Frona Tenuta from the Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin has been a fixture at the Skyward National Conference.  Tenuta has attended all five conferences and will be at the 2008 conference which will be held March 13-14 at the Embassy Suites International Airport in Dallas, Texas. 
 
The conference is an interactive event providing access to the latest information about the leading K-12 software in the industry along with one-on-one interaction with Skyward executives. Over 50 sessions, presented by knowledgeable Skyward professionals and district officials, provide the tools necessary to improve state reporting and information management, create a more efficient district, and get parents as well as the entire community involved in student’s education.
 
Tenuta is the Information Systems Specialist/Analyst for the Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin, with her primary responsibility being to support Skyward.  Along with four others, Tenuta makes up what she calls the “Skyward team for the district.”  Her team supports the software and other student modules.
 
In addition to her duties with Racine Unified School District, Tenuta also serves on the Wisconsin Steering Committee.  Currently, Tenuta is the Vice President of the Wisconsin Steering Committee and will become President in April 2008.  Tenuta is also the chair of the Request for Enhancement (RFE) sub-committee which manages reviewing and voting on submitted RFE’s, and is also on the Liaison and Meals Reservations sub-committees. 
 
The Skyward National Conference has helped Tenuta to implement the new ideas and concepts that benefit her district and end users.  The conference has been an opportunity for her to attend sessions and obtain ideas of how other states use the software in their district and how she can implement those ideas in her own.
 
Tenuta has seen a growth and change from the first Skyward National Conference.  “The first conference was new and what was offered for sessions was in its infancy,” said Tenuta, “As the software has grown so have the different sessions that are offered.” Over the next five years, sessions expanded into new and different areas of the software, creating a great place for education professionals to learn all that Skyward has to offer.
 
When asked what she felt was the most valuable concept she said, “The camaraderie and exchange of information.  You learn so much in the sessions, but you also get the benefit of the feedback from other users.”  By getting to know other state users at the National conference, Tenuta finds out how they use the software. Tenuta feels comfortable discussing how her Texas contacts meet No Child Left Behind requirements versus Wisconsin.
 
One story sticks out to Tenuta regarding how the conference has helped her school district.  She was looking for a report that combined test scores, grades and demographic information for students transferring from elementary to middle school, or middle school to high school.  Attending one session on the Student Assessment module was all it took.  She came back to her district and set up the module and prepared the reports for her principal, who was very pleased with the results.  All of the information needed for scheduling students for the upcoming years was now available in a single report.
 
Tenuta is looking forward to learning about all of the new features and information she can bring back and implement in her district at the 2008 Skyward National Conference.  With her and everyone having such hectic schedules, not everyone has time to review what new features Skyward is offering.  As Tenuta said, “At the conference you can sit back and learn all there is to know about using Skyward in your district.”