Skyward is a student information system (SIS), human resources (HR) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for the K-12 public school districts, private schools, charter schools, other learning institutions and municipalities.
It is an automated SIS and student management system that facilitates finance management, student database, accounting and finance, staff management and human resources processes for various school districts and educational institutions.
By combining leadership, community and technology, Skyward has positioned itself as one of the premier solutions providers of unique ERP and SIS experience in the industry. The company offers three main software suites; the student management suite, school business suite and the municipality ERP suite.
The Skyward student management suite is a cloud-based SIS solution designed to help schools effectively manage student records, grades, attendance, curriculum, reporting, discipline and other related tasks and processes. The school business suite caters to the administrative aspect of school management, which includes finance, human resources and ERP.
The municipality ERP suite is a school finance and HR solution for the municipal level. It allows for more streamlined HR processes, more efficient fiscal management, more effective asset management, payroll and time clock for employees and better workflows for municipalities.
Skyward Features
As previously stated, Skyward has three products for you to choose from; the Skyward Student Management suite, Skyward School Business Suite and the Skyward Municipality ERP.
The key features and capabilities of Skyward include:
Skyward’s student management suite is a feature-rich, automated student information solution that offers large-scale learning management capabilities. The following are some of the features and tools specifically developed for teachers, administrators and parents:
Classroom management tools
Specifically designed by teachers for teachers, this feature allows you to increase the actual time you spend instructing your students. It allows you to incorporate and prioritize digital literacy in the classroom and it lets you appreciate the easier and more transparent process associated with classroom management.
Through the different teacher access tools offered by Skyward’s SIS program, you will have the ability to make important data accessible to everyone who needs them.
Behavior tracking, online assignments, attendance, message center for parent/teacher communication, electronic gradebook and the teacher mobile app are just some of the tools incorporated into this module.
Student services
This is where you’ll find the tools you need for special education and student safety. The full gamut of student experience, including career planning and extra-curricular, are all integrated into this robust and comprehensive SIS module. You can do more than just collect data with behavior management, health services, food service and college and career readiness solutions.
Behavior management lets you track, monitor and even intervene when necessary. Health services provide immediate access to critical health information to support staff, healthcare providers and parents.
Food service gives educational institutions the ability to provide better food service experience to students, from the school cafeteria straight to students’ homes. College and career readiness provides students and their parents a better view of college and career goals, helping them make better decisions.
School office and administration
The features associated with office and administration allows educators to eliminate or at least minimize manual processes. From the enrollment and scheduling processes to tracking, curriculum and reporting, Skyward’s school office and administration features give you the ability to automate some of these processes so you will have more time to spend with your students, their parents and your staff.
Some of the features and tools included in this module are enrollment and registration management, report cards and transcripts, scheduling, curriculum management, report writer and fee management.
Family engagement
With Skyward’s online parent portal and student portal, you will have the opportunity to collaborate more effectively with parents, empower your students and deliver your message to everyone who needs it. This is a family access tool that promotes parent engagement and transparency.
In addition to family access, the module also offers a mobile app for parents and students, giving them easier access to educators and to any information they need. The online course requests program is a student-centric scheduling tool designed to help educators and instructors provide for their students’ scheduling needs.
The school business suite offers a wide variety of features and tools designed to facilitate the back office, the administrative processes of educational institutions and school districts. This is a school finance and human resources software solution for essentially any school or district.
Financial management
Skyward’s school business suite offers features designed to help educational institutions with their budgeting, give them better control over their finances and to help automate some of their manual workflows. This is a financial management software solution designed specifically for schools.
It comes with features you would expect from any financial management software, such as budgeting tools, accounts payable and accounts receivable, purchasing and invoicing, a general ledger with real-time data updates and the report writer tool with a drag-and-drop editor.
Asset management
With Skyward’s features designed for asset management, you will be able to keep track of your supplies and monitor asset value in real-time. Always know the status of your fixed assets, which makes auditing a lot less time-consuming and more digestible.
You can also keep a close eye on your inventory and get real-time stock updates. Receive notifications when specific supplies are running low so you can immediately place an order.
HR management for schools
With this, school administrators and HR teams will be able to hire personnel more efficiently through data-rich applicant tracking capabilities. Educational institutions can manage job openings and position requests more effectively and develop a high-performing school business environment.
Some of the features in this category include position budgeting and management, substitute tracking and ACA compliance resources and solutions.
Payroll and time tracking tools
Skyward’s payroll and time tracking solutions allow you to manage specific wage plans for teachers, counselors and other staff members. The software also gives you the ability to track different payroll scenarios, monitor substitute hours online and avoid overpayment of salaries with the time clock/tracking tool.
Skyward municipality ERP
This is a finance and human resources platform designed for municipalities. It provides users with fiscal management, human resources and workflow solutions, as well as a better ERP experience where efficiency, transparency and community are a priority.
This particular product comes with most of the features and capabilities available with the other aforementioned products, such as financial management, human resources, payroll and time tracking, asset management and more, just on a larger scale. It also provides an employee portal for staff members to manage their own personnel data. It allows for more visibility and fewer interruptions.
Skyward Benefits
There are many benefits with using any of Skyward’s SIS, HR and ERP products, especially when it comes to K-12 schools, learning facilities and municipalities. Their SIS for K-12 is packed with features that essentially minimize tedious administrative tasks for educators, instructors and teachers so they put more focus on teaching and engaging students. These benefits include:
Better insights
Teachers can get clear insights into their students’ performance, behavior and even their health with the various classroom management tools available. The online parent portal and student portal can help strengthen the parent-teacher and student-teacher partnership.
Financial control
The financial management software can help administrators and educational institutions strengthen control over their finances to protect against possible fraud. It also has tools to facilitate business office transactions, making workflows more efficient and processes less time-consuming.
Human resources tools
The human resources features and tools allow for a better view of employee performance, growth and history. It enables users to make better decisions when it comes to the hiring process and filling in job openings. Finally, it has the capability to protect school districts and municipalities from noncompliance repercussions and costly penalties.
Payroll processing
The payroll and time clock module allows for more flexibility and transformation into a totally web-based payroll process. It gives employees a far easier process switching between time statuses and job codes. It can also help improve time management by utilizing automation technology to approve key processes.
Better engagement
Skyward’s family engagement module is specifically tailored to remove any potential barriers between students and their teachers, as well as between teachers and the parents. The web and mobile access options help to connect students to teachers, teachers to students and parents to teachers in a more efficient and convenient manner. It also drives accountability, engagement and provides a better experience for all parties involved.
Skyward is a school management and SIS provider that essentially covers every aspect associated with running a successful educational institution, from human resources and financial management to various student services and school business ERP.
Skyward Pricing
Skyward follows a quote-based pricing model to provide a more customized solutions package based on the customer’s needs. You may contact Skyward’s team directly to request a demo or to get your quote and customized pricing.
Conclusion
Skyward is a feature-packed SIS solution and school business ERP platform. They offer three different products to facilitate three different levels of the educational system; the teachers and educator level, the administrative level and the municipal level.
This means you don’t have to avail of all their products; you just have to choose which ones you need for your school district. Using Skyward can help schools better manage their schools and create better plans for future years.
