What to Look for in an All-in-One School System

An all-in-one school system is the framework for an entire educational operation, freeing every person who has a role to play in education from some of the minutia of running a school. Here are the key factors to consider when selecting an all-in-one school system.

Benefits of an All-in-One School System

At its very highest level, a comprehensive all-in-one school system makes decision-making easier, by providing real-time data about everything from the edtech solutions that students are using to how many students require vaccinations before the next school year.

For Districts

Your choice of an all-in-one system should provide your district with the ability to easily plug in and organize data, using next-generation data analysis, reporting, and dashboard solutions that help districts make informed decisions. Look for a system that offers the ability to integrate real-time data, reporting, compliance, and tracking in a safe and secure environment.

For School Boards

Your all-in-one system should enhance productivity and be cost-effective. School board members should have their own portal through which they can access meeting minutes and other relevant information to accomplish their duties.

For Principals

Your all-in-one system should allow you to track your students from pre-K through high school and beyond. The advantages of this approach include tremendous cost- and time-saving efficiencies and the ability to accelerate the learning trajectory and wellbeing of each student in a just-in-time manner.

For Administrators

The all-in-one system you select should include a comprehensive communications tool to procure and disseminate all kinds of content, as a means of managing communication and learning for all stakeholders. Look for features that include:

  • Prohibited manual uploading of data by external systems
  • Curtailing of undo processing and manual entry by staff
  • Scheduling of daily student absence notifications, student assignments, progress reports, etc. that may be automatically sent for any school and grade level
  • Automatic tracking of all attempted and successful communications made to parents and guardians
  • District and school notifications, such as inclement weather reports, cancelled activities, etc.

For Health and Safety Staff

Your all-in-one system should provide you with an efficient student medical record management system that makes available immediate and historical information. All areas of student medical record keeping will be accessible from one screen, including a comprehensive student medical summary to review or print. Look for systems that allow you to record emergency contact information, manage immunizations, handle reporting requirements, and enable Medicaid billing.

For School IT Leaders

Security and compliance are key factors to consider when evaluating an all-in-one system for your school. The system should offer built-in full HIPAA and FERPA compliance, SSL certificates, inherent record locking features, and interoperability. The system should ensure compliance and maintenance of data integrity with little administrative oversight, secure remote access through portals, remote updates from original data sources, large file and directory processing capability, and secure disk storage.

For Teachers

Any all-in-one system your district chooses should be designed to support teachers in their efforts to not only meet standards but also give them the freedom to better engage with their students. Look for an integrated learning solution that focuses on student achievement and teacher peace of mind when it comes to standards-based grading and alignment with Common Core State Standards. This solution should provide an integrated grade book and lesson planner that enables teachers to perform all tasks and access all dashboard information from a single location, including letter grades and student mastery.

Your all-in-one system should also include integrated support for SPED – a comprehensive, federally and state compliant, special education system that manages the complexities and changing dynamics of special education reporting and supports both IEP and 504 management.

For Students

The all-in-one system should empower students to take control of their own education trajectory, allowing them to collaborate with mentors, teachers, and school counselors, as they journey toward college and career success. Students may build a profile that captures accomplishments and follows them throughout their school career.

For Parents

The all-in-one system should make managing a child’s education easy for parents, from facilitating a wide range of communications to paying fees and buying lunches online with ease and security. Information about their students, including report cards and progress reports, school communications, and schedule updates should be readily accessible.

Supporting Education from Every Angle

An all-in-one system provides relevant insight and data about students, to better support their education, health, and safety. A day in the life of a student is managed through the system: The student may be in the cafeteria line and the kitchen staff are immediately alerted to a food allergy when the student buys lunch; the student may be completing an assignment at home on a device of any kind at any time and the assignment becomes immediately available to the teacher; the student may be in the library and the teacher, parent, and mentor are aware that the student has checked a book out; the student may be with a counselor or school nurse and immunizations and transcripts are readily available.

Every stakeholder throughout the school district has access to a portal, and all information is secure and confidential with distributions by permission only. Reports and score cards are available at your fingertips and all students, including those with special education requirements, are catered to in one system.

To learn more about how Bright SUITE, Lumen Touch’s all-in-one system, achieves all of this and more, please get in touch.

What All-in-One EdTech Systems Deliver to K-12 Schools

K-12 schools are compelled to deliver not only quality instruction but also manage social-emotional learning, health mandates, special needs, and education standards that meet state curriculum criteria. Managing all of these demands while also providing a safe learning environment that promotes student engagement and teacher retention is a complex juggling act. All-in-one edtech systems like Lumen™ Touch, that address all of the various demands with which districts are charged, can make a significant and measurable difference in student outcomes, teacher attrition rates, and costs.

All-in-One EdTech Systems Save Time

Instead of being forced to evaluate different solutions for every need your district has, an all-in-one system can provide an entire suite of solutions to meet all your district’s needs with one contract, one implementation, and one support team. When that system is also capable of being customized to meet your specific needs and comes with a library of pre-vetted edtech offerings to enhance student learning, it becomes something more than just a timesaver. Bright SUITE™ frees teachers from the burden of laborious data entry and reporting, giving them time for professional development and closer engagement with students.

All-in-One EdTech Systems Save Money

License fees, rostering, multiple vetting processes, and IT compatibility: When you are piecing together solutions from a variety of sources, not only does your school face increased cybersecurity risks but you also incur increased labor costs. Districts making a switch to Lumen Touch report annual savings in the tens of thousands. They are able to create new efficiencies with inventory management, attendance processing, and data reporting, while simultaneously simplifying compliance.

All-in-One EdTech Systems Give Peace of Mind

Working closely with a single solution provider offers K-12 schools, students, parents, IT leaders, and administrators peace of mind. Lumen Touch has been providing an all-in-one option for 20 years. An all-in-one enterprise management solution not only allows districts to save money, but it also creates a secure and connected school district. Real-time data lets educators make the best decisions for all students.

Why Lumen Touch Bright SUITE?

Lumen Touch not only customizes Bright SUITE for each school, but we build a long and trusting relationship with each district, creating the best environment for success. We provide dedicated support to every district, school, and teacher, including on-site and virtual training. We listen to, and incorporate into future iterations, suggestions from the people using our solutions, often creating custom solutions to make Bright SUITE more effective for an individual school’s needs. Don’t take our word for it, though; here’s what some of our clients have had to say:

“We switched to Lumen from another vendor at the end of the first semester several years ago due to issues with that vendor. I believe Lumen Touch is the best student information system available. They do not accept status quo; they listen to school district needs and desires and are always looking for ways to provide enhancements they believe will benefit school districts. When you need help immediately, there is always a voice on the other end to assist you. Once, when I had an urgent need, I watched three programmers log into our system to solve the issue; all I can say is WOW. That personal and professional touch won me over as a lifetime user of Lumen Touch. I guess you could say I am one of their biggest cheerleaders. Thanks, Lumen Touch, for an awesome system and service.”

“I have been very pleased with my experience with Lumen Touch’s Student Information System. The customer support is very good. I often have questions, and I can just make a quick phone call and get them immediately answered.”

“Lumen Touch has awesome tech support and will help immediately when needed.”

Lumen Touch Bright SUITE is a single-platform solution, providing a team of experts to help schools meet the specific needs of their districts, decrease the cost of having a comprehensive digital platform, and provide security in a world of cyber insecurity.