Student Management Suite Software

Skyward - excellent!

Pros

Easy enough to teach my aides to manage. Keeps all emergency and important student info handy.

Cons

AM and PM attendance. Can be hard for families to understand.

The Sky is the limit with Skyward

Skyward School Management has been a very positive change for our district. We switched a couple of years ago and since then it is easier for us to manage debt on lunch accounts and easier for me as a parent to stay on top of things like this.

Pros

I like how easily accessible Skyward is for parents to keep track of student expenses. Not only can parents easily add money to and watch student's lunch accounts, they can also easily pay fees online and very quickly. In a matter of seconds, I am able to add lunch money to my child's lunch account.

Cons

There is nothing I dislike about this software.

WONDERFUL PROGRAM!!

It has made my child's year great for me to monitor what they are doing daily- although he may not like that-- I do!!

Pros

It lets me monitor my children's grades and attendance in real time, as well as their student accounts!!

Cons

Nothing, there is nothing I don't like!!

Skyward has improved a lot

My overall experience with Skyward is positive. It is a useful tool once you learn it, which might take some effort though.

Pros

This is a really versatile program and great for storing all your data. Ilike how you can easily convert the data into Excel. I used to work in a school and would use Skyward. Once you understand how and where the information is stored, you can easily navigate through everything.

Cons

It is not the most intuitive program when it comes to finding information. There are a lot of tabs and categories and it might take a while to find the information your are looking for. It still has room for improving the flow of things.

I used it to check my grades on a daily basis.

Pros

I like that it was easy to use and easy to read. You know what you are looking at and how to navigate around it.

Cons

I don't like that it's browser based. I don't like to rely on browsers to read info. I'd rather have software.

Skyward is our school district's SIS.

Pros

Skyward is a very powerful product. We have used it for 15+ years and I am still finding useful features. Anytime I have an issue, support is punctual and extremely helpful to solve my issue.

Cons

Skyward can be very daunting because it is so powerful. It is semi-userfriendly, but the interface looks stark and cold.

Keeping grades and marking attendance made easy.

There's no need to 'show' students their grades, as they and their families have access to it. Administration too, can just pull grades from the network without having the teacher duplicate their efforts.

Pros

I liked the variety of grading options to set up your classes and the ease of setting everything up. No need to duplicate work.

Cons

As with any software, there is a balance between ease-of-use and robustness. Skyward can be a little overwhelming at first.

Really expensive!

Pros

This software was one of the systems that our school explored for an SIS. It was very in depth and thorough and offered quite a few options for administrators and teachers alike to manage and disburse information quickly.

Cons

It was way too expensive for us! We were even looking to be covered under our local public school system to recieve a discount, but that wasn't possible. That was the deciding factor in not choosing Skyward as our SIS.

Easy to use, clear-cut tool for student

Pros

The software is intuitive and functional. Various folders can be set up for different subject areas. Users can also communicate via the its portal.

Cons

Once log in, it opens a new popup window. So users must set their popup window function to allow the new popup. Often times the pop-up windows becomes hidden when user switches from site to site. The software should improve to put things in the same window instead of opening popup windows.

This software offers so many functions in one place.

Pros

It is possible choose how I want my screen to look and can choose the information presented. Additionally, It can access pertinent school information.

Cons

This software is possible to use as a student information system and also be used for finances and food service.

Awesome tool for teachers, students and parents

Up-to-date information about my child's progress in school, missing assignments, grades on tests and projects. Especially my for high school student, this info can be hard to get from them and so many times you do not know about issues until it is too late. I open Skyward every night at the dinner table and we talk about grades, upcoming exams and papers. She knows I am looking and it helps her to stay on task.

Pros

There are so many functions in one place. Check grades, missing assignments, email teachers, lunch calendar, etc. Multiple children in a family can be easily accessed together.

Cons

When emailing a parent/teacher, they cannot respond back directly. I wish they could. It would make the line of communication more direct. But, at least they can read the message and respond back by another means.

I am parent user for this program and I find it to be easy to use and easy to understand.

Pros

I like that I can choose how I want my screen to look and can choose the information presented. I am able to toggle between all of the different pages easily and efficiently. I can access my child's information st the click of a finger. Additionally, I can access pertinent school and district information. I prefer this program to PowerSchool, as a parent user. I have access to more information faster and easier.

Cons

I have had no real problems with this program so far. It has served my needs as a parent. I only struggled with the initial login, due to a bit of s glitch in the system, but that was all worked out.

Great School Management software for districts that don't have resources to develop their own system

Pros

The multiple different features is what's best about Skyward. The ability to not only be used as a student information system but also be used for finances and food service is great.

Cons

Some of the programs that Skyward provides have compatibility issues with certain operating systems/internet browsers. There was a few times when we had to use legacy products just to keep Skyward functional.

Grades and tracking, simplified

Pros

I love the various reports and data that I can get from the Skyward system. A little fiddling will reveal massive possibilities.

Cons

I wish that the software was more customizable for non-administrators. It can be finicky when entering data and not save information.

Generally good software to manage student information.

Pros

It has a comprehensive set of features that allow student management. From the teacher side the data is fairly easy to view and input of the gradebook and attendance is relatively easy.

Cons

It is somewhat difficult to learn. There are many variables that can confuse teachers in creating gradebooks and in accessing information. The reports are not particularly intuitive to use.

Great for Teachers and Parents

Pros

This program is great for both teachers and parents. It allows parents to easily see their student's data.

I can keep track of children and how they are doing in school.

Keeping up with my children school progress.

Pros

I love being able to log in and see how my child is doing in high school by each class. You can see missing assignments, test scores and quizzes. The teachers and the school can also contact me through skyward.

Cons

It can be confusing to use when you first start using it, but it gets easier and easier the more you use it.

I have used this software for more than a decade. I highly recommend Skyward!

Outstanding Student Information System.

Pros

They are always improving and keeping up with current trends. Skyward has absolutely OUTSTANDING customer service!

Cons

That it can be intimidating or overwhelming for those that aren't familiar with it or chose not to utilize it.

For a free software system that manages my student's information, it does the job.

Pros

I like that I can see my students attendance and grades and I can change my information on there. I also like that there are links to district sites and information that I need.

Cons

It isn't designed for ease of use. I also don't like that I cannot add funds onto my student's account through the app alone, I need to go to a third party website to add funds. I also don't like that I cannot pay fees on the app, and then when I go to the website I still have to use a third party site to pay my fees.

Our school district switched to this 3 years ago and it has been great!

Great service, glad our school district switched!

Pros

The school I work at switched to this 3 years ago and it allows me to go on-line to check my sick days, personal days, and check stubs. It is very user friendly.

Cons

The only real negative I can think of is, some times I forget my password, otherwise it is a very nice system to have that I can monitor my information instead of calling HR.