PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced its support to help fill substitute teacher roles across the country by offering new updates and features to its Unified Talent solution and by providing a volunteer substitute initiative for PowerSchool employees. This prevailing issue exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic has left many schools struggling to keep classrooms open and many schools or districts have even had to call on parents, office workers, and their communities to help fill these much-needed roles.
“This school year has arguably been one of the toughest in recent memory with districts grappling with staffing shortages and, in particular, with finding substitute teachers,” said Marcy Daniel, Chief Product Officer, PowerSchool. “That’s why it was important to us to provide the tools and resources districts need to keep classrooms open by providing them with the latest technology and encouraging our employees – many of whom are former educators – to help staff classrooms in their local communities.”
New Updates, Features Make it Easier for Schools and Subs to Connect
According to a recent Education Week survey, 77 percent of school principals and district leaders across the nation reported difficulties in hiring enough substitute teachers for their schools. To help, PowerSchool launched a new mobile application and made upgrades to its Unified Talent SmartFind Express substitute management solution to help districts more efficiently find substitute teachers.
The new upgrades to SmartFind Express include two-way SMS text messaging making it easier for districts to reach their substitute teacher pool and for substitute teachers to connect with jobs. This can improve substitute fill rates by quickly connecting substitutes with jobs via alerts and text messages, as well as traditional automated voice calls without requiring them to log into a computer. Text messages do not require a smart phone or an internet plan and include interactive feature setting commands like “Accept,” and “Unavailable.” The update also allows for extended job visibility and acceptance windows allowing districts to plan ahead.
“Since our district implemented SmartFind Express, the platform’s unified interface has streamlined the way our district manages identifying, contacting, and scheduling substitute teachers across the district,” said James Agee, Business Education Instructor, Mercer County Public Schools. “PowerSchool has proven its ability to keep our educators organized and efficient each day of the week, which is why we continue to invest in this trusted education technology provider.”
The Substitute Mobile App, which launched late last year, is free for substitute teachers and allows districts to connect with them quickly and efficiently. Within the app, substitutes can manage their schedules and get alerts and texts about new jobs.
For more information on PowerSchool’s SmartFind Express or the Substitute Mobile app, which is part of the PowerSchool Unified Talent Solution, visit https://www.powerschool.com/solutions/unified-talent/substitute-management-software/
PowerSchool Launches Volunteer Substitute Teacher Initiative for Employees
This week, PowerSchool is also launching an initiative providing employees with the opportunity of becoming volunteer emergency substitute teachers in their local communities. The PowerSchool Emergency Substitute Teaching Volunteer Initiative provides resources and paid time off for full time, U.S.-based employees to engage in volunteering at schools. The initiative supports the company’s Environmental, Social and Governmental initiatives by focusing on leveraging PowerSchool talent and technology to create social impact at scale.
About PowerSchool
PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million students globally and more than 14,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries. Visit www.powerschool.com to learn more.
© PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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