PowerSchool Enrollment vs. PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS

PowerSchool registration is good for yearly registration and year-round updates. I would say it is not as good as if you just have a short survey to ask-- there may be other alternatives in the district that are not as cumbersome to use to accommodate something like that. If you want to go to online registration or change from another company, you will not find one that is easier to use. We have well over 35,000 parents who use it and are very successful.

Incentivized

PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS is a highly effective data warehouse, with easy input and nearly boundless ways to get to the raw information. For a team with strong capabilities in report writing (say, SQL/IBM Cognos, etc) the opportunity to get to the base of the information and communicate it well is incredibly strong. However, if you are relying on stock reports to get you what you need, it may be imperfect.

Incentivized

• Good UI
• Easy to see grades
• Fast access to everything

Incentivized

• One-stop resource for student data, from test scores to medical alerts.
• Parent information, including contact and custody details, are readily accessible.
• Clean and easy-to-use format makes finding what you need very easy.

Incentivized

• I wish there were a list of query options. Sometimes it's hard to find the right query to use in order to get the results you want.
• I think it's helpful to add more color or easier ways to sift through the data.
• Exporting the data into another program that isn't Notepad! How frustrating!

Incentivized

• It can be difficult to find information when first beginning with it.
• It can take many steps to perform one task.
• Can run slowly on certain networks.

Incentivized

This would be the same reasoning as in the previous question. It is all about having enough bandwidth to run it across your district and buildings.

Incentivized

Reports do run in a reasonable amount of time based upon the number of entries you are working with. You are also able to continue working on other areas while the report is being created so your device is not tied up during this process.

Incentivized

Overall support is excellent. The people are amazing. They have played with different ways of giving the best support, meaning a dedicated specialist vs. email vs. tracking sheet, etc., which was a little frustrating going through those changes. Still, I appreciate all their efforts in finding what works best for their customers. They listen to their customers and make changes.

Incentivized

We already use PowerSchool SIS, and before it became PowerSchool Registration, it was Infosnap, and it integrated with PowerSchool SIS seamlessly. Now that PowerSchool has bought it, the system only keeps getting better and better. Having both companies work together makes the updates less quirky. We no longer have to hope the new updates work in both systems.

Incentivized

One platform is SKEDULA that would be a direct competitor with eSchoolPLUS. However, the issue with SKEDULA is that they do not have the breadth of tools that eSchoolPLUS and PowerSchool offers. With SKEDULA you can also input grades and marking periods, but the platform they use is harder to use on the website. Their mobile platform is easy, but its web platform is extremely slow to use. They also send you to an alternate website for inputting marking period grades, rather than being able to input final marking period grades and comments directly into the normal grading section of the student/teacher portal. I would rather eSchoolPLUS over SKEDULA as it has more functions and has a much more appealing Menu drop down and links. Navigating the website quickly is important, and that navigation system they have is actually the simplest to understand and use that I've been able to use in education. Moodle is another platform I do use and would recommend to some degree, but it would not be my choice when compared to the variety of functions in scheduling, reporting, and intervention that eSchoolPLUS provides.

Incentivized

There are days when PowerSchool can be very slow when loading. You definitely have to make sure you have the bandwidth in your district to run the platform appropriately.

Incentivized

• Simplifies grading
• Simplifies attendance
• Allows teachers to complete work of other personnel so they are not needed

Incentivized

• Our Return on Investment is high, as it makes our jobs easier, allowing us more time to troubleshoot and train staff instead of digging for student information.
• Overall our business objective is to store and access student information quickly, efficiently, and securely. eSchoolPLUS allows us to do that.
• eSchoolPLUS has no negative impact on our ROI. Sometimes, after an update, there is a learning curve and bug fixes that need to be worked around, but in general, it is a great product and there is little downtime for our organization.

Incentivized