brightwheel vs. iGradePlus

Any preschool can benefit from brightwheel, no matter the size. Brightwheel is also excellent for billing, which is especially helpful for schools that do not have other databases and billing systems. Because our school is a PS-12, it is a little cumbersome to have brightwheel along with another management system that we use school-wide. It would be nice to have a separate price point that does not include the things that another database system does for schools that are required to use what the older grades also use.

Incentivized

iGradePlus works well for schools who are on a tight budget. The pricing is quite fair. We are still a newer school--this is our fourth academic year of operation. iGradePlus has served as our sole school management system from the very beginning. We are very thankful to be growing alongside iGradePlus

• Recording data for students.
• Connecting to parents with photos, videos, and messages.
• Signing in and out electronically and saving paper daily.

Incentivized

• It's record keeping function is robust in its free version.
• Client support is very responsive.
• It's set up guide is thorough.
• The homepage with the news feed is clean and easy on the eyes.

• Offering a price point that does not include billing.
• Allowing more freedom of uploading own documents.

Incentivized

• The transcript templates need to be improved.
• I would love to see them add services for canteen management (point of sale).
• I would love to see them add services for library management (circulation).

They have good instructions. There are some pages that appear confusing at first, but there are enough directions around for me to figure out what I need to do to accomplish what I need to. I don't always remember what I need to do when it is a task that happens only once or only a few times a year. The grade report section looks difficult, but I have always been able to find out what I need to do there without too much time or effort. Also, when I need to import students from a previous year into a new grade book, the program has provided the information I need to do that

Brightwheel does much more for the preschool level than FACTS does. The creators of this app know early childhood. The company also provides helpful webinars that are unrelated to their software, such as staff retention or ways to market. They understand the business of early childhood and exist to make the lives of providers easier.

Incentivized

I used a different online program several years ago, but it went out of business. This program may have been recommended by the program that went out of business, I don't quite remember. I haven't tried other programs much, and it would be several years ago when I was looking for a new program, so I don't remember what I tried. iGradePlus worked for me, so I have stayed with it.

• Value add for parents
• Saves paper
• Benefits for teachers who fully utilize

Incentivized

• More than half of our clients monitor their child's attendance and lesson logs as seen through the parent portal access count.
• Our record keeping is now centralized.
• iGradePlus became a proof of our legitimacy for some of our parents.