4 must-have tools for every school principal

What decides the success of a school? Is it just teaching in classrooms? No. The success of any school depends not only on the academics but also on how the school manages its relationship with the key stakeholders, i.e. with the students, teachers, parents, and alumni. Managing a school is no mean feat. School principals, who are at the forefront of managing schools, have a complex job that requires educational as well as managerial abilities.

This complex job has been made even more challenging by the multiple lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdowns, running all the functions of a school required schools to adopt online school management software. The adoption of good school management software is a decision that typically the principal has to make. So if you are a school principal/owner faced with the decision of choosing the best school management software for your school, here are a few pointers that will make the job easy for you.

1. A system for daily administrative tasks

A well-designed school management software has multiple tools for the daily administrative tasks of the school. For example, there has to be some kind of attendance system for logging the attendance of teaching as well as non-teaching staff. An online system ensures that this task happens in a hassle-free manner. The principal can log into the app and then check the daily attendance for any absences and discrepancies. Not only attendance, but schools also maintain an inventory of many kinds of things, like lab supplies, sports supplies, etc. these typically take up a lot of space when maintained in separate physical ledgers. With an online system that is updated regularly, such stock keeping can be done with a few clicks.

2. A website and other marketing tools

For a school to prosper, good academics is just one of the many important requirements. It is also imperative that prospective parents get to know about your school. A school website is the simplest way to ensure this. Any good school management software comes with a built-in website builder or listing page that can also be easily updated regularly. You can also run marketing campaigns using their services. If you feel that your school needs additional help in maintaining the website and running marketing campaigns, dedicated school edtechs like LEAD can help you.

3. A system to ensure parent-student-teacher communication

In offline mode, ensuring seamless communication between the school (via the teachers), the student, and the parent is not easy. Traditionally parents interact with the school only during parent-teacher meetings. Such meetings are held at most 3-4 times a year.

However, online school management software has separate logins for students, teachers, and parents. Each interface is uniquely tailored for the respective user. With such an interface parents get detailed information about their child’s progress. This ensures that they are engaged in the child’s educational journey in a meaningful way. They can also share their concerns with the schools via the app. Such continuous communication is crucial for a healthy relationship between parents and the school.

4. A student record management system

Typically, maintaining student records not only takes a lot of effort but significant real estate allocation. School management systems also have very easy-to-use solutions for maintaining student records. Usually, the information gets entered into a database and all such databases are interlinked to get comprehensive reports. For example, a school management system can allow a teacher to find which student is weak in which concept by pulling out records from relevant tests. With good school management software, this can be done with the click of a few buttons.

The world is rapidly getting ready for the new normal of repeated lockdowns and the best way to address it is to embrace it. A school management software can be a catalyst in transforming your school into a top-class modern institution.

With LEAD’s integrated school management software, your school can deliver uninterrupted and excellent learning, both online and in school, while using world-class teaching pedagogies to achieve the desired learning outcomes for every child. LEAD provides an Integrated system to each of its partner schools to ensure high-quality learning and teaching experience. With our 9-point transformation checklist, each school we partner with turns into a center of excellent learning. Every child deserves an excellent education and with LEAD your school can also provide this holistic learning opportunity to every student.