Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Team spotlight: The rhythm of excellence

October 5, 2025 9:32 AM

Behind an unassuming wooden door in the Spring Branch ISD (SBISD) central administration building, a team of employees works hard every day to keep the district’s information systems running smoothly.

Inside, there are the sounds of a busy office with phones ringing, the clicks of keyboards, and the churn of a high-capacity printer collating report cards by the Student Information Systems (SIS) team, which manages the student data system. This vast network of electronic connections supports the efficient flow of work and information across multiple facets of SBISD.

“A phrase we use in our area is, ‘All roads lead to the SIS,’” said Denis Blais, manager of the SIS team and former assistant principal. “I had no idea, while on a campus, just how much impact the Student Information Systems (SIS) team has. We directly impact all users in the system: the board of trustees, central office staff, administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members. It is pretty remarkable to connect all of these users during a school year.”

Sighs of relief

Each night, information created from school operations is updated and integrated with other systems and applications across the district so vital information is ready for instruction and district operations the next day.

When the unexpected occurs—and it does—the SIS team springs into action with calm, reason, and determination to diagnose and solve problems, knowing their work restores order and sighs of relief in offices across SBISD, ultimately impacting student learning.

“One of the most satisfying aspects of my work is being able to solve problems and help others—whether it’s assisting a colleague with a technical issue or improving the way a system works for users across the district,” said team member Azucena Bailon, a 2004 graduate of Spring Woods High School. “I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from seeing a task through from start to finish, especially when it positively impacts staff or students.”

Other duties

Not only does the SIS team focus daily on accurate data management, but they are also called upon to create forms that parents complete to input information into the student data system. This requires quality assurance testing to ensure the data is captured and formatted correctly as well as available in multiple languages.

They frequently run reports from the student data system to create clear pictures of data trends that help with planning, budgeting, instruction adjustments, tracking volunteer hours, and much more. Critical district decisions are based on the reports the team provides.

Whenever a department seeks to use a new application, the SIS team helps with the myriad technical details required to integrate the new system with the student data system as well as ensuring sensitive student information is kept confidential.

Training campus personnel who interact with the student data system is another key service. The professional connections built during these ongoing sessions also give campus staff a friendly contact in the department when they have questions or concerns.

“Sometimes we get calls for questions that are not related to the student data system,” said Blais. “Our job is to triage these calls and get people the help they need at that time.”

Contributing to excellence

The SIS team’s institutional knowledge is impressive. With nearly 100 years of collective experience, they work together to solve almost any problem. Making sure everyone in the SBISD community has what they need for organizational excellence brings satisfaction to team members, who rely on each other to provide outstanding customer service.

“In addition to supporting others in the district, we also do a great job of supporting each other,” said Cody Wallace, a team member for 16 years.

“Every week is full of examples of how the individuals in this team are always ready to lend each other a helping hand to make sure no one is facing a problem alone,” said Minh Luong, an 11-year SIS employee.

Rollover successes

Each summer, the SIS team is responsible for rolling over student records for the new school year. This monumental task must be executed with precision so students are ready to take their next academic steps and have access to the right resources with minimal interruptions.

“We strive during summer to ensure that when students and teachers arrive for the start of school, they can focus 100 percent on their academics to succeed and flourish,” said Luong.

Accomplishing a successful summer rollover is an all-hands-on-deck effort, according to team member Monica Villegas, a 12-year SBISD employee. She knows firsthand what campus teams need and expect, having previously served as a receptionist and registrar at Memorial Middle School.

“We held regular meetings, tracked progress, and troubleshot any issues,” Villegas said of the summer rollover process. “The process was very stressful, but as a team we worked together, and it was a great satisfaction seeing everything function correctly for the new school year.”

One year, a hurricane and subsequent power outage made the rollover especially challenging. “The loss of work time led to the challenge of finishing up summer school and rolling the student data system over to the new school year in a very short amount of time,” said Wallace. “Through our team’s expertise, professionalism, and cohesiveness, we were able to meet this sudden challenge.”