Bellevue Christian Schools (BCS) is a school system where parents expect the best. One of the premier private schools in the greater Seattle region, everyone looks to BCS as an educational leader, both inside and outside the classroom.

With the abundance of activities and events taking place at BCS, they needed a perfect solution for school staff, and for the community.

"What we had before Tandem for Schools, just wasn't working" says Terry Foster, Bellevue Christian Assistant to the Athletic and Activity Director. "Our facilities were in constant use, but we had no way of knowing if things were working well, and no efficient way to schedule them.
Before Tandem for Schools, behind-the-scenes rescheduling time lead to frequent double bookings, conflicts and confusion. "We needed a tool to help us keep everything straight, and let our parents, teachers and students know immediately about changes. Tandem for Schools was the solution to our frustrations," according to Foster.

Tandem for Schools allows BCS to schedule facilities months, sometimes a year in advance. "At the end of the year, our administrative team meets together in a room and enters all our events for the next year. With the automatic conflict checking that happens with Tandem for Schools, we can iron out facility and scheduling conflicts immediately and all walk away for the summer, knowing that our schedule is done for next year. Last year, I finally had a summer to enjoy, knowing our schedule was set the following year."

Athletic games were another area of frustration. Before Tandem For Schools, parents were constantly calling the school and athletic office for updates to games or practices. With the temperamental weather in the Seattle area, efficient rescheduling is a necessity, especially during baseball season.

"If you think about it, if we changed one game, then we'd have to communicate this to 15 - 20 players, as well as 40-50 parents. Each of them would call our office asking for the same information. That's more than 50 calls regarding just one game change. Sometimes we would cancel 2-3 games a day. Our office just wasn't equipped to communicate this information quickly enough.

"An additional benefit of using Tandem for Schools is we can quickly request buses and also reallocate them when something changes." With their events, calendar, schedules and transportation all working from the same program, BCS has taken communication and efficiency to a whole new level.

"We have found that our parents check their email 4-5 times a day... but only check their voice mail once or twice. Tandem's automatic email updates have helped our parents stay informed like never before." With Tandem for Schools, administrators are in position to make one change to their calendar, and have the calendar let everyone know immediately of the change; one click, multiple emails. Now, as an administrator, your only job is to keep the calendar current. Everything else takes care of itself.
Want to see what the calendar looks like on Bellevue Christian's website... check it out at http://www.bellevuechristian.org and click on the calendar link off to the left or see their Tandem For Schools calendar here at http://calendar.bellevuechristian.org.