A Fresh Start for Hanford: District Picks Focus for Student Records, Moves Off Synergy

What changed and why it matters right now

The Hanford Elementary School District announced it will replace its current student information system, Synergy SIS, with Focus School Software. The district made the selection using a California EdTech Joint Powers Authority (JPA) procurement path, which allowed it to tap a pre-negotiated contract rather than run a full, standalone bidding process. Practically, this means Hanford will begin moving student records, schedules and attendance data to Focus in the coming months, with school staff and families expecting visible changes to portals and workflows.

The shift is not a quiet back-end tweak. Student information systems sit at the center of how schools track attendance, grades, enrollment and family communication. Switching vendors can change how teachers enter grades, how parents view progress and how administrators run reports. For Hanford, the move signals a deliberate switch in the tools that power daily school operations and communications.

Why the district used the California EdTech JPA and what the deal covers

Hanford chose the California EdTech JPA route to speed up procurement and lower administrative burden. The JPA offers a cooperative purchasing framework that bundles legal review, contract terms and vendor vetting. For a district, that can mean a faster start to work and more predictable contract language than running a custom request-for-proposal from scratch.

According to the announcement, the agreement covers licensing of Focus’s core student information platform and related services that the district needs to replace Synergy. That usually includes data migration, hosting, support, and training. Using the JPA doesn’t mean Hanford skipped oversight; it still follows district approval steps and local scheduling for implementation. The timeline in the release points to staged work over several months rather than an overnight flip—typical for systems that hold sensitive student records.

What Focus brings to the table and how the move from Synergy will happen

Focus School Software is sold as a modern student information system that emphasizes straightforward portals for teachers and parents, streamlined gradebooks, and flexible reporting. Compared with Synergy, which many districts use, Focus often markets itself as simpler to configure and easier for non-technical staff to learn. The practical differences users will notice usually include a redesigned parent portal, different grade-entry pages for teachers, and altered report layouts for administrators.

The migration process will likely follow common steps: an initial discovery and mapping of data fields, extraction of records from Synergy, cleansing and conversion of those records into Focus’s format, and a period of parallel testing. That means for a time Hanford staff may use both systems to verify data matches. The district’s rollout plan in the notice suggests phased adoption—perhaps beginning with administrative functions, then teacher gradebooks, and finally full parent access—so schools can adjust without losing critical services.

How teachers, students and families should expect to be affected

For teachers, the biggest short-term impact is learning new screens and workflows. Even small differences in where attendance or grade fields live can slow daily routines at first. The district said training and support will be provided, and it’s common for districts to schedule professional development before the new system becomes the primary tool.

Families should expect a new look when they log into their student portals. That can mean improved navigation for some parents and confusion for others; success depends on clear communication and help resources. Administrators will shoulder data-cleaning work during the migration and may set temporary limits on certain functions (like schedule changes) to protect data integrity.

Data privacy and interoperability are recurring concerns when districts change systems. The announcement highlights standard protections under the JPA contract, but implementation teams will need to verify that privacy settings, student access controls and data connections to other district tools work as intended.

What Hanford’s choice hints at for other California districts

Hanford’s use of the California EdTech JPA and its move to Focus underscores two wider trends: districts want faster, lower-friction procurement paths, and they’re willing to switch core software if it promises easier use for staff and families. For districts watching costs and timelines, the JPA route looks attractive because it reduces legal and administrative overhead.

That said, the real test is execution. Many districts have switched SIS providers before only to face long data-cleaning efforts and training headaches. If Hanford’s rollout goes smoothly, it could encourage nearby districts to consider both Focus and the JPA route. If problems arise, other districts may slow down and inspect migration plans more closely before following suit.

Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels

Sources

• prnewswire.com