Blackbaud is Saint Viator’s new school system, which is used for grades, submitting and assigning homework, attendance, business and more. This is the first year the school has used this system. There are many benefits to the switch to Blackbaud.

“The old system that we had was outdated and we stretched its capacity,” said Principal Mrs. Karen Love.

In the past, there was no way to submit assignments all in one place, and there was a different method for every class, which could be stressful for the students. With Blackbaud, students are able to submit assignments from different classes all in one place.

“We wanted it to be a common system, regardless of what class or teacher a student had,” said Mrs. Love.
Students seem to enjoy this feature so far.

“It’s easy to use and easy to adjust to,” said freshman Cecelia Whelan.

One of the few complaints students had was about learning to submit assignments through Blackbaud.

“Submitting homework through Blackbaud can be difficult at times, but I’m getting used to it,” said freshman Sean Wilson.

Since some teachers are not used to Blackbaud, they use it less than other teachers.

“Turning things in can be complicated especially since some teachers don’t use it as much,” said Garrett LaFleur, freshman.

Fortunately, Blackbaud will eventually be the main place to submit assignments for every class.

Another popular inconvenience of the website was the amount of times the students had to sign in.

“I don’t like how you have to log in every single time you use Blackbaud,” said freshman Brooke Cwick.

Since Blackbaud is so new to everyone, there are little flaws, but there are more beneficial aspects to the system.

“You just have to be patient because eventually we’ll all get there and everyone will be very familiar with it,” said Mrs. Love. “People move at different speeds.”

Blackbaud is overall an effective system so far, since it’s a common system and everything a student needs is right there.

“We’re in the process of creating videos for students, parents, and faculty, so that they can go to the resource pages if they are not exactly sure how to do something,” Mrs. Love said. “These videos will be available for everyone to access. In the future, everything will be easier and students and teachers will be able to navigate the website with no trouble.”