Chinook, Montana
383 Students

Chinook Schools is a small Montana district with only 383 students. In 2006, Chinook heard of Infinite Campus, a fully-integrated, Web-based solution. The capabilities of the student information system (SIS) didn’t compare to others on the market, so the decision to switch vendors was simple. In addition, Chinook decided to implement Campus Food Service, an optional premium product that’s seamlessly integrated with the core system. The district has seen significant benefits from streamlined cafeteria operations and improved efficiency for all food service employees.

Challenges
Before Infinite Campus, Chinook used SASIxp for more than seven years. According to Kelly Mazurkiewicz, Chinook Counselor and Infinite Campus Coordinator, “I heard about Infinite Campus and became very interested. So, I compared it to our current system at the time. It didn’t take long before I realized Infinite Campus could do so much more than SASIxp.”

Chinook did not have an integrated food service solution, so their cafeteria operations were very slow. Carol Munson, food service coordinator at Chinook remembered, “The first year I worked in the cafeteria, we had paper sheets with typed names of every student in each grade. As they passed me in the lunch line, I would check their names off the list and write an ‘x’ by each food item they chose. I wasn’t quick enough to satisfy hungry students, so it was frustrating to both the students and me.”

Solution
Chinook was fully up-and-running with Infinite Campus by the 2006-07 school year. They quickly realized their new SIS was truly a living solution as Infinite Campus continually adds enhancements to Chinook’s system without disruption and at no additional cost. In addition, district stakeholders can access grades, attendance, assignments and scheduling information in real time because it’s completely Web-based.

After only a few years of use, the district decided to take advantage of Campus Food Service, a fully-integrated premium product. Aside from improving food service efficiencies, Campus Food Service gives Chinook’s parents and students immediate, secure access to cafeteria information via the Campus Portal.

Mazurkiewicz stated, “With the real-time integration of the SIS and Campus Portal, parents can see their students’ lunch account, daily food purchases and deposits.”

Additionally, Chinook eliminated transaction processing time with Campus Food Service Point of Sale (POS). The POS terminals use touch screen technology with a self-evident visual data entry screen.

“Our lunch lines move so fast with the POS terminals,” said Munson. “Speed is everything. As a student passes through the lunch line, they enter their PIN on the touchpad, and their photo ID, account information and meal information pop up on my screen! Our system then records the student’s food purchases, and the data is immediately recorded in Infinite Campus. If they make a mistake on their purchase, I can correct or cancel a transaction
easily. This is huge.”

Results
Chinook continues to benefit from Infinite Campus and Campus Food Service. The district saves valuable time that is now available for other tasks.

According to Mazurkiewicz, “Because Campus is completely integrated, our administrators, teachers, attendance personnel, etc. enter information once and the data can be used across the district. This saves everyone time and ensures more accurate information.”

In addition, school-to-home communication has increased with Campus Food Service. Parents can monitor their student’s food purchases, which gives them an opportunity to encourage healthy eating. Also, they can be proactive in making sure account balances are sufficient for their student’s needs.

“One of our biggest goals is to get parents and student involved in the educational process,” said Mazurkiewicz. “Infinite Campus helps us meet this goal with its superior functionality. It is invaluable to our district.”