Important Types of Software Every School District Should Have

A school district essentially functions as a nonprofit business that manages students, parents, teachers, non-teaching staff and so much more. Few people stop to appreciate the multifaceted management requirements of a superintendent, principal, or administrative team for any school facility. Like most other businesses and organizations, the gritty details of its operations are kept cloaked behind the highly functional persona. However, it is the hard work and smart tools behind the scenes that make that friendly facade possible.

What software considerations should your district be making? If it’s time to upgrade, where do you begin researching the best of the best? Below are 11 of the most essential types of software your district could need. Keep in mind, there are tons of options and your research should include a lot of things.

11 Types of Software Every School or District Must Have

A Robust Student Portal and SIS

SIS is an acronym you’ll see often and it stands for Student Information System or Software. There’s so much information to track, manage, and organize on behalf of your students. You’ll need a database that includes student personal information and other records required by the state and federal education departments. Compare to Edsby which offers a multifaceted dashboard and a collaborative approach to student data.

Grades and Reporting Database

In addition to the SIS, you also need to track assessment scores and grades for each student in a cohesive way. You may be able to rope this information into your SIS or your instruction and curriculum programs. Compare what you find to the robust classroom management of ClassReach which is extremely customizable.

Curriculum and Instruction Integration

Like Blackboard for higher ed, you may want your teachers to have a robust teacher-to-student platform. If so, compare these to CANVAS. This platform is a modern LMS (learning management system) which integrates with more niche programs and apps than almost any other LMS.

Behavior Tracking and Management

Behavior tracking is an essential part of measuring and fostering student success. Software can help you track detentions and suspensions as well as smaller infractions, parent contact, and repeat reprimands. Edvance is a great example of a cloud-based approach to behavior and student data that is accessible by students, teachers, parents, and administrators all at once.

Cafeteria Software

You serve hot lunches and your cafeteria staff needs to take payment, manage inventory, plan menus and generally run their restaurant-lite. Software like Lunchtime includes?? great modules free and reduced lunch programs from your state or the U.S. DOE.

Library and Media Management

Another adjunct facet of your district is the library. Your librarian is tasked with major resource management and should have a reliable database of all books and other media in the library which can provide scanning capabilities and fine-reconciliation all in one dashboard. Many districts are enjoying Destiny from Follett Learning which offers a really nice student-facing portal to find and check out materials as well as a staff-facing portal that manages those materials, tracks fines and overdues, and connects to external resources.

Parent Communication

Teachers and the district as a whole may want to have a parent portal where parents can sign permission slips, make payments, access grades and behavioral info, schedule conferences, and receive SMS notifications with district-wide updates. Bloomz is a great (free!) portal for students, teachers, parents, and administrators to stay on the same page.

Special Education and IEP Database

Students with IEPs, their parents, their teachers, other aides or professionals such as SLPs, OTs, school psychologists and more need to stay on the same page. Rather than issuing a mass email and hoping everyone has the same information, consider using Infinite Campus which includes a robust and dedicated approach to IEP management.

Fundraising & Event Management

Your will really appreciate a one-stop place to schedule events and manage the community support for your school. Though this is especially important for charter and private schools, public schools also benefit from software like FreshSchools.

Accounting, HR, and Business

Your school district is essentially a business you have to manage your financials and accounts all in one place. Skyward is a popular choice for districts because they offer a comprehensive SIS as well as the ERP (enterprise resource planning) functionality you need like HR, accounting, and more.

Staff Scheduling, Attendance, and Substitute Management

One of the most underrated parts of the HR component to your district is the management of teacher absences and substitute availability and scheduling. You can automate the process with a highly-developed substitute management system, . The best of only a few capable software options for sub sourcing and management is InstaSub. To learn more about InstaSub, check out the features here.

If you are looking for an affordable, modern, and best-in-class substitute teacher management software for your small k-12 school district, charter school, or independent, we’d love to help you out. Learn more about the InstaSub Absence & Substitute Management Platform here or schedule a demo today!