Surprisingly, this is far more common than anyone would think.
For seventeen-year-old Leland Moody, this was the reality. An error in paperwork resulted in his absence slipping through the cracks, unnoticed by both school officials and his own family.
So what can districts do? Sparkrock 365's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, now enhanced by its recent acquisition of Edsembli, can track and manage student attendance.
Chronic absenteeism is only the beginning. The issue of unaccounted students in Manitoba presents a severe and complex challenge to school districts.
Each missing student represents a lost future, a denial of education rights, and a likely path to poorer life outcomes. These absences and unreported numbers disrupt school operations and can lead to misallocated resources.
To rectify this, Education Minister Nello Altomare has told all divisions in the province that he and his office want to receive absentee numbers regularly. Yet, tracking and reporting student attendance accurately has proven challenging. Districts that use outdated systems lack real-time data, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and insufficient communication channels between schools and families. Additionally, cultural and socio-economic factors add complexity to promoting regular school attendance. Some families face barriers that schools struggle to address without adequate data.
Sparkrock’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system integrates several operations across the school district into a single, streamlined platform.
The ERP system combines data from finance, human resources, and now, with Edsembli, student information. Having an integrated single system strengthens district decision-making, communication, and efficiency. Automated administrative tasks reduce duplicate efforts and give administrators space to focus more on student outcomes rather than student paperwork.
Under Manitoba's Public Schools Act, tracking student attendance is the responsibility of schools, but it requires diligent record-keeping and timely reporting to account for all students. Here's how Sparkrock 365 and Edsembli can support districts in fulfilling these requirements effectively:
With Sparkrock's integration with Edsembli, districts get robust student information systems to support real-time student attendance tracking.
The platform automatically alerts relevant parties about a student's absence. When a student does not show up for class and is marked absent, the system automatically generates and sends notifications to the principal and the student's parents. This feature supports the legislative requirement for schools to keep parents informed and engaged in their children's school attendance.
Edsembli centralizes the management of all student-related data, including attendance records. This centralization creates a single source of truth for each student's attendance history. As a result, principals can report attendance quickly and consistently. They now have accurate information on hand for local school attendance officers when a student continues to be absent, even after notifying the parents.
The platforms are designed with jurisdictional compliance in mind, which means they are equipped to handle the specific requirements unique to their province. Schools can generate reports customized to local educational authorities' needs, so all legal obligations are met without additional administrative burden.
Moreover, compliance is not just about meeting current regulations; it also involves adapting to changes in legislation. Legislative changes significantly alter and impact school district financing, budgeting, and accounting. For example, when Ontario repealed Bill 124, school districts using Sparkrock 365 and Edsembli were well equipped to handle Bill 124’s overturn and make accurate retroactive payments to all employees.
While tracking and reporting student absenteeism is important, proactive prevention and elimination are even more critical. With advanced analytics capabilities, both the ERP and SIS systems can help schools identify patterns of absenteeism and address potential issues before they escalate. This proactive approach aligns with Manitoba's emphasis on maintaining regular school attendance and can help schools implement targeted interventions to improve student engagement and presence.
Districts need a strong digital nucleus to support their daily operations. Using Sparkrock 365 and Edsembli, districts meet reporting requirements and actively foster student engagement and attendance. Higher attendance rates lead to better outcomes and compliance with legal standards.
To move forward, districts should conduct thorough evaluations of their current systems, identify gaps in student data management, and seek out ERP solutions that align with their specific needs. Then, they should participate in detailed demonstrations to understand how these systems can be customized to support their needs.
Make your student tracking into a standardized, seamless process. Book a demo today.