Customer stories
- Solutions guide
- Creative Pro
- K-12
- Higher education
- Government
- Non-profit
- Small business
- Medium to large business
- >Customer stories
North Star Academy
FileMaker is Valuable Resource for Teachers and Administrators
Located in Redwood City, California, North Star Academy is an
academic magnet school. Its curriculum is designed to attract the
best and brightest of the area's third-through-eighth grade
students, with enrollment open only to students ranked in the 85th
percentile or above on standardized tests. Students are enrolled in
core subjects of Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies
but these curriculums are compacted which allows for time each day
for the Enrichment Program which has exciting courses such as
Shakespeare, Video Production, Jazz, Current Events Debate,
Storytelling, and similar subjects. All these courses are based on
student interest. And behind the scenes, an array of FileMaker Pro
databases helps pull it all together.
That's due to the efforts of Will Lucey -- who doubles as North
Star's Assistant Principal and Curriculum Resource. "I use
FileMaker Pro for a lot of things," Will explains, "but the first
was to build a database of student interests for use in planning
classes in our Enrichment Program. This program offers different
classes to fit the interests of the students -- and each student
can choose three specific areas of interest in determining what
class they'll get. Using the database to match students with
classes is much easier than assigning classes on paper!"
That system now includes a number of useful refinements, including
an application called the "Interestalyzer," which automates the
process of gathering information on what every student in the
school likes to do the most. "Students can go into the lab and log
onto a FileMaker questionnaire," Will continues, "and this asks
them a series of questions designed to explore their interests. For
example, one question is 'if you could invite any three people out
of history to dinner, who would they be?' Another asks 'what things
do you like to collect in your spare time?' And another asks 'are
you interested in sports?' This information goes into the database,
and helps us design Enrichment classes that target the students'
interests -- for example, we might find some students are
especially interested in certain areas of technology, while others
are interested in drama. We can then develop Enrichment classes
based on those subjects."
FileMaker Pro is used for other purposes as well. The schools'
basic student information database is a FileMaker system — storing
personnel-type information for every pupil. Another database stores
disciplinary information -- lending a whole new meaning to the term
"your permanent record." And still another database is part of the
school's Math Achievement Program -- tracking the progress of each
student enrolled in this challenging course, and drawing the
attention of teachers to students who need particular
attention.
And when the final bell rings for the day, FileMaker Pro's work is
far from done. That's when the Homework Center database comes into
play. It's part of a new program recently added by North Star
Academy to help students focus on completion of after-class
assignments. "Many of our students come from situations where they
may not have a good place to do homework after school," observes
Will, "so three days a week after school we have a Homework Center
available where they can come for an hour to complete their
assignments. FileMaker Pro keeps track of who is attending Homework
Center and when they attend. It also keeps track of how the
students are progressing in their completion of their homework and
with what subject areas they need most help. It's a great
information source for teachers!"
In class or in the office, during the day or after hours — North
Star Academy gives FileMaker Pro the highest grade.
Contact information
Contact Info for Customer:Will Lucey
Assistant Principal/Curriculum Resource
North Star Academy
650-482-5973
wlucey@rcsd.k12.ca.us
http://www.northstar.rcsd.k12.ca.us
Filemaker Contact:
Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com
- North Star Academy uses FileMaker Pro to manage everything from homework and classes to basic student records and even disciplinary information.
- K-12 Education
- Small Business