Back-to-School Toolkit for K-12 Tech Leaders

5 Resources on the power of interoperability from unified edtech

For students, the right back-to-school supplies can help set them up for success. It’s the same for tech directors: getting back to school with the right edtech tools for your needs sets the stage for school and district success, from the office to the classroom to the home.

A powerful edtech toolkit is built on interoperability, with the ability to share data securely between products.

“As K-12 schools and districts continue to increase their reliance on software to support operations and instruction, the importance of edtech interoperability with connected products that share data, workflows, and a user experience is vital to long-term success,” says Marcy Daniel, PowerSchool Chief Product Officer, in a November 2021 IMS Global article.

A unified platform connects all aspects of your school and district operations. With an interoperable infrastructure as the foundation for your district, everyone can focus on your most important initiatives for student performance and success.

Your Back-to-School Toolkit 

We’ve collected a back-to-school toolkit tailored to today’s K-12 tech leaders. The following resources highlight the benefits that a unified, interoperable system can deliver. 

1. The Tipping Point for Too Many School Technology Tools 

As a tech leader, you want students and educators to have all the tools they need to succeed. But there’s a point when too many tools start hurting productivity rather than improving it. It can be difficult to pinpoint when tools become a hindrance rather than a helper.

Over time, many schools have accumulated a small fortune’s worth of different tools and technology systems designed to help with their jobs. This infographic illustrates the time and expense it costs school districts when technology tools and systems are disparate, or even loosely coupled.

2. Using K-12 Edtech To Support Better Student Outcomes

Educational leaders are constantly expected to look at new and engaging ways to impact student success. But with so many edtech tools available, how do you know what works and what’s a waste of your valuable time and money?

In this whitepaper, learn ways that edtech can help improve student outcomes for your school or district. We take a deep dive into exactly how technology can empower better student learning. The research and case studies in this whitepaper prove that when used effectively by educators, K-12 education technology can improve student outcomes.

Get your copy to learn how edtech can improve student achievement and make learning more active and engaging, help teachers personalize their instruction to meet each student’s learning needs, and more. 

3. Why Connected Data Is Important to K-12 Success 

Educators are flooded with student data from multiple sources, including your SIS, LMS, assessments, data analytics products, and more. The key is connecting that data, bringing it into one integrated platform for a complete view of student performance.

Download this guide to find out why unifying your K-12 data is key to student success, and how to start the process.

4. Streamline Enrollment with Connected Edtech 

Student registration can be stressful and time-consuming for school staff and parents. Plus, an outdated, paper-based process can pose data security risks with the potential for errors or misplaced sensitive information.

Watch this OnDemand webinar to hear how Teton County School District #1 uses PowerSchool Enrollment, seamlessly integrated with the award-winning PowerSchool SIS, to boost security and reduce time spent enrolling students by 60%.

You’ll also learn how your K-12 district can implement unified technology to: 

• Capture accurate, secure student information in one place 
• Decrease time spent enrolling students—for staff and families 
• Forecast future class sizes and hiring needs 

5. Bringing It All Together: One District’s Success Story with Unified Edtech 

Hopkinton School District in Massachusetts wanted to unify its tech systems to improve teaching, technology, and student success. The district chose a unified edtech system from PowerSchool, with PowerSchool SIS and products for student performance analytics, enrollment, and special education. 

“With PowerSchool, we now have systems that integrate and share data, and that helps improve our efficiency and productivity. We’re also able to integrate with other third-party products we use, which is a big benefit to our workflows and abilities,” says Ashoke Ghosh, the district’s director of technology.

Read Hopkinton’s full case study.