Focus School Reviews

“missing support for hidden tools

Pros

Easy to use!!! It includes a lot of features that I've ended up discovering by accident while using it.

Cons

There's not enough training or support to help users understand and make use of the features they haven't used yet.

“all-in-one school records hub

Pros

Having everything in one place makes this software really user-friendly in my experience. I find it easy to manage student information, staff details and teacher schedules from a single area and I can access records like student data and staff credentials in just a few clicks. I also find the reporting tools very useful since I can build and adjust reports based on the exact data I need which helps me keep everything organized.

Cons

Because the system holds so much information, it can feel a little overwhelming at times. There are quite a few sections and links to click through and some parts could definitely be simplified to make navigation less cluttered.

“simple navigation for everyone

Pros

Navigating the software feels very easy for me even as someone who isn't very technical.

Cons

At this point, I haven't come across anything I dislike about it.

“User-friendly grading and attendance

Pros

Using it for grading and attendance has been very easy in my experience and I find it makes those daily tasks easy to manage.

Cons

The navigation could be more aligned. At times, it takes quite a few clicks just to reach a student's information.

“outdated layout with hidden tools

Pros

One thing I've found really useful is being able to enter grades from anywhere. I also rely on having multiple tabs open so I can quickly switch between attendance and grades and I find the classroom log especially helpful for tracking communication with both parents and students.

Cons

It feels like a grade portal full of buried features and some of them are so tucked away that they barely get used. Even though the ability to grade from anywhere is convenient, the system really looks like it needs a facelift. It may just be the version my district uses but the interface feels outdated. From what I've seen, it looks like there's a way to assign work to students but I'm still not sure how that part of the program is supposed to work. Some other features are also not very simple, like submitting a grade change request. I really wish everything was organized more clearly. At the same time, I understand that since the system has been around for so long, a redesign would probably take a lot of work, including user testing, fixing issues and moving old data over. In the end, it gets the job done but it still leaves quite a bit to be desired. I'd love to see the classroom log connect with outside tools, like importing from ClassDojo or email. A cleaner, more direct way to update grades would also help. And I'm not sure what parents actually have access to but if there isn't already an app for parents and students, that would be a big improvement. A lot of my students come from homes without a computer or with very limited internet-capable devices.

“Powerful student data access

Pros

Access to so many features in one place is a big plus for me especially when pulling attendance, enrollment history, disciplinary referrals, grades and assessment results. As an administrator, I find it gives me detailed academic records that make tracking and reviewing student information much more efficient.

Cons

One downside which another user also mentioned, is that the website really isn't customizable. Looks are not a big priority for me but there are parts of the layout I would definitely change if that were an option. It can also feel a bit finicky when hovering over menus since they can disappear with even a slight cursor movement. Overall the interface feels a little too crowded.

“reliable grading features

Pros

Entering grades in the system worked well for me and over time I've actually come to really appreciate using it.

Cons

It crashed pretty often and reaching customer support was nearly impossible. There also weren't many people available to help resolve problems when issues came up.

“Good software

Pros

Keeping all my student information in one place makes a big difference for me. I find entering grades and taking attendance simple and I really value the login notifications since they help me stay on track with attendance. I also find it helpful that I can manage lesson plans within the same system.

Cons

There are quite a few tabs so navigating everything can get confusing. Grade configuration is also a bit tricky and it feels like there are too many options for tasks that should be more easy.

“well-organized dashboard experience

Pros

The homepage layout is something I really appreciate. I organize my view so everything is easy to locate and I find the structure very convenient for daily use. I also find the student icons helpful since they quickly show key needs like SPED, ESL/LEP and other indicators once I understand the symbols. I like that there are multiple ways to access the same information across different screens which gives me a lot of flexibility.

Cons

It bothers me to not be able to customize my screen. I do like seeing birthdays right when I log in but with more than 1,200 students on campus and only 390 assigned to me, it would be much more useful to see which of my 12th graders have birthdays that week instead of the whole school. I also do not use every featured program so being able to remove the ones I do not need and make space for the tools I use every day, like attendance, grades and student information, would be a big improvement. Another frustration is getting logged out after being idle for just 3 to 4 minutes. Also, while there is a "Help" button, it is not very useful since it only links to articles. Having access to a live chat agent would be much better.

“Useful hub with admin limits

Pros

Having single sign-on and keeping everything in one place is really helpful for me.

Cons

One frustration is that after taking attendance, I can't see the total number of students. With admin access, I'd also expect to be able to view teachers' gradebooks instead of having to search for students one by one just to check their class grades. As an ESE support teacher, being able to see the teacher's gradebook would make it much easier to monitor the students I support. Some of the data also needs better congreatation. Parent email addresses, for example, appear in multiple places when they really should be stored in one central location.