There are a variety of school administration software solutions available to school systems and higher education institutions. These include options such as PowerSchool, PraxiSchool, GradeLink, Harris School Solutions and Tyler School Solutions.
These software solutions are gargantuan – packed with features to meet a huge variety of needs in the education Industry. Some of the biggest items needed are:
Classroom
- Seat assignments
- Track meals, grades, assignments
- Manage grade book, lesson plans, assignments, communications
Financial and human capital management
Manage tuition accounts - Automatic payments
- Budgeting
- Payroll data and processes
Grading
- Set up grade book
- Track student conduct and progress
- Create and print report cards and transcripts Create custom reports
- Track data
Library
- Create and manage a catalog
- Track checked out materials
- Manage fines due
- Send overdue notices
Meals
- Create menus
- Manage advanced orders
- Track account balances and post payments
Medical
- Track records: Immunizations, Medications, Allergies, Incidents
- Track emergency communications and protocols
Parent and student portal
- Parent and Student logins
- View and manage: attendance, grades, discipline reports, class schedule, report cards
- Enrollment Information
Special education
- Tools to develop, update and track IEPs
- Meet Compliance Criteria
Student information
- Attendance
- Cumulative File Data
- Transcripts
Transportation
- Incident Reports
- Build routes
- Schedule field trips
- Manage fleet maintenance
That’s a lot!
But don’t forget your forms and document software and what it can do for your school system and your school administration software. Be sure there is a robust document design, presentation and omni-channel communications delivery aspect included. This is something that is often left out or overlooked during your exhaustive research. Administrators often assume that the ability to produce clear and effective documents and forms for instructors, faculty, parents and students is included. The documents produced by school administration software can be a powerful communication tool which can be managed by teachers and staff. However, few of these software solutions include the features expected by the schools.
Education Document Software Priorities
When researching forms and document distribution software solutions, there are some priorities and necessities to consider that are unique to the education industry. Consider these:
- Reliability – your school system or educational organization depends on it!
- Performance – test before you buy to make sure your needs can be met at the speed needed for day-to-day, mission-critical materials.
- Providing omni-channel delivery – gives the recipient options to select how you communicate with them. With all of the possibilities mobile devices offer and the need to serve people from the Silent Generation to the Post Millennials generation, omni-channel delivery can get complicated. Your document solution must be omni-channel in order to get to all of your readers in the most effective way; the way that is most convenient for them.
- Features – including a communications center. Dynamic, personalized and relevant documents provide limitless opportunities for your school systems software. Standard templates can be created and used by your staff and teachers to create real-time communications to parents or students with personalized individual information regarding a single student or a group of students. With omni-channel delivery to specific readers, or specific parents and / or students of a unique group, relevant, real-time notices and event information can be distributed quickly.
- Target a grade level or school building for distribution of newsletters, Welcome Back to School letters, End of Year letters, field trip Information, Illness warnings with symptoms and preventative measures (for example: lice spotted in a particular grade level, or flu symptoms confirmed in the building)
- Add relevant messaging to Student Grade Reports (for example: Tutoring available for Calculus 101)
- Trigger notices based on test scores (for example: students that scored above ___ on ___ test receive invitation to an enrichment camp, or students that scored below ___ on ___ test receive invitation to a remediation camp, or students with ___ or more tardies/absences receive warning letters)
- Include any important information in any document or notice distributed (for example, school-wide charity opportunities, trips, new services, events, onsite restaurants/vendors, etc.)
Although school software vendors are experts at creating the core software your school needs, they are not forms, documents or communication experts. With a communication software package, staff members can add current and relevant information, news, and notices to your existing communications – such as grade reports, newsletters, field trip notices and transcripts – without custom modifications or program changes to the school administration software.
Why issue another form, document or letter when you can communicate important information using the documents you already deliver? This is an obvious way to save time and money, while streamlining your communication methods.
The possibilities are endless. Be sure to consider your forms, documents and communications necessities when researching your school department’s administration software solutions.
Don’t Change Your Admin Software! Change your Document Communication Software!
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