Qmlativ Migration

Qmlativ is the latest iteration of Skyward SMS, an information system Lake Stevens uses for data management of student, staff and financial information, grades, scheduling, attendance, and all business services. Skyward SMS allows for the creation of reports our schools and departments rely on, while also offering important internal uses like payroll, tracking time off, billing and invoice payments, and numerous other uses. Nearly every staff member in Lake Stevens School District utilizes this system as part of their work each day, and some staff members in our school offices and central office use the tool multiple times per day.

Technology evolves to meet our emerging needs. The operating system that runs Skyward SMS is becoming outdated and impossible to upgrade. Qmlativ is the latest in an intuitive, user-friendly design to access our student, human resource and business data. Qmlativ is a powerful and flexible system that provides faster and more efficient processing and performance.

The transition to Qmlativ began in March 2024 and is ramping up as we prepare for an April 2025 launch. Skyward SMS is being phased out for Qmlativ, requiring the district to migrate clean, high quality, and accurate data. Multiple departments in the central office have conducted regular meetings, begun data preparations and training for the new system.

April 14, 2025. A detailed timeline is provided below.

“Dark Days” refers to the period during migration when Skyward and Qmlativ will not be available. This signifies the final stages of the migration process and is expected to occur from April 3, 2025 through April 11, 2025.

• April 2, 2025 - Skyward database is locked at 2 p.m.
• April 3-4, 2025 - No access to Skyward or Qmlativ
• April 7-11, 2025 - TLA is available for training and discovery
• April 9-11, 2025 - Data validation and post-migration configurations. 
• April 11, 2025 - Business & Student Handover (8 a.m., 5 p.m. respectively)
• April 14, 2025 - Anticipated “go live” date for Qmlativ.

Yes.

• On April 2, 2025, 2 p.m. Family Student Access will be locked.
• On April 2, 2025, attendance alerts generated by Skyward and sent through Blackboard will be temporarily unavailable. Low balance alerts for food service accounts will also be temporarily unavailable.
• On April 3, 2025, InTouch will be locked.
• On the morning of April 3, 2025, the existing Skyward Mobile app will be unavailable.
• There is no school in Lake Stevens on April 7-11, for Spring Break.

In addition, during the “Dark Days” period, all attendance entries, account balance adjustments, changes to new and existing student information and fee tracking will be updated approximately two-to-three weeks after Qmlativ goes live.

Skyward is phasing out their SMS 2.0 student, financial and human resources management system and migrating school districts over to the Qmlativ platform in select cohorts. Districts are migrated generally in April or during the summer and several factors go into determining when districts will begin their migration work. In partnership with NWRDC (Northwest Regional Data Center), our software support team, Lake Stevens will be migrating in April 2025.

The project team consulted with NWRDC to determine the best migration time for Lake Stevens. When weighing all the information, analyzing what steps would need to be taken and assessing the potential migration timelines available, the decision to migrate sooner, rather than later, fit with the district’s plans in moving to Qmlativ.

When NWRDC is working with districts on a migration plan, they consider the size of the district they are working with, the software support team’s schedule and capacity to provide necessary support to migrating districts, as well as the impact on district processes (i.e., payroll, grading, student data, employee information, etc.). Districts also make internal plans to best assess when they will be prepared and best equipped to move forward with migration. Lake Stevens began planning this migration in the Spring of 2024 and were added to the April 2025 cohort by NWRDC when all factors were considered.

A mobile app will be available. We will provide instructions for updating the mobile app once Qmlativ goes live after April 14, 2025.

This is a district-wide migration for a far-reaching tool impacting all staff. Staff are expected to complete their required self-paced training during their contracted day or as part of their responsibility pay.

Users with the greatest level of access across the system have the greatest amount of training materials to review. All training has been self-paced through the Knowledge Hub/Professional Development Center (PDC). Kristi Morrow and IT staff are preparing to provide additional teacher support as needed prior to and after migration, while Business Services staff are preparing to do the same for all business functions.

Two important things you can do at your earliest convenience:

• Make sure your student’s health and contact information is accurate and current.
• Check Skyward Family Access and make sure your contact and emergency contact information is accurate and current.

To update your student’s information, please contact your school’s registrar prior to April 1, 2025.

For now, there will be no changes.

In April 2025, Skyward SMS will go dark for approximately one week, as the database goes through the Data Migration Tool. During this time, Skyward SMS will be inaccessible to everyone, except those on the Qmlativ Migration Team. When Qmlativ is launched, the parent/guardian experience should be seamless, with information available to parents/guardians just as before, existing within a new interface and platform.

Lake Stevens staff can use the IT Help Desk for any questions or issues throughout the migration.

Families with questions regarding the Qmlativ migration, can email qmlativ@lkstevens.wednet.edu.

For those contracted to work between April 3-4 and need:

Student Information

• Paper enrollment for new students
• Cum File for reference
• Sim Scans for attendance (April 2 - LSHS & Cav must take attendance before 1:58 p.m.) 
• Homeroom Premium
• Counselors to run a Load Analysis report before April 2 at 2 p.m.
• New students enrolled on April 3-4 will not be loaded into Mealtime until the day after go-live
• Nurses will do paper charting for office visits & medication administration

Business Activities

• All system work should be completed before 2 p.m. on April 2.
• For most staff, they will be on spring break and not expected to work.
• Skyward SMS will be available for viewing and reporting on April 7.