The addition of club sign-ups to Family ID streamlined a previously complicated process, according to Chinese teacher Yixing Lew, the director of clubs at North.

This update connects all parts that are included in running and maintaining a club. Through Family ID, Lew is able to see not only which clubs are running, but also who manages and advises each club.

 Prior to the update, there was no system in place to account for clubs and information, such as who was in them and where they were run, which made it hard to find teachers. According to Lew, students would fill out a Google form in accordance with their club and would then be added to a spreadsheet linked to the school website. 

“Now we can monitor which clubs are actually running and which ones are not,” said Lew, adding that “for the clubs that are not running, either if they still want to run, I can help them recruit more people, and if they do not, I can hide it from Family ID.”

Along with better communication between clubs, families, and directors, the main office is now in coordination with clubs and can understand where money is supposed to go when clubs are running fundraisers.

Clubs require five members to run a club, and clubs that do not have enough members are supported by directors in gaining those members. Lew believes this work in outreach is a beneficial learning moment for club leaders. “It helps student officers practice their leadership by promoting their clubs, learning how to reach out to the student body, and how to organize—all skills that are very important for a club officer,” said Lew.

Lew initiated a change before the strike when teachers were under “work to rule” orders, and there was uncertainty with teachers who may have felt uncomfortable supervising, as they wanted to make sure all clubs were supervised. “We wanted to make sure that we knew which clubs were actually running and which clubs were put on hold due to the ‘work to rule,’” said Lew.

Initially, Lew created a hard copy form called an “advisor form,” which all club leaders needed to fill out. These forms reflected the availability of their advisors, ranging from those who were willing to request a stipend for out-of-hours work to those who did not feel comfortable at the time.

Additionally, Lew, after consultation with councilor Chris Hardiman, the club coordinator at Newton South, realized that there was also a disconnect between families and their students. “Families have no idea where their students are,” said Lew, adding that between weekend fundraising and meetings at odd times, “nobody knows what’s happening.”

During this meeting, Hardiman introduced Lew to the idea of using Family ID, an app that is not new to North due to its use for sports, for clubs at no extra cost. “We can simply add another program called ‘Newton North after-school or extracurricular activities,’” said Lew.