As a charter school leader, your software choices aim to positively impact curriculum and instruction. But have you considered how the tools you choose impact your community’s satisfaction, engagement, and ultimately your retention rate?
With the increasing number of digital applications used in K-12 education, many schools are inadvertently creating a fragmented experience that hinders student success and frustrates families so much that it may impact your school’s enrollment.
One Challenge: Multiple Apps Cause Frustration
Many charter schools use a mix of different learning management systems, grade books, communication tools, and student information systems—sometimes 10 to 15 official apps or more. While each tool may serve a purpose, the sheer number of systems, often adopted organically over time, creates complexity. A new study has found your stakeholders are likely more frustrated with this approach than you may be aware of.
For Parents: Managing multiple logins and interfaces makes it difficult to stay informed about their child’s progress. 42% of parents rated their satisfaction at 5 out of 10 or lower when dealing with multiple educational apps. Parents were the least happy of all user types. When parents feel disconnected, their ability to support their child’s education diminishes. So does their enthusiasm for your school’s brand.
For Students: Switching between platforms creates confusion, missed assignments, and an inconsistent learning experience. Instead of focusing on learning, students spend valuable time navigating different systems, which can negatively impact performance and engagement, according to the study.
For Educators and Administrators: The study found teachers lose hours each week managing multiple platforms, duplicating data entry and troubleshooting tech issues instead of focusing on instruction. Administrators struggle to gain a clear, real-time view of student progress across disconnected systems. This inefficiency leads to lost time, lost learning, and, ultimately, lost trust.
The Solution: Consolidation for Higher Satisfaction
The key to improving satisfaction and streamlining operations is reducing the number of apps your school relies on. A single, integrated platform offers:
- A unified experience for parents with one easy login for grades, assignments, and communication.
- A seamless learning environment for students that eliminates confusion and ensures consistency.
- Increased efficiency for teachers and administrators, reducing administrative burden and improving data accuracy.
One Way to Streamline Technology
The Edsby platform for K-12 is one example of a comprehensive all-in-one platform designed specifically for K-12 schools. Unlike piecemeal solutions, Edsby combines assessment and reporting, parent engagement, learning management, and analytics into one system, eliminating the need for multiple disconnected apps. Students, teachers, and parents have only one place to go for everything related to teaching and learning.
With systems like Edsby, charter schools can:
- Improve parent satisfaction by providing a single, easy-to-use interface for all school interactions
- Increase student engagement by ensuring a consistent and organized learning experience
- Boost operational efficiency, allowing teachers and administrators to focus on what matters most: student success
The Bottom Line
Your school’s technology should enhance your stakeholders’ experience, not jeopardize it. By consolidating disparate apps into a single platform, you can improve parent and student satisfaction, drive better learning outcomes, and create a more engaged school community. An engaged school community stays a school community.
About the Author
John Myers, Cofounder and CEO of Edsby, a K-12 software that does everything. He is passionate about streamlining tech stacks for schools so they can better focus on what they do best—educating students.
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