.

The team at Transeo Serve believes in the future where students are defined through determination, resilience and hard work. The future starts with the student and tools like the Transeo Serve Community Service Tracking App. A community service tracking app can help track and manage students community service to help them unlock their potential and transform their community.

Transeo Serve provides multiple advantages to any district and/or specific school’s community service program by:

• Helping to move districts from a focus on managing an informal paper system to focusing on students and quality experiences.
• Shifting the focus of your counselors and students from spending countless hours producing individualized reports to instantly producing customized reports for different students, clubs and sponsors across your organization.
• Taking your community from very little awareness of what community service means to a high level of student excitement and understanding of community service goals and the impact on the community.
• Finally we can move from limited information on the economic impact of the service your students perform to a clear statement on the value of your community service program.

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