Meriden Public Schools, located in central Connecticut, serves 12 schools and three alternative education programs. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, the district relied on ClassLink’s Single Sign-On (SSO) to maintain continuity in learning.
When Meriden Public Schools made the quick switch to remote learning during the COVID-19 school shutdowns, they didn't hit the same roadblocks that left many other districts reeling. Instead, Superintendent Dr. Mark Benigni says the move went smoothly. He attributes a considerable part of that success to the district already having digital content, devices, and ClassLink's Single Sign-On platform.
"As a single sign-on provider, ClassLink helped us avoid a lot of remote learning issues," says Benigni. "This pandemic showed us the importance of going with a single sign-on model and our partnership with ClassLink."
Susan Moore, the district's Supervisor of Blended Learning, says ClassLink’s SSO platform was already the place where all students and teachers went to access digital apps and content. Moore and her colleagues didn't have to worry about whether students and staff would forget numerous usernames and passwords or struggle to find the right URL and miss out on learning.
"Instead of having to send out pages and pages of instructions on where to find apps and content, we basically said "log in to ClassLink," and everyone knew where to go and what to do," explains Benigni.
It was critically important for Benigni that the shutdown wasn't a review period and that learning would continue. He says the district used ClassLink Analytics to share data comparing how often students logged in to ClassLink during traditional learning versus distance learning. They also compared which programs were used most often before the pandemic and how often they were used during remote learning. "I'm happy to report that even throughout distance learning, we have still seen a steady flow of logins to ClassLink and specific programs."
Dr. Benigni says if there's one positive takeaway from this experience, it's that education has moved forward because schools needed to make significant changes quickly. "Digital content is a necessity; devices are a necessity; single sign-on is a necessity. These aren't going to be things that we argue or discuss at length anymore. These are going to be the new norms of education in America." He adds, "Don't underestimate the importance of having a single sign-on vehicle like ClassLink for remote or in-class learning—it's essential."
As a single sign-on provider, ClassLink helped us avoid a lot of remote learning issues. This pandemic showed us the importance of going with a single sign-on model and our partnership with ClassLink.
