Alma

Glad we're using Alma

Vorteile:

Unlike other SIS's, Alma actually looks and feels like it was made in the 2010's. The system is solid, and has essentially every feature a smaller school like ours would want (and many more that we don't need to use). The gradebook is excellent, and it's easy to transfer classes and students from year-to-year. Their customer service has been great (we accidentally deleted multiple report cards in different places the other day and they quickly and helpfully solved our issue by restoring to a backup), and they are continually adding features and improving the platform. And the cost has been at least 50% less than quotes we were getting from major competitors. Many reasons to switch to Alma.

Nachteile:

The latest transcripts update was helpful - there are still a couple of features we'd like on the transcripts front, but that's mostly because our school has a unique curriculum. This is totally just a personal preference, but I'd also like to be able to search for classes in the search feature in addition to contacts.

Alma Software Review (SBG school)

Kommentare: Support has been very helpful, typically it seems we have questions that either haven't been asked before or are not implemented yet. Faculty/staff is able to access the reports tab which helps them track students and contacts quickly and has access to student records and class schedules.

Vorteile:

Alma is easier than our former software and allows us to use our Standards Based Grading which is our priority. Parents were able to quickly learn how to use the system and the attendance feature is great. Students were also able to learn the system and although it doesn't have a comprehensive calendar with their schedules and our school activities, they were able to use the daily tab to track their classes.

Nachteile:

The calendar is static and unable to be exported to phones/other calendars so we had to create an app for that. The reports are not as in-depth as needed and we aren't able to save our filters/criteria that we use often. They are still working on SBG reporting so many items we aren't able to track as we typically do through reports. The report card set up is limited for what we need in our report cards; we had to use every work-around to get a report card as we needed, but they do work now.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen: PraxiSchool und Schoology

Warum Alma gewählt wurde: K-12 was trying to start Standards Based Grading but didn't meet our deadline.

Zuvor genutzte Software: Blackbaud K-12 Solutions

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Alma: It has what we needed for Standard Based Grading both in assignments and report cards for tracking.

Alma Makes My Job SOOOO Much Easier!

Kommentare: Overall, our experience has been very positive. The quick responses to questions and the help available is wonderful!
We do have some questions about standardized grading (we plan to tackle those questions this summer!!)

Vorteile:

I LOVE the customer service, everyone is very personable and quick to respond. My questions are answered completely and I am always directed to where I can find answers to my questions. The program is very easy to use and, typically, I can figure out most issues I am having using the resource pages.

Nachteile:

It might be lack of knowledge on our end, but the teachers are not happy with the standardized grading in Alma. I would also like to be able to allow more detailed access to only certain teachers with specified things.

Alma review

Kommentare: It is hard to navigate through unless you have worked with SIS in the past. The study guide is great but again only if you know where to find things.

Vorteile:

It is easy on the eyes. Very organized for new users.

Nachteile:

There are no straight forward reports. Alot of steps to take care of certain parts of the program.

Switched to Alma, never going back!

Kommentare: Before we switched our school to Alma we were using multiple programs to help our teachers with their record keeping responsibilities. We had one program for grading, another one for rosters, and yet another one for communication with parents. We even had an entirely different program to help generate grade reports and student schedules. None of them interfaced with each other, and our staff were often doing double and triple entries for each student. Since switching to Alma we have reduced the administrative burden on our teachers and office staff by over 50%. Alma has enabled our teachers to better utilize their office time, and freed up valuable opportunities for more one on one teaching time. This is a win-win for everyone involved in the education process. Thank you Alma!

Vorteile:

Alma integrates our administrative processes into one, easy to use program that both parents and teachers love!

Nachteile:

The financial/billing component is not as comprehensive as we need.