FACTS Student Information System vs. PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS

We base our entire student data on the Student ID that is produced in FACTS. We create user accounts for technology and online textbooks as well as their lunch account, all based on the Student ID. We also can run many different reports using the SID as the data constant and all the other information variables are available as needed to report.

Incentivized

It is well suited for Charter Schools. I say charter schools because most charts are built from the ground up, and using a specific set of tools from PowerSchool will help all departments to work seamlessly together. The hardest part of the education process is being able to track your own payroll, PD, overtime hours, emails and messages, grades and documentation for students. Schools in perpetual existence have a hard time converting all their documents and processes to a brand new portal. However, new schools, private schools, charter schools, even new online universities would have an easier and much more effective time purchasing and using every single tool that comes from PowerSchool. I believe that it is bigger than just using eSchoolPLUS for education, but using efinance, and atrieve are important also. In terms of eSchoolPLUS it is useful in all schools because it does make the teacher's jobs easier. Managing curriculum, lesson and grade data is quick and easy and engagement is relatively simple on the website and on my mobile iPhone.

Incentivized

• Easy to use grade book
• Simple way to store and access health information, behavior reports, and family contact information.
• We use FACTS in the residential aspect of our organization.

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

• It could use more space for uploading classroom media.
• It could lessen the number of new open windows or frames for various functions that can be done on the same screen.
• It could incorporate more social-media like tools to make it more native for students and parents.

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

It's user-friendly, the customer service is great, and we have a significant amount of time invested in training our faculty and staff to use many aspects of FACTS within their areas of responsibility. I really like the variety of reports I can generate which gives important data to our administration and Board.

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

Switched from Blackbaud to RenWeb now FACTS. We made the change for affordability and because more software components were included. Blackbaud required the purchase of multiple additional modules.

Incentivized

PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS effectively allowed for access to all data, while enabling links to other critical PowerSchool platforms like Kickboard, Enrollment, and other software platforms.

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

• Has paid for itself many time over with the abilities it provides.
• Can be managed by as few or as many as needed so per employee cost is great.
• Reporting is great for almost any topic needed all the way to How many took the ACT in spring.

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