With many highly reliable and functional school management software solutions now on the market, it is difficult for smaller companies to complete, and SchoolBrains may fall into this category. While the company has a proven track record—it was established in 2003 with considerable industry know-how—it has remained relatively small in scale, which is both the company’s greatest asset and may be its limitation too.

To date, SchoolBrains offers school management and assessment tools; a student information portal; an education planning function with a focus on compliance issues; advanced curriculum mapping features; a grade book and report card function; a special education application; and tools to support other common school activities (e.g., the management of healthcare records and community outreach efforts). In addition there are dedicated points of access for teachers, administrators and parents. One of the software’s main benefits, which may reflect the company’s small size, is that it works closely with schools to design a system that meets their specific needs and guides schools through the implementation process from start to finish. Indeed, all new subscribers kick off their experience with SchoolBrains during a “Project Definition Workshop” that is facilitated by a SchoolBrains project manager and attended by the school’s project team.

While SchoolBrains personal touch is appealing, there are some reported problems with this software option. First, it offers many but not all the applications now commonly supported by K-12 software systems. Second, SchoolBrains is not the easiest system to use or integrate. Finally, for some users, it is cost prohibitive. On average, any institution relying on SchoolBrains can expect to shell out a minimum of $200 monthly, which is the company’s starting price (there’s a per student fee on top of this subscription); as such, depending on the size of the school, monthly fees will run much higher. This means that it may not be the best option for smaller institutions or those with fluctuating numbers.

• Usability. SchoolBrains does not gain top marks when it comes to usability, with some users complaining about its onerous interface and the fact that implementation requires a tremendous amount of support from the company itself.

• Maintainability. SchoolBrains is always rolling out advancements and its ongoing and automated updates assist subscribers on this account.

• Performance. While SchoolBrains reportedly performs well when fully installed, achieving a high level of performance requires working closely with the company’s installation team.

• Integration Ease. SchoolBrains is not the easiest program to integrate with outside software programs or social media platforms.
• Functionality. While its functions work well when properly implemented, once again, functionality pivots on outside support.

• Support. Great support from the company—very responsive to individual schools’ needs.

Pros

What customers like about School Brains:

• It is an all-in-one system that one can custom design with expert feedback from the SchoolBrain’s dedicated staff.
• It has dedicated points of access for teachers, administrators and parents.
• It can be scaled up to meet the needs of a growing institution.

Cons

What clients do not like about School Brains:

• The price point of School Brains is prohibitive for small institutions.
• It’s interface can be difficult to use; one must be prepared to work closely with the company every step of the way
• Integration is a challenge; SchoolBrains works better with its own programs that outside applications.
• The software has much more advanced backend than frontend features.