What it is
Chalk Schools is a streamlining tool for paperwork designed specifically for school systems. The platform is designed to eliminate the inefficiency and unreliability of paper forms. Chalk School’s mission is to “free administrators, teachers, and staff to run their classrooms, offices, schools, and school systems at their best” (Chalk Schools, n.d.). The system has three main aspects. First of all, the program instantly converts all of the paperwork into an online format that can be viewed by all school participants, including HR representatives, teachers, administrators, parents, and students. Secondly, the program automatically sends the online forms to the participants for an e-signature. Lastly, the program presents important information and tracks data on a customizable dashboard. Chalk Schools is currently being used by over 900 districts nationwide, including Aurora Public Schools, Frederick County Public Schools, Summit Public Schools, and Tacoma Public Schools. These school districts now have access to a technology that is adapting forms for all of the different departments, including the transportation office, human resources, the business office, student services, and food services. The streamlined process has also sped up the workflow for these schools, allowing them to focus their attention on the students in the classroom. According to the website, nearly one million forms have successfully been sent through Chalk Schools (Chalk Schools, n.d.). 
To set up an account, a representative from the school or district must contact Chalk Schools to schedule a free demo. A team member from Chalk Schools will walk the school representative through the process of setting up an account and uploading forms. The program is currently free to individual classroom teachers, but does cost for schools, districts, and organizations (such as PTA). The pricing is not available on the website, but can be obtained by email hello@chalkschools.com. Once the account is set up, the school is responsible for inputting the names and email addresses for the recipients that will be receiving and signing the forms through the Chalk Schools website. Entering this information can be done manually, by copying and pasting, or by uploading a CSV file. Next, files are uploaded to the system. This can be done by using files that already exist on the computer, scanning documents in to the system, or sending printed copies of the forms to Chalk Schools. If printed copies of the forms are sent to Chalk Schools, one of their team members will upload the forms into the system for the user. The process of setting up an account is quick and easy, but uploading the information and forms can take a couple of days to complete (Chalk Schools, 2016).
To learn how to upload a form to a Chalk Schools account, view the video below:
The forms that have already been uploaded into the Chalk Schools system include (Chalk Schools, 2016):
- permission slips
- homework
- worksheets
- new hire packets
- onboarding paperwork
- personnel action and requisitions
- travel and conference requests
- mileage and general reimbursement requests
- student registration
- field trip requests
- acceptable use policies
- time sheets
Once the forms are uploaded and ready to be completed and signed, the system will send out an email with a secure link. If some of the information needed to complete the form is already entered into the Chalk Schools system, the forms can be pre-filled before being sent out to recipients. The stored information in Chalk Schools can include names, email addresses, ID numbers, and personalized information (such as addresses, emergency contact numbers, and class periods), depending on what the school district chooses to include. When the recipient receives the link to the form that needs to be completed and signed in an email, they can easily access the form without signing up for an account. The Chalk Schools program is FERPA, HIPAA, and ESIGN Act compliant, meaning that users can trust their information being securely entered and saved in the system. The e-signature requires a two-step confirmation process and Chalk Schools stores the exact time, location, and IP address of the completed signature (Chalk Schools, 2016). Once the form is completed, the signer can save a copy to their computer or send a copy to their email for records. The completed form is also sent back to the sender and data is recorded showing which forms have been completed.
Chalk Schools has recently introduced two new features to their program. The first is the option to save a signature (Chalk Schools, 2016). This allows users to quickly sign and approve forms that are abundant in number. As shown to the left, the user begins by typing their name for a signature. Then, they choose to either type or draw their name for the signature. After completing that part, the user selects the option to “save signature for future use.” Once the signature has been added and saved, the user can quickly add their signature to other places within the same form or on other forms in their account.
The second feature that Chalk Schools recently added is the ability to customize the dashboard so that forms can easily be tracked (Chalk Schools, 2016). The re-modeled dashboard allows users to quickly find specific forms and content of forms. The data being viewed can be selected using a category of content from a form, such as the “House” on the Hogwart’s New Employee Data Sheet to the right. The user can also choose to have their dashboard show information on a specific student, employee, start date for a new hire, etc.
If a form is missing information or a signature, the user can send a reminder email with just one click of the mouse!
Benefits of Using Chalk Schools
Students, parents, teachers, HR representatives, and administrators are all experiencing the many benefits that Chalk Schools has to offer. To begin, the use of Chalk Schools saves districts from having to purchase paper, postage, and ink to send out forms to families and faculty. The system also eliminates the problem of paper forms not making it home or back to school. Often times, papers are sent home in the backpacks of students and rarely do they make it back to the classroom. By uploading the forms into the online system, the forms are immediately accessible to the parents. Recipients are also saved time with the pre-filled option that users can select. Using this feature, the recipients do not have to enter information that the school already has in their system. If signatures are missing, users just have to click one button with the mouse to send a reminder. This saves a large amount of time and energy for teachers and secretaries, who are often put in charge of tracking individuals down to get their signature. For users who are signing many forms, the saved signature feature also saves a lot of time. Once the forms are completed, everything is filed into the searchable cloud, instead of having to be printed out and saved in a file cabinet. This provides added security, saves space in offices and classrooms, and eliminates the time that would be spent on filing all of the paperwork. With all of these benefits, Chalk Schools is saving districts over 100 house of manual work annually (Chalk Schools, 2016).
Students, parents, teachers, HR representatives, and administrators are all experiencing the many benefits that Chalk Schools has to offer. To begin, the use of Chalk Schools saves districts from having to purchase paper, postage, and ink to send out forms to families and faculty. The system also eliminates the problem of paper forms not making it home or back to school. Often times, papers are sent home in the backpacks of students and rarely do they make it back to the classroom. By uploading the forms into the online system, the forms are immediately accessible to the parents. Recipients are also saved time with the pre-filled option that users can select. Using this feature, the recipients do not have to enter information that the school already has in their system. If signatures are missing, users just have to click one button with the mouse to send a reminder. This saves a large amount of time and energy for teachers and secretaries, who are often put in charge of tracking individuals down to get their signature. For users who are signing many forms, the saved signature feature also saves a lot of time. Once the forms are completed, everything is filed into the searchable cloud, instead of having to be printed out and saved in a file cabinet. This provides added security, saves space in offices and classrooms, and eliminates the time that would be spent on filing all of the paperwork. With all of these benefits, Chalk Schools is saving districts over 100 house of manual work annually (Chalk Schools, 2016).
The video below provides the insight of Laura Lance, the Middle School Secretary and School Registrar for St. Paul's Episcopal School.
Enhancing Productivity for School Leaders
The long list of benefits that Chalk Schools has to offer makes it easy to understand how the program enhances the productivity for school leaders. Ultimately, utilizing Chalk Schools saves school leaders time and money from their budget. An interview with Kris Wise, the Human Resources Analyst for Clovis Unified, revealed that the system really is as good as it seems. In the interview, Wise stated, “The best thing is probably the ease of getting the forms out. We pulled our employee data, sent everything to Chalk Schools, and boom! The forms were sent. We saved the cost of printing the forms and the incredible amount of tie it previously took us to stuff and scan all of them. It was amazing!” (Chalk Schools, 2016). He also said that the program is easy to be implemented, particularly since a one-time training for users in the school system is quite sufficient for them to properly use and manage the system (Chalk Schools, 2016). Reading Wise’s perspective is a true testament to the fact that Chalk Schools is meeting their mission of “freeing administrators, teachers, and staff to run their classrooms, offices, schools, and school systems at their best” (Chalk Schools, n.d.).
On their blog, Chalk Schools suggests that the program should be implemented gradually (Chalk Schools, 2016). They also provide three questions for administrators to answer and consider before fully implementing the program (Chalk Schools, 2016). These questions can be found below:
- Which forms have the highest volume in the school year? (Chalk Schools recommends that administrators particularly look at the forms that need to be tracked for being completed and having the signature. Examples include student transfer requests, emergency contact cards, and permission slips.)
- Which forms help districts track access control points and/or protection from liability? (Chalk Schools states that the use of their program can speed up the process of sending and receiving forms from weeks to just days. Examples of forms for this criterion include acceptable use policies, key requests, and incident reports.)
- What online solution could support forms and approval flows for more than just one department? (Chalk Schools easily creates a network of paperwork that can be accessed by many departments.)
Since I am not yet an employee of a school system, I was unable to set up an account for Chalk Schools, which would have given me an insider’s perspective. However, in the research that I conducted on the tool, and in reading through blog posts and interviews on Chalk Schools’ website, I learned of the incredible amount of time that this system is saving for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Therefore, I would highly recommend the use of this platform for schools.
Chalk Schools. (2016, February 25). 3 things technology administrators should consider before taking their districts paperless [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.chalkschools.com/posts/3-things-technology-administrators-should-consider-before-taking-their-district-paperless
Chalk Schools. (2016, March 9). Introducing a customized dashboard for tracking your forms [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.chalkschools.com/posts/introducing-a-customized-dashboard-for-tracking-your-forms
Chalk Schools. (2016, April 27). 1 click and done! Introducing saved signatures [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.chalkschools.com/posts/introducing-one-click-chalks-brand-new-fast-and-secure-saved-signature-feature
Chalk Schools. (2016, May 4). Interview: Kris Wise, Clovis United School District. Retrieved from http://blog.chalkschools.com/posts/interview-kris-wise-human-resources-analyst-at-clovis-unified-school-district
Chalk Schools. (2016, May 16). Banning takes AUP forms paperless with Chalk. Retrieved fro http://blog.chalkschools.com/posts/saving-time-saving-paper-why-banning-unified-school-district-is-making-the-switch-to-electronic-forms
Chalk Schools. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from https://www.chalkschools.com/about
Chalk Schools. (n.d.). Product. Retrieved from https://www.chalkschools.com/product
Chalk Schools. (n.d.) Support center. Retrieved from https://www.chalkschools.com/support
[New employee data sheet]. Retrieved fro https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a7f396be7b964c97626f91/t/56e07449b654f926bbf6a2ee/1457550428069/Hogwarts+new+hire+onboarding+form+-+House+selection?format=750w
[Paperwork streamline]. Retrieved from http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a7f396be7b964c97626f91/56a7f926841abad888bfaf5d/5727cbf0d51cd48057eb373a/1466495343849/Fotolia_88196772_S.jpg?format=1000w
[Saved signature]. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a7f396be7b964c97626f91/t/5721475159827eced54fa7a0/1461798744645/image3.jpg?format=500w
