Behind the Cube: Back-to-School Edition
Back-to-school is here — and for many of our team members, that brings a variety of exciting challenges, more opportunities for collaboration with educators, and insights into daily PreK-12 classroom life. For this edition of Behind the Cube, we’re sitting down with one of our colleagues who makes all the moving parts of the back-to-school season at McGraw-Hill possible.
Today’s highlight: Paul Tout, Solution Architect for Texas/Southwest
Can you describe your role at McGraw-Hill?
I am a Solution Architect on the Customer Success team and I help school districts set up Single Sign-On (SSO) and Auto-Rostering integration services for ConnectED and Open Learning Platform. Our objective with these services is to automate the processes of registering an account in our system, logging in, activating digital materials, creating classes, and rostering students. The project starts with an initial call with members of the district Technology and Curriculum teams where we discuss how McGraw-Hill can fit into their digital ecosystem, then we work with the district to configure, test, and launch the integration services.
What does the back-to-school season hold for you? How do you prepare?
For our team, the back-to-school season is extra busy — lots of projects and meetings with school districts. When setting up new integrations, we are often working around summer school sessions, year-to-year rollover, and new class scheduling. The key is to stay organized even when there are numerous projects running at the same time.
What do you think educators need the most to have a strong back-to-school season?
Educators need access to their digital resources on time and without frustration. We want instructor and student accounts to have their materials and classes available on their very first login, with no extra steps needed.
What inspires you about working in the education industry?
I find this work is inspiring because I know it makes a difference for classrooms which use our digital content. It feels rewarding to see the final result of our integration projects — educators and students who are all set up with the materials they need.
For resources and support to help you start the school year with confidence, visit our Back-to-School Preparedness Page.
In addition to program and implementation support, it is our goal to support you on your professional journey as you perfect your craft. Here are just few resources on trending educational topics that you can utilize as you prepare to start the school year.
