The New Hampshire School Administrators Association + Rhythm

NHSAA, the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, seeks to be a credible, trustworthy voice of educational leadership in the state of New Hampshire. Their mission is to create an exceptional, equitable, and comprehensive education experience for all of their public-school students. 

By offering a highly curated selection of courses and seminars for their members, NHSAA is making sure school administrators have access to the professional development and training opportunities they need for success. NHSAA’s members include superintendents of schools, assistant superintendents, school business officials, special education directors, curriculum coordinators and more.

We spoke with Kymra Kurinskas, the Events and Marketing Manager, to learn more about how NHSAA has been able to better serve their members since switching to Rhythm. Kymra ensures that all the details are in order for her association’s annual events. She books facilities, organizes logistics, manages registrations, and sets up the events within Rhythm. Another big piece of her work is vetting NHSAA’s partners so that members have access to an up-to-date directory of recommended providers. So, let’s jump into the story.

The Problem We Needed to Solve

The New Hampshire School Administrators Association had just switched AMS providers when Kymra joined the team in July of 2019. Only a few months passed before NHSAA’s staff realized their new provider was not going to work - it was much too archaic and rigid to serve their members and function properly for the team. It wasn’t long before NHSAA had to make another switch to a provider that promised them a better experience. 

Throughout implementation, Kymra and her colleagues struggled to follow the trainings that were provided to them. Learning sessions were not comprehensive or parceled out in a consumable way, creating a large knowledge gap for NHSAA’s team once they went live.

After go-live, the support experience left much to be desired. When Kymra would reach out for help, responses from the new provider were delayed or nonexistent. If support did agree to meet, it was clear that their time would come with an additional price tag. After 6 months using the system, the team at NHSAA felt like they were still in the dark - and their largest, most complex annual event was on the horizon.

After multiple requests for help with no progress being made, Kymra was forced to purchase a third-party event planning software just to host the annual event.

This was a turning point. Again, NHSAA had been overpromised and underdelivered. Staff approached Dr. Carl Ladd, NHSAA’s Executive Director, and explained the situation. The poor training and support left NHSAA no other choice: they needed to resume their search and look for a new AMS provider. 

Big Wins for NHSAA

With Rhythm as their AMS provider, NHSAA was able to host their annual Christa McAuliffe tech conference without purchasing any additional event management software. The conference is very complex, and it has some unique setup requirements to go along with it. Thankfully, Rhythm’s Events app was built with flexibility and configurability in mind - with some help from support, Kymra and her team were able to get everything up and running.

Events are a big deal for associations, so it’s no surprise that a lot of NHSAA’s successes involve them. Every year NHSAA offers season tickets for purchase, giving members access to a number of conferences. Rhythm support helped Kymra create logic to identify which members were season ticket holders so that the system would automatically remove the registration fees for them (since they pay at the beginning of the year). This gives members a better experience, while still tracking the data Kymra needs to chart profit and loss.

Rhythm’s Queries functionality has been another big win for NHSAA. Coming from a provider with an incomplete and difficult-to-use reporting system, Kymra appreciates how easy it is to pull lists of data using queries. Reporting is an essential part of her team’s daily operations, so she can get everyone the data they need without the hassle.

Alysaa LaFoe, the executive assistant at NHSAA, says “Rhythm’s invoicing system has been a huge win for us. I really enjoy how easy it is to find invoices, navigate the invoice system, and see all outstanding invoices that need to be paid. I can also click on the SAU’s and view all of the invoices that everyone in that district still owes. This has been a major help to our organization and has made invoicing much easier.”

While we love shiny new features, it’s even better to hear customers tell us about the simple, everyday ways Rhythm is making their jobs easier.

What's on the Horizon?

We’ve heard from education-based associations across the board about one common challenge: educators are burnt out. Superintendents are retiring at a rate nobody has ever seen - or they’re changing professions altogether. In an effort to keep great administrators in the system longer, NHSAA is doing their part to ensure educators have the tools and support they need for long-term professional success.

Within the first quarter of 2022, Kymra wants to clone and configure all of NHSAA’s events for the rest of the year. Then, she plans to create QR codes with the registration link for each event so that superintendents, staff, parents, and other members can easily sign up via their mobile device. She anticipates a nice jump in registration numbers - and because event setup is more streamlined and automated in Rhythm, she has extra time to develop creative strategies like this one!