For Murrieta Valley Unified, SEL screening had become harder than it needed to be. After five years with Panorama, familiar issues kept slowing schools down. Teachers said the questions “were not student friendly,” technical glitches had to be “corrected multiple times,” and participation stayed low. As the district shared, the previous platform “was not attractive to our students and staff,” and they were no longer confident it was giving them an accurate picture of student needs.
What wasn’t working
The concerns raised by teachers and site teams helped clarify the problem. Panorama’s questions didn’t feel accessible for younger learners, and repeated glitches made the process harder to manage. Participation stayed low year after year, leaving Diana Ruiz, Director of Guidance Services, and Kari Gonzalez, Coordinator of Student Supports, without the level of insight they needed.
What they needed instead
The district wanted clearer questions, smoother implementation, and stronger support. As they shared, there had been “difficulty working with the company customer support,” and they needed a screener more aligned with their tier 2 work.
What they noticed with Satchel Pulse
During their pilot, one school “garnered more student responses than previous screener.” The functionality felt easier, and the support “far exceeded our expectations.” Training and troubleshooting made implementation smoother across sites.
The difference it made
With Satchel Pulse, Murrieta Valley reached its highest completion rate ever thanks to “the ease of the questions and easy implementation.” Being able to “see live data for a school” also increased staff buy in and helped teams identify student needs more quickly.
Their advice to other districts
“I would ask the school reflect on their current practices and data to make the decision on whether their current platform is fulfilling their needs.” – Diana Ruiz, Director of Guidance Services
