Our Customers July 10, 2013 Kristie

Meet Libby Flores, Client Services Manager and Smile Activist

Learning the English language can be complicated with all the “there” “their” and “they’re”s and exceptions to the rule. Luckily there are teachers that are trained to unclutter the complication of which “which” or “witch” to use. E.L Achieve works in partnership with school districts and charter schools. They employ a district capacity-building model that initially provides intensive services, support, and guidance, while preparing district, school, and teacher leaders to take charge of their improvement process.  Client Services manager, Libby Flores was happy to tell us about how Daylite has helped everyone at E.L. Achieve.

Marketcircle: Could you briefly describe your business?

Libby Flores: It is well-documented that there is a significant gap between the English language knowledge many English learners possess and what they need to succeed academically. Yet educators rarely receive the support they need to provide explicit instruction in advanced uses of English to help students express complex thinking. Closing this language gap is the focus of E.L. Achieve’s work through its initiatives: Systematic ELD and Constructing Meaning.

MC: Who are your typical customers?

LF:  We work with district leaders, site administrators, and classroom teachers as they gain the skills, knowledge, and tools to be solidly prepared to ensure sustainable English learner academic achievement. We work with public Kindergarten through Grade 12 school districts across the United States. This includes Alaska, Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois, and Rhode Island.

MC: What do you do better than anybody else?

LF: Systematic ELD provides a time for English learners to learn and practice language they need in order to navigate rigorous content instruction and a myriad of adult and peer interactions, such as discussions and collaborative work. Constructing Meaning offers an accelerated approach to instruction that emphasizes both academic English and critical literacy skills, thereby supporting English learners in acquiring the analytical language necessary to meet the demands of the Common Core. Constructing Meaning provides teachers with the process and tools for weaving explicit language instruction into content area teaching.

MC: How long have you been using Daylite?

LF: We’ve been using Daylite since December of 2011.

MC: In that time, how have you grown to depend on Daylite and what problems has it helped you solve?

LF: We use Daylite to collect and organize information from the numerous school districts we work with and those who have inquired about our services or materials. We also use Daylite to manage projects and to coordinate all of our team’s various schedules. Daylite is an invaluable program to our business. It is a way for us to make numerous connections between all of the people and school districts that we serve. Daylite streamlines our workflow especially because we have employees in northern and southern California, Oregon, Montana, and Kansas. Daylite is a logical way for us to maintain effective communication  among our team and with our districts.

MC: Besides Daylite what other apps or software do you use regularly?

LF: We are a Mac based company and thankfully Daylite syncs with iCal! The Daylite Mail Assistant is a component of Mac Mail that we use regularly. DMA is extremely helpful and the plug-in makes it easy to link correspondence to districts, individuals, or projects in Daylite.

MC: What is your favourite time saver in Daylite?

LF: I truly appreciate the task features, bulk edit, and smart lists. We have numerous tasks, pipelines, and activity sets that are incorporated into our projects. By utilizing the task feature in Daylite, I’m able to add priority tasks to my worklist to ensure they are at the top of my ‘to-do’ list for the day/week. This helps me systematically add some continuity to what I need to accomplish each day.

MC: How has the iPad or iPhone revolutionized the way you do business?

LF: Being a virtual company and for those of us who travel extensively, having an iPad and/or an iPhone is a must. Many of us travel frequently to different school districts and seminars across the U.S. Having Daylite Touch as an option on our iPhone and/or iPad provides us with an easy way to stay in touch and on track with projects. I’m able to update projects and tasks in real time without having to pull out my laptop. I’m able to more effectively and more quickly respond to internal or external clients’ questions when I’m travelling or if a colleague is traveling.

MC: What would you like to learn more about in relation to Daylite?

LF: I’d like to learn more about linking our online registration database with Daylite.

MC: What is the next step in your company’s growth?

LF: E.L. Achieve’s overarching goal is to provide teachers and administrators with knowledge, skills, and tools to equip English learners with the language they need to express the sophistication of their thinking for real life and academic purposes. Our mission is to assist educators in equipping English learners for academic achievement.  As a company we work diligently each day to accomplish these goals. We continue to expand our services with partner districts in new states.

MC: How have we had the opportunity to help you with Daylite?

LF: We needed help with building templates in Daylite that captured specific district information for us. Marketcircle put me in contact with Eric O’Connell from Mozaic Services & Solutions who was able to build those templates for us. It was extremely helpful. I set up a meeting with Eric months later who was able to walk me through building projects in Daylite and how to use activity sets and pipelines. He was very helpful with teaching me the ins and outs of using the project feature. Carolyn Evans at Marketcircle is always extremely helpful and is always able to provide support when a question arises.

MC: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

LF: Always smile while you talk! 🙂

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