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It’s never been more important to make sure only eligible athletes suit up and take the field. Fielding ineligible players comes with serious penalties at the department, district, and state level; not to mention the public relations and legal nightmares. Unfortunately, "eligibility" this is becoming increasingly complex due to evolving, required consent, compliance, and waiver forms. 

Suffice it to say that Athletic clearance is complex — and it’s even harder when you're relying on outdated systems. That being the case, optimizing athletic clearance needs to be a top goal for every district in order to keep kids safe and avoid negative outcomes. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can streamline your athletic clearance process and ensure only eligible athletes play.

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Technology impacts every area of life — including transportation, education, communication, and work.

The importance of using technology in schools is evident as digital solutions are improving classroom and administrative efficiency, driving better learning experiences, and lowering operational costs. 

And yet, you probably know some folks who prefer the old-fashioned approach to learning with paper, pencils, and chalk boards. In order to make a successful technology transition, you'll need to get buy-in from these folks.

The good news is that it’s possible to boost buy-in and prevent pushback by talking with parents. Investing a few minutes to discuss the benefits and opportunities technology affords pays dividends over the school year – and increases trust amongst your key stakeholders. 

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Read Time: < 5 minutes 

Technology evolves rapidly and permeates all areas of our lives from family logistics to school communication to student health and safety, "tech" is ever present. 

While digital tools might not be the top priority when you think about improving your department, today’s top athletic departments understand that embracing digital transitions keeps them ahead of the curve when it comes to compliance, communication, and overall success.

If your athletic program has been relying on the same old policies, processes, and tools for more than a couple years, it's time to think about purpose-built athletic management technology. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how technology delivers a stronger experience to coaches, athletes, and parents.

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Kirtland Local Schools is a public school district located in Kirtland, Ohio, a small town located outside of Cleveland. The district has about 1,200 students and 70 teachers and staff members spread out across an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.

The challenge

Like countless other school districts, Kirtland was still relying on paper-based systems to manage forms and policies.

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K12 administrators and educators deeply understand the benefits of online student record management systems, they know that schools benefit in a number of ways.

Not only do parents and staff save time, but records are more accurate, more accessible, and — most importantly — more secure.

These benefits speak for themselves.

However, when you’re asking parents to make a change, there may be pushback — or, at the very least, questions and concerns.

With that in mind, here are some common questions and customer insights on making a successful transition to a new online student record management system.

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Hamilton Community Schools is a public school district located in southwestern Michigan. The district, which consists of one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools, has roughly 2,500 students and 170 staffers.

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Leading an athletic department is no easy task. The job requires coordinating with thousands of people including parents, coaches, administrators, medical professionals, facilities managers, and officials. It also requires managing multiple deadlines, budgets, and most importantly student-athlete health and safety. 

Add it all up, and there’s little room for error in this pressure-packed environment. This is why many athletic directors are turning to student-athlete management systems to simplify their daily grind.

Let’s take a closer look at what student-athlete management systems can provide and what to look for in a platform.

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Coaches have a lot on their plate. From planning practices and communicating with parents to “peaking” athletes and monitoring academic performances, it’s a full-time job on part time hours.

To ensure student-athletes have the best possible experience — and that coaches are able to build individual relationships and achieve team goals — more and more districts are investing in FinalForms, a student-athlete management system that makes it easy for coaches to manage forms, eligibility, and communication along with relevant regulations, policies, and guidelines.

We recently talked with 3 coaches about the impact that FinalForms has on their day-to-day role as a coach.

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Congratulations, you’ve found the “one-stop-shop”, “all-in-one” technology that does everything for your athletic department. You’re excited, and it’s easy to understand why. We all love technology’s latest and greatest innovations. Heck, maybe it’s even “free”.

We’ve all been in this position before. You GOTTA GET IT, right? Not so fast, Turbo.

Let’s think back to your childhood. Did you ever get that Atari 2700? It was going to be all the rage. Atari promised to elevate their current model with a futuristic matte-black design and space-age controllers. Ads, packages, and pitches were created. Rumors swirled about release dates. Well, those dates never came, and yeah... we’re still salty. 

Your IT Director and Superintendent likely have similar stories when it comes to dealing with vile vendors who over-promised solutions that ultimately failed your staff and students. 

When it comes to education-based athletics, vaporware is a disservice to athletes, coaches, and administrators. Over-promised and under-performing solutions can leave your athletes at risk, your coaches unprepared, and your athletic department open to risk, controversy, and liability headaches. 

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you avoid the pitfalls of vaporware. Here’s a few easy steps...

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Want your school board to embrace your new technology initiative? Preparing your pitch is key.

School boards play a critical role in approving district-wide initiatives including technology. Boards typically want to see your pitch as a puzzle piece that fits nicely into their budget, needs, and strategic plan. They have a responsibility to stakeholders. Good news is, you do too, and that responsibility can unify the board behind your vision. 

We know that some boards can be tough when it comes to tech. There’s a good reason for that. U.S. school districts spend $13 billion annually on new technologies and a whopping $11 billion is wasted on “solutions” that are a poor fit or implemented incorrectly according to Jefferson Education Exchange. 

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you design a perfect pitch, practical plan, and implementation procedure that will pave the path to success.

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