Spring ISD will help middle school students create college plans and chart career goals on smartphones by early next year after the district subscribed to Naviance—a college and career readiness platform similar to an app.

Naviance, a division of Cincinnati-based education technology company Hobsons, is expected to provide students with more access to scholarship information and help empower families to make informed decisions about college, SISD Chief Academic Officer Lupita Hinojosa said.

“We looked for a partnership that would assist us and the district as a whole but, most importantly, the students and their families [who are] starting in middle school and planning for their future,” Hinojosa said.

The SISD board of trustees approved the three-year contract worth nearly $400,000 at a June 11 meeting. The deal includes a performance clause that would allow the district to terminate the contract after one year if its software needs are not met, Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said.

“The three-year [plan will be met] if both parties agree that the relationship is working the way that it should,” Westbrooks said.

SISD expects to begin implementing Naviance in October with a needs assessment study and a staff survey. By winter, Naviance will start importing data from SISD’s in-house servers, and staff will be trained on the platform. Parents and students will be able to download the program by spring of next year, Hinojosa said.

Naviance follows students for six years from the beginning of middle school until they finish high school, Naviance officials said. The platform will allow students and parents to check grades, search for scholarships and rank themselves according to the admission standards of their preferred colleges.

Students  input their strengths and personality types, which the platform then uses to help identify the best colleges and career paths.

Naviance’s scholarship search function also made the platform attractive, Hinojosa said. The function connects students with scholarships that match their interests and qualifications.

Although SISD students received more than $32 million in scholarships last year, Hinojosa said the district hopes to increase that number.

The platform also features a scattergram that displays the admission statistics of the student’s chosen institution. The scattergram will tell students whether their SAT scores land within the range of scores the university typically accepts. 

Board President Ronda Faust said she used a similar tool when applying for law school and said it can be helpful.

“It’s helpful [to create] realistic expectations for students,” Faust said.