Navigator: The Program

avigator is designed by The Portolan Group to provide schools with an affordable and flexible program of support service (food service, physical plant operations and transportation) assistance. Navigator can be tailored to an individual school, district or college. It is designed for those schools who do not need or who cannot afford a major intervention. It allows for significant assistance at a minimal cost.  Navigator allows The Portolan Group to provide both on-site and off-site expertise. We provide benchmarks, program assessments and task-specific support. We provide this assistance to departments that are run in-house or outsourced

Navigator Program - Food Service Monitoring

Our Navigator Program provides on-going monitoring services of your food service operation.  We developed this program with tools and support that allow our clients to monitor the operational and financial components of their food service operation.  This allows our clients the opportunity to determine how effective and efficient their food service operations are at any given time through out the year.  This program provides key performance indicators and benchmarks that allow our clients to monitor and adjust the functional components of their food service operation as needed.

Samples of the services that are included in our Navigator Food Service Monitoring Program are:

• Monitoring of participation rates (free, reduced and paid).  These include charts and graphs by school/site, each month and year-to-date totals

• Contract monitoring of any outsourced services including contract compliance, participation levels, customer satisfaction, menu offerings, nutritional values, etc.

• Our food service performance indices (food service operation performance and school/site food service performance)

• Food service budget reconciliation forms (income and expenses)

Examples of other services that can be included in an individualized Navigator program:

• Site visits-Customer satisfaction survey
• Performance indices for transportation or physical plant operations (maintenance, custodial or grounds services)
• Benchmarks for productivity and financial performance
• Staffing Reviews
• Quality Assurance Tools/Programs
• Communications with PGI staff for on-going support
• Contract Oversight for Outsourced Programs
• RFP Writing for outside purchased services/programs
• Technical Assistance with Specific Needs/Challenges
• Program Evaluation
• Assistance with Internal or External Audits

Navigator: The Cost

Navigator is designed to provide a school district or college with optimal flexibility and affordability. The cost is determined on an annualized basis. It can include major assessment, on-going implementation assistance, contract monitoring, program review, etc. Navigator provides the district or college with the ability to spread out costs. It provides a predictable cost (budget) for the assistance. We will work to put together a service and pricing structure that will enable any size school district or college to benefit from our services.

Navigator: The Benefits

Not all educational institutions need or would benefit from a major assessment of their support services programs. Navigator was created to allow PGI and the school to work together to provide incremental improvements to existing programs.

Benefits realized from the Navigator Program include:

• Decreased Program Costs
• Improved Program Quality
• Easily Accessed Technical Support
• Integration of Support Services with Academic Programs
• Incremental Gains in Student Achievement
• A Safer, Cleaner Environment for Student Learning

We will work with you to design a program that will specifically meet your on-going support service needs.