Monthly Archives: June 2015

0 K-12 Online Partners to Bring Affordable Solutions to Charter Schools

CSMC and K-12 Online join forces to bring affordable online registration, lottery management and e-commerce solutions to charter schools

IRVINE, CALIF. – June 15, 2015 – Charter School Management Corporation (CSMC) and K-12 Online by Jireh Infosystems aligned as strategic partners to offer affordable software solutions that streamline processes and simplify integrated data exchanges through PowerSchool.

CSMC (www.csmci.com), the largest provider of back-office services to charter schools, offers cost-effective PowerSchool solutions and support designed to meet the specific needs of charter schools. Their customized support program allows schools to get the most out of PowerSchool without the steep learning curve. CSMC also provides full-service CALPADS state reporting to all of their clients, lifting the heavy burden off of schools, ensuring accurate and timely submissions, and helping schools maximize their LCFF funding.

As one of the first PowerSchool ISV partners, K-12 Online offers flexible and ad-hoc custom field integration for improved record keeping and stress-free state reporting of student data. Embedded with PowerSchool, the use of API and single-sign-on (SSO) provides seamless integration to ensure clean, up-to-date data is readily available. For more information on Pearson’s ISV program, visit www.pearsonschoolsystems.com.

“Every charter school has certain local, state, and federal reporting requirements that must be completed in order to assure accurate funding for the school and to properly report student data.   Often times these systems are not designed to play nice with each other and can take hours and hours of staff time just to submit a single report,” stated Sarkis Gharibian, director of compliance and student data, CSMC. “Our partnership with K-12 Online supports communication of these systems for seamless data integration into PowerSchool. Charter schools can speed up this process and help keep their operations in compliance with all required reporting.”

“We are excited to partner with CSMC. Together we understand the need for charter schools to attract the right type of students, from first interactions during the application and lottery process to communicating with existing parents throughout the school year,” expressed Michelle Sam, owner, K-12 Online. “This partnership offers charter schools the security, flexibility and efficiency they need to streamline processes and help them carry out their mission. Working together, we are able to achieve the end goal of making schools’ and districts’ jobs easier.”

Both companies expressed their belief that offering schools a choice of flexible and customizable technology solutions is critical to optimizing performance across all stakeholders; schools, administrators, teachers, parents and students.

About CSMC

CSMC is the largest provider of back-office financial services to charter schools, serving over 150 schools throughout the country. Our staff has expertise in charter school development, budgeting, data systems, fiscal operations, and financial management. For more information about CSMC visit www.csmci.com

About K-12 Online

K-12 Online by Jireh Infosystems provides an affordable, intuitive, turnkey solution that automates and streamlines new-student application, returning-student registration, school choice/lottery management, fundraising, parent purchases and school accounting; making registration smooth and easy for parents and admin. Our range of products can be used year-round to provide schools with a truly automated and streamlined workflow process. For more information about K-12 Online visit www.k12online.us

0 How to Choose an Online Registration System That Fits Your Needs

Are you looking for ways to cut or reallocate your budget? Do you need to streamline processes? Have you considered implementing an online registration system?

If you currently process student enrollment and registration forms manually or with outdated software, your staff works overtime during peak enrollment weeks, or updating your SIS requires manual labor, then an online registration system may be right for you.

More and more schools and districts are turning to online technology solutions to help manage everyday tasks. The trend of working with partners has proven to be valuable however; the daunting task of comparing products, attending demos, etc. can be exhausting.

We’ve compiled a list of questions to consider as you review systems to ensure the service provider you select will perform how and when you need it.

1. Does the system help reduce parents’ time spent filling out forms as well as waiting in line, creating a better experience for parents?
2. Can online forms be created and used year-round (i.e. field trip forms, special event sign-up, etc.), making the system more versatile rather than just for the beginning of the school year?
3. How easily can forms be created and edited, allowing schools to make necessary changes when necessary?
4. Does the system provide residency verification alerts, increasing your registrar’s operational efficiency?
5. Can forms be created and viewed in multiple languages, making it user-friendly for ALL parents?
6. Does the system have built-in ways to solicit donations, increasing your return on investment?
7. Will the system assist in recouping fees for lost textbooks, further saving your school money?
8. Are eCommerce and credit card processing capabilities offered, allowing parents to take care of all purchases online?
9. Does the software allow privileged-level access; allowing PTAs, Boosters, etc. to access certain information while still maintaining security of data?
10. Is the software all-inclusive, allowing you to utilize all applications at no extra charge?
11. How is customer and technical support provided for administrators and parents (online support, live customer assistance,etc.)?
12. What other suite of products are offered (lottery management, merchant processing, web store, etc.) that integrates to allow for a one-stop shop?
13. And lastly, one of the most critical questions is how easily does the system integrate with your school information system?

Choosing an online school registration system that is inclusive and considers the needs of parents, students, teachers and administration is important. Make sure discussions include representatives of the student body, staff and parents. Parents want registration to be quick and easy, while administrators want a lot of information.

Any company can create an online registration system, but companies like K-12 Online that specialize in school management software know and understand the basic registration needs of K-12 schools and will help you identify the most useful features that work for your school and with your system.