Fast, Compliant, and Paper-Free: How Northampton Area School District Reinvented Onboarding

Before Frontline	After Frontline
Manual, paper-based onboarding led to delays and lost documentation.	Digitized onboarding with electronic forms and checklists saves time and prevents errors.
Compliance risks due to disorganized, decentralized clearance tracking.	Real-time tracking ensures all clearances and documents are complete and compliant.
Onboarding volunteers and coaches was chaotic and email dependent.	Centralized system with tailored workflows creates structure and builds accountability.

In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Northampton Area School District (NASD) found themselves at a crossroads. Their small HR team was juggling the needs of nearly 900 staff members — teachers, volunteers, coaches, and subcontractors — all while relying on outdated paper processes. The result was a hiring system that was time-consuming, error-prone, and increasingly unsustainable. 

What followed was a transformation. By adopting Frontline Recruiting & Hiring and Frontline Central, NASD made the leap to modern, digital HR workflows. The shift empowered their team to work more efficiently, meet compliance requirements with confidence, and give every new hire a better experience. 

Background: A Small Team with Big Responsibilities 

NASD enrolls about 5,000 students and employs close to 900 staff members, including a rotating cast of volunteers and seasonal coaches. Megan Repsher, Administrative Assistant to the HR Director, manages onboarding for them all. “I onboard all of our permanent employees, as well as volunteers, athletic coaches, and subcontracted employees.” 

Each of those hires comes with a set of documentation that must be gathered, verified, and approved, which is required before an employee can begin work. “I’m the last stop. you need to make sure all this information is received, confirmed, and approved so they can actually start their position on their expected start date,” she said. 

Before Frontline, this process relied heavily on manual workflows: printed forms, email threads, and physical signatures. It was difficult to manage, easy to disrupt, and at risk of falling behind. 

The Challenge: Paper Processes, Compliance Risks, and Workflow Chaos 

Paper Everywhere, Risk Everywhere 

NASD’s hiring process lived in paper folders and email inboxes. Important background checks and clearances could be misplaced or delayed. “They need the proper clearances. There are certain clearances such as Act 114, which is your FBI fingerprinting. There are several different types of FBI fingerprinting clearances; however, there are only two different types we accept.” 

The risks weren’t just operational; they were about student safety. “Compliance is action number one,” she emphasized. “It’s not something we can take lightly. We have to make sure everyone passes the proper onboarding protocol and has all the required employment documentation.” 

Volunteer and Coach Onboarding Was Difficult to Track

The same challenges extended beyond full-time staff. Each year, the district onboarded a new wave of volunteers and coaches, and every file had to be tracked manually. “I used to go back and forth with our athletic director and dig through hundreds of emails to find a specific athletic coach or volunteer we were onboarding. Before, it was all through email. It was difficult to track and in turn, made a large margin for error or missed information.” 

New to HR, Megan Needed a Better System 

When Megan first joined the HR team, she was new to the field, her HR Director was ready to make a change. “The HR director came to me shortly after my start date and said, ‘I’d really like to switch gears and go to a completely different program. What do you think?’” Megan recalled. “I thought, you know what, if we’re going to do this, let’s do this right away.” 

The Solution: A Digital HR System Built for K-12 

NASD chose Frontline Recruiting & Hiring and Frontline Central to simplify and centralize their HR processes. 

A Streamlined, User-Friendly Experience

Megan was immediately impressed with how easy the system was to navigate. “When I saw Frontline Central, I thought, yes, this seems so much more user-friendly, with a lot more capabilities,” she said. She appreciated that it offered a visual, intuitive platform that felt like a step forward from what they were used to. “It just seemed like the right choice.” 

Centralized Workflows and Digital Checklists 

With Frontline, Megan created checklists tailored to different onboarding groups, so all information is collected electronically. This meant fewer manual handoffs and more reliability. 

The platform should also save time when sending out approval letters. Rather than printing out 170 letters after a board meeting, Megan looks forward to pushing them out automatically through Frontline Central. Megan said, “We are still in the process of implementing this, so we do not have the actual experience of doing it successfully just yet. We are in the process of getting this up and running soon and once we do, I am optimistic it will be a game-changer for our department. ” 

Getting Started

Training & Rollout

During implementation, Megan and her team digitized the district’s common forms and established job-specific workflows. The goal: move from folders and handouts to automated task assignments and electronic forms. 

Principals & Hiring Teams

In Frontline Recruiting & Hiring, building-level administrators gained immediate visibility into applicant pools and could manage hiring tasks more independently. Past applicants could be reactivated with a few clicks, with no more paper copies or duplicate files. 

Other Departments Took Notice

Other departments began to adopt similar workflows. “I created a field trip and activity trip form for our Curriculum department,” Megan said. “Previously, everything was handwritten, and there was a lot of missed communication.” 

Results: Time Saved, Compliance Strengthened, Experience Improved 

Efficiency Gains Across the Board 

Frontline Central helped Megan reclaim valuable time. “I can tell you from firsthand experience that having Frontline Central and trying to use it for every possible function has made my job a lot more efficient,” she said. “I have more time for other tasks, which is extremely important to all of us.” 

Candidates Come Prepared

Applicants arrive ready to go, which means less work for the HR team. “With a lot of our documentation done electronically through Frontline, many of these forms are completed before I even meet the candidate,” Megan shared. “They log in, create their username and password, and work through the electronic forms without needing much assistance.” 

Stronger Compliance with Less Effort 

By tracking clearances and required documents in real time, the system ensures nothing gets overlooked. “It’s going to make sure that all our i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed before a coach even steps foot on a field or court with our kids,” Megan said. 

More Accountability, Less Paperwork

The platform shifted ownership of document submission to staff while still keeping Megan in control of final approvals. “It takes a big load off my daily work to put that requirement onto the staff member to upload their clearances through Frontline Central,” she said. “All I have to do is verify it and print it out if I need to.” 

Over time, this change also built a culture of accountability. “It was about putting that accountability on our staff,” Megan added. 

A District Ready for the Future

With Frontline’s solutions, NASD didn’t just digitize their workflows — they laid the foundation for a stronger, safer, and more agile HR operation. “At the end of the day, this system definitely helps my job and our department much more than what we had before,” Megan concluded. 

They’ve: 

• Replaced paper with digital workflows 
• Strengthened compliance protocols 
• Saved time across HR and beyond 
• Improved experiences for new hires, coaches, and volunteers 
• Set the standard for other departments to follow