Manager of Student Information Systems (SIS) & State Reporting
Description
Organization Overview
Excel Academy is a network of 5 schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that prepares students in grades 5-12 to succeed in high school and college and engage productively in their communities. The majority of our 1,700 students identify as Latinx or Hispanic and will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Families choose Excel because our students consistently outperform their peers in growth and achievement and are 5x more likely to graduate from college.
At Excel, we believe that every student—regardless of race, zip code, or economic status - deserves access to a free, high quality holistic education. During their middle school journey with us, students grow at a pace faster than most peers in their state. This is possible through a combination of high expectations, rigorous instruction, and individualized support. At our nationally ranked high school, students achieve at the highest level and are poised for success in their chosen college or career path.
About our Team
Everyday, our team members choose to be positive, drive their own growth, uplift one another, and hold the highest possible beliefs for what students can achieve.
About the Role
Excel Academy is seeking a highly organized, systems-oriented problem solver to serve as our Manager of Student Information Systems & State Reporting. This role owns the systems, processes, and projects that ensure student data is accurate, accessible, compliant, and useful across Excel Academy's Massachusetts and Rhode Island schools.
The Manager serves as the network's primary owner of our student information systems and related data ecosystem, including PowerSchool, DeansList, Clever, state reporting systems, and associated integrations. The Manager also owns state and federal student data reporting, leads systems-related projects, and partners closely with school Operations teams, academic leaders, Technology, and other network teams to ensure our systems effectively support schools.
Starting Salary & Start Date: $70,000 - $95,000 commensurate with experience. The ideal candidate would start as soon as possible.
Your Impact
Student Information Systems Ownership & Administration
- Serve as the primary network owner and administrator of PowerSchool, DeansList, Clever, SWIPE, and related student information systems and integrations, ensuring systems are accurately configured and operate reliably for school and network users.
- Manage system configuration and business rules related to enrollment, attendance, course catalogs, sections, scheduling, grading, staff and student records, and other core school processes.
- Partner with academic and operational stakeholders to ensure PowerSchool and related systems accurately reflect Excel's academic policies, operational practices, and reporting requirements.
- Manage user setup, permissions, workflows, system customizations, and ongoing system maintenance.
- Lead annual system setup, rollover, scheduling, closeout, and other recurring system lifecycle processes.
- Lead the research, requirements gathering, design, testing, and implementation of new SIS features, customizations, integrations, and add-on modules.
- Identify opportunities to improve or automate existing processes and implement solutions that increase accuracy, reliability, and efficiency.
Data Integrations & System Reliability
- Own the integrity of data flowing between PowerSchool and connected systems, including but not limited to DeansList, Clever, LittleSIS, and state reporting platforms.
- Manage and monitor recurring imports, exports, rostering processes, automated data exchanges, and other integrations.
- Proactively identify data discrepancies, failed integrations, configuration problems, and other system issues before they significantly affect schools or reporting.
- Troubleshoot complex data and systems problems, identify root causes, and coordinate with vendors, technology staff, and other partners to drive issues through resolution.
- Maintain clear documentation of integrations, system configurations, business rules, dependencies, and recurring processes.
State & Federal Reporting and Compliance
- Own the accurate and timely collection, validation, submission, and certification of required student, staff, and school data for Massachusetts and Rhode Island state and federal reporting, including TCS, EPIMS, CRDC, SCS, and other required submissions.
- Maintain a comprehensive annual reporting calendar with clear deadlines, dependencies, internal milestones, and quality-control processes.Monitor changes to state and federal reporting requirements and translate new guidance into clear systems requirements and operational processes.
- Partner with school and network teams to ensure source data is complete and accurate well in advance of reporting deadlines.
- Conduct proactive data-quality reviews and resolve discrepancies before submissions.
- Manage corrections, resubmissions, and follow-up with state agencies as necessary.
- Maintain appropriate documentation and audit trails and serve as Excel's internal subject-matter expert on student-data reporting requirements.
Systems Projects & Vendor Management
- Lead cross-functional projects involving student systems, data, reporting, and related operational processes from initial problem definition through implementation and follow-up.
- Translate academic, operational, compliance, and school needs into clear system requirements and implementation plans.
- Manage projects involving multiple stakeholders, systems, vendors, and deadlines, ensuring clear ownership and consistent communication throughout.
- Lead the evaluation and selection of student information system products, modules, and related tools in partnership with Technology and organizational leadership.
- Manage SIS-related vendor relationships, contracts, renewals, and budgets, including escalating service or technical issues when necessary.
- Coordinate testing and change management for significant system changes before deployment to schools.
School Support, Training & Process Development
- Serve as the primary escalation point for school Operations teams for questions, reporting requests, customization needs, and technical problems within the student information system ecosystem.
- Provide responsive Tier 2 support, taking ownership of complex problems and ensuring issues are driven through resolution.
- Partner closely with school Deans of Operations to ensure student information systems operate in ways that support Excel's mission, culture, academic program, and day-to-day school operations.
- Develop and maintain clear standard operating procedures for school-based processes including attendance, enrollment, course catalogs, sections, scheduling, grading, and other SIS-dependent workflows.
- Develop high-quality training resources that are precise, practical, and designed around the needs of end users.
- Train school Operations staff and other users on systems, processes, and changes.
- Build school teams' capacity to resolve routine issues independently while providing timely support when issues require network-level expertise.
What Success Looks Like
The Manager of Student Information Systems & State Reporting will build an environment in which:
- State and federal reporting is accurate, timely, well-documented, and proactively managed.
- PowerSchool, DeansList, Clever, and connected student systems have clear and reliable ownership.
- School teams receive responsive, knowledgeable support when systems problems affect their work.
- Data integrations are understood, documented, monitored, and proactively maintained.
- Systems and reporting issues are identified early rather than discovered at critical deadlines.
- Recurring processes have clear calendars, SOPs, ownership, and quality controls.
- Systems problems are investigated to their root cause rather than repeatedly patched.
- School and network leaders can trust the accuracy and reliability of student information and the systems that support it.
Qualifications
Required
- Ability to travel between campuses in Massachusetts in Rhode Island (all travel is reimbursed).
- At least 3–5 years of relevant experience in K–12 education, student information systems, school operations, data management, state reporting, or a related field.
- Significant experience working with a student information system such as PowerSchool.
- Strong systems thinking and demonstrated ability to diagnose complex problems, identify root causes, and drive solutions through completion.
- Strong project-management skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple recurring deadlines and longer-term projects simultaneously.
- Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
- Ability to understand how data moves between systems and quickly learn new technical platforms and processes.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical or compliance requirements into clear guidance for nontechnical colleagues.
- Strong customer-service orientation and demonstrated responsiveness to the needs of school-based users.
- Ability to work independently, prioritize competing needs, and proactively identify work that needs to be completed.
Preferred
- Experience administering PowerSchool, including enrollment, scheduling, attendance, grading, permissions, reporting, and system configuration.
- Experience with DeansList, Clever, LittleSIS, or comparable K–12 platforms.
- Experience completing state student-data reporting, particularly in Massachusetts and/or Rhode Island.
- Familiarity with K–12 data integrations, APIs, SFTP, SIF, automated imports/exports, or similar methods of exchanging data between systems.
- Experience working in a charter school, school district, or K–12 network.
- Experience leading system implementations, developing SOPs, and training end users.
Mission Alignment
- You share a commitment to and belief in all students and the mission of Excel Academy Charter Schools, including Excel’s values and educational model;
- You are committed to addressing racial and economic inequity in education;
- You work effectively in a team environment and have a willingness and desire to support others in doing their best work; and
- You are open to change, are willing to problem-solve, and seek feedback for your own professional growth and improvement.
Preference will be given to applicants who share points of intersection with our students, such as speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, or a language commonly spoken by our students and families at an advanced level, being first generation college graduates, or having grown up low-income.
Excel Academy Charter Schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language or prior academic achievement.
Applications will be reviewed as they are received and candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.