stormy day in the IT department.

I manage the on-site school databases for all things student related. Skyward, Pearson Access Next, ACT — if it’s educational and technological in any way shape or form, chances are it will land smack dab in my lap.

It was the start of a new school year and things looked bleak. I’d spent the previous days in Zoom and Webex meetings, prepping for how to do testing in the time of Covid. I’d barely taken a sip of my first cup of coffee when an email crossed my path.

“All student information must be entered in PearsonAccessNext for the fall EOC testing by September 25th or DOOM SHALL BEFALL THEE.”

I looked at my calendar. It was the 18th. A week? “No problem,” I thought, forgetting that thinking such a thing usually leads to disaster and unmitigated horrors you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy.

I had to create the student profiles by hand in Pearson from the student profiles in the Skyward database, a time-consuming, mind-numbing task, but I had coffee and a will to power through so that it wouldn’t be waiting for me on Monday morning.

I got to work. Typing and double-checking every state ID number and birthdate as I went, the hours flew by. Everything seemed to be going fine.

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