Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) in Stockton, California, serves more than 40,000 students across 54 schools. As the fifteenth largest K-12 district in California, Stockton faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring rapid deployment and management of resources to facilitate remote learning.

The Challenge

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close abruptly, SUSD had to quickly transition to distance learning. This required distributing Chromebooks to students who had previously only used them in classrooms. MaryAnn K. Pafford, District Librarian, noted the initial chaos: “We went on Spring Break and never came back.”

The district had sufficient Chromebooks for all students, but they were stored in classroom carts, creating a logistical challenge for distribution. “These had to be torn apart in a mad rush. It was all hands on deck as cafeteria workers, teachers, security guards, counselors, administrators, library assistants, and custodians all jumped in to make this happen,” Pafford explained.

Beyond distributing Chromebooks, the district needed a system to track and manage the devices once they were sent home.

The Solution

SUSD had been a Follett customer for 15 years, using Follett Destiny® Library Manager and later Destiny Resource Manager. Recognizing the capabilities of Destiny Resource Manager, Pafford saw it as the solution for their current challenge. “Destiny Resource Manager was the obvious solution in my mind, as it is what we already use,” she said.

Time was critical, and with Follett’s support, the district quickly added all Chromebooks into Destiny Resource Manager. “Several amazing employees worked long and hard hours to help us,” Pafford noted. “Within a week, we had more than 40,000 Chromebooks uploaded and enough training in place.”

The district team, with support from Follett, positioned themselves in front of schools to distribute the laptops while using Destiny Resource Manager for tracking. “The police came out to support us, and we had some parents waiting in line for as long as two hours to get devices for their students,” Pafford said. Most of the inventory was checked out in the first 10 distribution days across 50 sites.

The Results

Destiny Resource Manager helped SUSD navigate the pandemic’s challenges by providing a comprehensive view of district assets. “Having a bird’s eye view of the entire district’s assets was a powerful tool for our leadership team as we were also learning how to work remotely,” Pafford said. The system enabled digital sharing of reports, helping administrators track distributed devices and identify students still in need.

The district used Destiny Resource Manager to efficiently manage the distribution of 40,000 hot spots, webcams, and amplifying systems for teachers, ensuring equitable access to digital learning tools. “Hot spots were in homes nearly immediately,” Pafford noted.

The system also proved beneficial in monitoring lost and broken devices. “Destiny Resource Manager is helping us monitor lost and broken devices. In the future, we will have real data telling us what is usable, repairable, obsolete, or lost. This will change our purchasing habits for the better,” Pafford said. The system’s tracking capabilities also helped recover textbooks that were not returned due to COVID-19 disruptions.

An unexpected benefit was the cost savings on hot spot service plans. Destiny Resource Manager enabled the district to cross-reference active hot spots, ensuring they were not overcharged by service providers. “This holds not only the patron accountable, but sites as well,” Pafford explained.

Customer Service Above and Beyond

Follett provided extensive support, adding barcodes and security strips before shipping, which was a significant time saver for the district. “Follett goes above and beyond their role to make sure things are done right,” Pafford emphasized. “Customer service is so important, and Follett has been a great partner.”

Pafford highlighted the collaborative effort: “We all were working 12-hour days and had 40,000 students who needed access to their education. Follett provided additional team members to upload things for us when we didn’t have enough time to do it. They helped us create solutions to what we needed to happen quickly and easily for our sites and patrons.”

Despite the unprecedented challenges, the dedication of the SUSD team and the support from Follett ensured that students had the tools they needed for remote learning. “So many good things have come out of this tough situation,” Pafford concluded.

For more information on how Follett Software can support your district, visit Follett Software.