If you started right now, how long will it take you to file 5000 reference forms? This is the average number of correspondence received per 1000 applicants.
When a district enables the built-in Document Portal, the School Jobs Portal processes its reference surveys digitally, saving the hundreds of hours spent annually finding applicant folders, recording the reference receipt, and storing the hard copies.
The Portal includes four built-in reference facilities: teaching verification, past employment, recommendations, and education transcripts.
For each previous employer, teaching assignment, professional reference, and school attended, the applicant is presented with a pre-formatted cover letter and reference form. These documents are printed by the applicant and given/mailed to the reference.
Each document is encoded with a unique identifier, making it is easy to find the appropriate applicant. Once recorded, the Portal acknowledges receipt of the reference to the applicant and attaches a virtual copy to his/her application. *Educational transcript requests include cover letter only.
Of course, most districts choose to allow references to respond to the survey online, completely eliminating the paper handling. References that are returned via postal mail can be quickly entered by the district.
Whether received via postal mail or online, negative responses and low scores trigger a "red flag" designation on the application. Click the button and view/print a hard copy with responses as given.