How a Proactive Approach Made Our School’s Software Implementation a Success

You know that book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? Well, taking that a step further, everything I need to know about leadership I learned teaching eighth grade. Seriously. I learned that planning wasn’t a set-it-and-forget-it process, that being proactive made everything run more smoothly, and that you have to continually reassess, get feedback, and follow up. All those things are natural and healthy parts of what we do as teachers.

I’ve been at NSU University School for over twenty years in a variety of roles, and I still advocate for that same approach now as an administrator. Being proactive is especially critical when taking on a large project.

When we decided that we wanted a connected school-wide software solution, we knew the process was not something to take lightly. We weren’t just adopting a system; we were rethinking how our school community—encompassing enrollment, academics, the business office, fundraising, and beyond—could collaborate more effectively. By choosing Blackbaud’s Total School Solution, which connects offices and users across all parts of the school, we aimed to enhance both our internal workflows and the experience for families, students, faculty, and staff.

To achieve this, we understood we couldn’t simply buy the software, flip a switch, and hope for the best. Successful implementation takes deliberate planning, collaboration, and open communication. By adopting a proactive approach, my colleagues and I set out to ensure that this system wasn’t just installed—but truly integrated into the life of our school. Here’s how we did it.

Fair warning: I like metaphors!

Starting with the End in Mind

When you want to cross a river, your future vision is to be on the other side. How you get there depends on the river and the stepping stones you have available to you. Some rivers are narrower and easier to navigate. Others are wider or have faster currents, making the journey longer or more difficult. Sometimes you lose footing and have to adapt where and how you step to get there safely. Stone by stone, step by step, you make your way to your goal.

Knowing your path is how you begin the process.

When embarking on our total school software project, our first step was to define what success would look like. As with any major change, you can’t expect to reach your goals without knowing what they are. For our school, success meant more than just getting the software up and running. It meant staff, teachers, students, and families feeling confident using the system from day one and achieving specific milestones (or stepping stones, if you will), like ensuring schedules were visible and accurate and attendance-taking would be seamless.

To get there, we worked backward, identifying the necessary steps for a smooth launch.

Know Your Audience

This wasn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. A school community is made up of a variety of stakeholders—teachers, administrators, parents, and students—all with unique needs and perspectives. We tailored our information-gathering to each group of people, like you do with differentiated instruction.

For example, when working with our business and technology teams, we focused on deliverables, KPIs, and timelines. But when engaging our academic teams, we used a different language. Instead of asking about key performance indicators, we asked, “What do you need to see in your classroom?” and “What will help your students and their families feel supported?” By tailoring our conversations to the audience, we ensured that everyone felt heard and understood.

We also considered the characteristics of those who might be resistant to change. I asked my colleagues to think about the person in their department who was least tech savvy or most change averse. What would they need to feel confident in the new system? Addressing their concerns upfront helped us design a process that supported everyone, not just the most enthusiastic adopters.

No matter the size or scale of your river, you want everyone working together to get to the other side.

Building Parallel Vendor Selection Committees

Once you agree upon the steps you need to take and your future vision, you need to create a vendor selection committee. In some schools, the CFO is also in charge of IT and operations. In larger schools, that could be three different people. Your committee could be just a few stakeholders or a dozen. Either way, it’s crucial to include representatives from three key areas:

• Technology
• Business
• Academics

A cornerstone of our success was the creation of parallel vendor selection committees: one for business and operations and one to focus on academics. In a larger school like ours, those perspectives are often siloed. Bringing them together after they each did their own discovery and evaluation ensured we had a well-rounded view of what our school truly needed. Each group brought its own perspective, and everyone had a voice.

This parallel approach extended to the vendors as well. We asked them to tailor their presentations to the concerns of our different stakeholder groups, providing separate sessions for academics and operations. This allowed the academic committee members to ask their questions about how the new SIS and LMS would impact their day-to-day work; the IT folks to ask details about integrations, APIs, etc.; and our business officers to delve into how the new system could impact financial sustainability. We were able to dig deeper into the specific concerns of each team without overwhelming anyone.

Include the “Sausage Makers”

We didn’t just fill our committees with administrators, either. We made sure to include the “sausage makers” who know how things are really done in their departments. The people in the trenches may ask questions that the higher-ups don’t consider. You want your teachers, bookkeepers, your fundraising coordinator—the people who will be using the new software day to day. Get the opinion leaders who are respected and have influence among their peers.

At our school, this meant involving team members who are known for going above and beyond—not because they have to, but because they love the school. They often serve as unofficial ambassadors for new initiatives. By including them in the decision-making process, we not only gained valuable insights into how the software would impact their work but also began building buy-in from the ground up. When they told others that they had confidence in the process and felt we made the right choice, everyone else had more faith in the decisions we made.

Setting Realistic Timelines for Implementation

Getting back to the river metaphor: if you rush across the stones too quickly, somebody is going to get wet.

A well-thought-out plan is critical to any successful implementation. Too often, schools fall into the trap of setting overly ambitious timelines and the pressure to move quickly leads to mistakes, missed training opportunities, and frustration across the board. Yes, there may be times when you have a compressed timeline because your current vendor is going out of business or something else out of your control. Just understand there may be compromises in an accelerated implementation.

Setting our timelines meant balancing academic schedules, business office deadlines, and the time required for proper training. From the beginning, we emphasized that while a fast implementation might seem appealing, it would ultimately be less effective if it didn’t give everyone the time they needed to prepare.

Understand that the complexity of the data you need to migrate and the kind of software you’re adopting are important factors. For instance, we knew the SIS would take longer to launch than merchant services software.

You also need to be realistic about how engaged your team members will be in the process. Your launch could be delayed by months if they don’t devote the time and energy it takes to properly prepare for implementation. Just like the best prepared teachers are those who drive the best student outcomes, the most proactive and prepared schools will get the best results from their software and their vendors.

A Phased Approach

Think of your new vendor as a partner in the planning process. Blackbaud helped us set realistic expectations. To ensure buy-in, we aligned timelines with the natural rhythms of the school year. For instance, we launched the enrollment and admissions components of Blackbaud’s Total School Solution in November and re-enrollment in January. This gave us time to fully train our admissions and business teams before turning our attention to the academic components, which we launched in August.

One of the criteria our academic centers identified was that they needed all historical data from our old SIS in the new one. We worked with them to set reasonable timelines and prioritized having current student data in the SIS and LMS ready for launch. We then set a later deadline for importing historical data from our old systems. By clearly explaining the rationale behind this decision and involving stakeholders in the planning process, we avoided many of the frustrations that often accompany large-scale data migrations.

Supporting Adoption and Change Management

Even the best-planned implementation can falter without proper support during adoption. Change is hard—no matter how necessary or beneficial it might be. Our job was to ensure that everyone, from the most tech-savvy staff member to the parent who struggles to reset their Wi-Fi password, felt supported throughout the process.

Customize Training

To do this, we offered multiple training opportunities tailored to different audiences. For teachers, this meant in-person sessions, webinars, and detailed guides on how to use the new system in their classrooms. For students and families, we hosted pop-in webinars and live demonstrations. We even created a student tech support team, giving tech-savvy students an opportunity to help their peers and families while earning community service credit.

Focus on Communication

Equally important was our communication plan. We were transparent about the challenges of implementing a new system, set realistic expectations, and emphasized the resources available to help. For example, we increased our support desk staffing and made sure teachers knew they could count on ongoing assistance long after the initial training sessions ended.

Leverage Community

We also leveraged our parent community by enlisting a particularly tech-savvy parent to create user-friendly guides and serve as a point of contact for other families. This not only provided additional support but also demonstrated that we were listening to and valuing the perspectives of our entire school community.

By addressing resistance to change head-on and proactively providing support, we were able to turn what could have been a major pain point into an opportunity for growth and collaboration.

Concluding Thoughts

Reflecting on our journey, I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished at NSU University School. Implementing Blackbaud’s Total School Solution wasn’t just a technological upgrade—it was an opportunity to strengthen our community and create a more connected, collaborative environment.

Our success came down to three key factors: planning, collaboration, and communication. By starting with the end in mind, we ensured that every step of the process was aligned with our goals. By building a diverse and inclusive vendor selection committee, we made sure all voices were heard. And by setting realistic timelines and providing robust support, we gave our community the tools they needed to embrace change.

Change is never easy, but with the right approach, it can be transformative. Whether you’re planning a small implementation or tackling a total school project, I encourage you to prioritize these elements. When you are proactive and lead with intention and empathy, success is within reach.