Written by Jordan Galerkin

For many schools, student and parent service hours are an important part of both the curriculum and operations. Service hours promote community engagement and improve student outcomes. This is why many schools have created a service hour recommendation or requirement for both students and parents. 

Designing a service hours program is only half the battle. Implementing a system to track and report on these service hours can be more difficult. Schools must find something that works for both administrators and volunteers, and may start by looking at the programs they already have, such as their student information systems.

Schools that use FACTS SIS often choose to use the service hours component within the FACTS Family Portal, however it does have limitations. The FACTS Family Portal is designed to be a place for parents and students to access important school information such as grades, announcements, directories, applications, and payments. While it plays a crucial role for the school community, it is not designed to easily track and report on service hours for students or parents. Challenges with tracking hours in the FACTS Family Portal may include:

• Parents and students have difficulty navigating to the Service Hours section
• Service Hours form has limited fields and no approval workflows built in
• Administrators are often tasked with manual data entry of service hours

What if there was an easier way to track service hours?

Many schools have to use other methods of volunteer sign-up and tracking alongside the Family Portal, such as event calendars with RSVP, Google Forms, paper check-in sheets, and more. What if there was an easier, more efficient way to log and verify hours, collect event RSVPs, show progress toward requirements, and report on engagement?

With the new Track it Forward - FACTS SIS integration, there is! Track it Forward is an all-in-one service hours tracking platform that allows parents and students to log their own hours, view progress toward requirements, sign up for events, and more. The integration allows admins roster parents or students from FACTS SIS to Track it Forward, and sync hours data back to FACTS SIS for viewing in the Family Portal.

School-Friendly Features

Track it Forward offers a more robust service hours tracking solution than the FACTS Family Portal alone. Here are some of the top school-friendly features:

School volunteers can easily view progress toward requirements and log hours online or via mobile app

Volunteers can view the event calendar and RSVP for events

Volunteers can check-in and out for shifts onsite and hours are automatically logged

Administrators can approve hours and request advanced verifications such as signatures, photos, or GPS location

Administrators can send mass emails and text messages to volunteers

Plus with the new FACTS SIS integration for service hours, administrators can import custom parent and student data from FACTS SIS to Track it Forward, and automatically export approved hours back to the FACTS Family Portal for viewing and reporting.

If your school is using the FACTS Family Portal for service hours tracking - it’s time for a better solution! Track it Forward offers user-friendly, feature-rich software designed specifically for school service hours. Integrate with FACTS SIS and streamline your service hours program even further. Ready to save time and take all the ‘work’ out of service hours? Contact us here.