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Former New London Teacher's Student Scheduling Software Goes National

Published July 11, 2021

To most educators, an announcement that their school would be implementing a flexible period in the next school term probably wouldn't be a big deal. But to Joseph Connelly, who was teaching chemistry and physics at New London High School, it turned out to be life-changing.

In sensing that it would be difficult to schedule students and keep track of where they were, Connelly taught himself to code so that he could automate their flex periods. The software that was developed to simplify flex period logistics was so efficient that in 2015 it became a business he named Edficiency. James Bacon, Connelly's brother-in-law and business partner, explained, 'Joe was solving the problem that schools had regarding flexible scheduling. Years before this, we had talked about the challenges that educators had trying to schedule a block of time where students could go and spend time with teachers.'

Unlike a study hall, a flextime period is a set time in a student's schedule that provides an opportunity to go someplace different each day. A student might be visiting a teacher for academic support, attending an enrichment session, meeting with an advisor, making up an assignment, participating in extracurricular activities, or opting for a study period.

It can get confusing trying to match the variety of possibilities with where a student will be and when. That's where Oshkosh-based Edficiency comes in.

'Flextime created logistical challenges to make sure that students and teachers knew what their schedules would look like,' Bacon said. 'Our software manages that.'

The system is adaptable and is set up to manage which students can be scheduled with which teachers and which activities are allowed. The requests for time can be entered into the system by midnight the day before, and in the morning, the students and teachers receive an emailed schedule.

'Before this system, a school might have used paper passes or notes or had students checking in at multiple places where they are supposed to be,' Bacon said. 'Tracking that requires a lot of time, and leads to confusion as schools try to figure out whether a student is available or not.'

The system helps schools rethink the way they're using existing time and provide more opportunities for students, Bacon said. Although the pandemic slowed growth to a 20% increase rather than the 50% that had been anticipated, the software is being adopted by schools throughout the country. The research says that it's working.

In a recent survey, 94% of staff and 93% of students reported the software was easy to use. A total of 83% of users believed it led to an increase in student achievement.

For Bacon and Connelly, the results aren't surprising. Both are seasoned educators with master's degrees. Bacon started his career as a math teacher before becoming a coach to teachers in grades K-12 in several southern states, and then went on to teach, consult, and help rebuild schools in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Nepal.

Connelly served in the Army National Guard and did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq before transitioning to education. He said his time in the military provided life lessons that encouraged entrepreneurship.

'During a pretty intense combat driving course, I was taught never to look directly at the obstacles I was trying to avoid,' he said. 'More often than not, you steer toward where you stare, meaning if you focus on the obstacle, then you're more likely to hit it. I think this applies to entrepreneurship in that the hardest thing to do is to avoid the pitfalls. You need to be aware of the hazards, but to be successful, you can't afford to be distracted or overly focused on them. Pick your path, swerve when you have to, but keep your eye on the goal.'

Their business goals may have been slowed by the pandemic, but they feel that they are getting right back on track. Bacon, a past volunteer with SCORE who earned his master's degree in educational entrepreneurship, said that everything they do is a constant learning experience and informs what they'll do moving forward.

Connelly is the big picture person, and Bacon focuses on marketing, sales, and customer service. By trial and error, Bacon discovered that most advertising reaches too broad of an audience. His marketing program now consists of participation at educational conferences, cold outreach to schools in the largest metros in the country, Facebook groups, and LinkedIn.

And with a growing number of satisfied customers, word-of-mouth has had a substantial impact on growth. Since the majority of decisions to purchase software are made before school starts in the fall, this is a particularly busy time. Bacon spends a big part of most days doing demos and promoting the benefits of Edficiency.

'Right now, more than ever, we want to grow and impact more schools and kids, but not be invasive at a time when schools have a lot coming at them (because of the pandemic),' he said. 'We are happy knowing that we have a great product that gives schools the ability to do things they couldn't otherwise do.'

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and Past District Director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

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Green Bay Press-Gazette

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