SchoolCues Reviews

“Supportive platform for schools”

Pros

This platform is really well suited to the needs of a small school. I especially appreciate that the team keeps asking for feedback and actively uses it to keep improving the product.

Cons

A few features handle the essentials but could still use some added functionality and refinement. That said I do value the fact that I trust the team to keep putting in the work to make the experience better which makes them a reliable long-term partner.

“affordable plans with flexible options”

Pros

The pricing is budget-friendly and there's a broad range of options I can customize to fit what I need.

Cons

At times, the billing section feels a little confusing and isn't the easiest to work through.

“helpful school records management”

Pros

It gives us a easy way to keep all the different information our school needs updated and organized.

Cons

My only suggestion would be to let users access the payment module within the app.

“feature-packed”

Pros

It covers everything I was looking for in a program. The interface is easy and getting familiar with it doesn't take long.

Cons

Some features are a bit tricky to configure at the beginning but that's pretty typical for software like this.

“all-in-one platform win”

Pros

Having everything we rely on in a single platform is something I really appreciate.

Cons

There are still a few minor kinks being worked out here and there but they seem genuinely motivated to resolve any issues that come up.

“reliable core modules”

Pros

Enrollment, attendance and student information system modules have worked really well for us. I find them user-friendly and all of our teachers can log in and use them without much trouble. Customer support has also been great, with quick responses whenever we've had questions.

Cons

This year, we've run into a lot of deliverability problems with the communication module. It's the first time we've dealt with this but it has been extremely frustrating. We've also had issues with permission forms locking at random times on the day they're due. It would be much better if they locked consistently at midnight.

“Packed with thoughtful features”

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is how much detail is built into the different features. It handles event sign-ups really well even when they involve multiple days or times. I also like that alumni can be archived without losing access to their information later on. I find being able to create custom contact lists useful and the reminder option for upcoming events helps a lot. The image gallery is another nice touch since it gives us a place to post flyers and other important announcements.

Cons

Looking ahead, I'd love to see a few updates. The character limit in TextCues feels too restrictive and it would be helpful if classroom teachers could receive TextCues too. An option to translate messages for parents would also make communication much better. I'd also like communications to include a selectable send time instead of only letting us choose the date.

“Aligned student info management”

Pros

Having this system in place has been a big help because we used to have no digital way to collect and organize all student information. Now it lets us align a lot of that process and many of its features have been really useful for us.

Cons

Getting an account set up can feel overwhelming for families because the instruction sheet is fairly daunting so they often put off entering their information. We would really like those steps to be simpler. On top of that some parts of the system are not very simple. For instance, if a parent wants to report a student absent, they have to go into "Permission Forms" instead of the "Attendance" section which is confusing. We have also begun using School Cues for nearly all classroom and school-wide communication and that makes me wonder whether parents are actually seeing the messages or if their email inboxes are just becoming overloaded.

“better school paperwork in one place”

Pros

Running a non-traditional school makes it tough to keep applications and all the required paperwork organized in one place and this has really helped with that. It brings everything together in a centralized system that's simple to use which lets us spend more time focusing on students and less time dealing with administrative work.

Cons

A few steps still feel repetitive and some menu options could use updating but it's nothing that causes any major inconvenience.

“fantastic fit for schools”

Pros

Having this software has been phenomenal for our school community. It gives everyone the convenience of using an app, keeps the payment management system clear and easy and lets us set up classrooms in a way that matches exactly what we're doing.

Cons

One adjustment at first was that the software uses different terms for some processes than what we were used to. After we learned how those definitions worked in the system, we were able to use them to our advantage.

“strong admissions and student records”

Pros

The admissions tools and student information system were the biggest wins for me. Enrolling students felt easy and I appreciate having all of that information stored digitally in one place where it's simple to pull up when needed. The payment feature has also been really helpful especially because it lets me apply scholarship discounts during the process.

Cons

Where it fell short most was in the parent communication features. They didn't feel very simple or especially helpful for either teachers or families. We were hoping for a simpler way to share day-to-day updates with photos and videos, send quick announcements and manage group chats but it didn't really deliver there. Because of that, we ended up bringing in another app just to cover those needs. We also expected GradeBooks to fit our workflow but it ultimately didn't handle skills-based grading for a yearly term very well so we had to switch to a separate tool for that too.

“best parent communication tools”

Pros

System was easy to get started with and I find it offers excellent features for reaching parents both in groups and one-on-one. The newsletter communication also works really well.

Cons

It does work with our existing QuickBooks setup, although we haven't connected the two yet. I'm looking forward to having our bookkeeper finish that setup so we can start using it and I also really like the way the system looks.

“Perfect for attendance and parent calls”

Pros

Taking attendance is very simple to use and I find having the student directory available in the mobile app really helpful since I can call a parent directly from there.

Cons

Any time I run into an issue, the support team responds quickly and helps right away.

“helpful training and responsive support”

Pros

Each module comes with short but very informative training videos that are simple to follow which makes setup and implementation feel very user-friendly. I've found the support team responds quickly and consistently works to give answers that are clear, useful and tailored to our school's specific needs. The student information system and student dashboard also make important information much more accessible for the people who need it.

Cons

Our staff has had some confusion over which module to use when a new version is introduced since the older version has stayed active. That said the team has been very responsive about correcting any issues that came up because of that confusion. Another downside is that digital photos and graphics can't be copied and pasted into newsletters which makes putting them together more time-consuming than using a standard word processor. Because of that, we end up using the newsletter feature less often.

“responsive support and constant updates”

Pros

The customer service has been one of the biggest highlights for me. I've had several hour-long Zoom sessions with the support team and I've found them consistently responsive, helpful and clearly interested in making the product better over time.

Cons

As with most platforms, it takes a bit of time to really understand how all the pieces work together. The newsletter feature could also benefit from better graphic design options.

“customizable modules and strong value”

Pros

The range of modules is one of the best parts especially since I can choose the ones that actually fit my school's needs. I find the website layout very user-friendly which makes it pleasant to work in. On top of that, the pricing feels extremely reasonable for everything included with School Cues. It really offers excellent value for the amount of service provided.

Cons

App still feels like it could use a bit more polish. There can be a noticeable lag at times and the interface often feels slow to respond. I'd also love to see a printable calendar, along with options for different font colors and simple graphics or emojis on the calendar.

“fantastic parent communication hub”

Pros

One of the biggest benefits has been having every important school document, like our handbook, permission slips, newsletters and more, stored in one "box" that parents can access whenever they need it. Parents can also send in notes for sick days and tardies right through the app which has saved them a lot of time and those notices come to us immediately while updating attendance at the same time. The incident reporting tools for behavior, medication administration and praise have also been really useful since all teachers can view the information. I find it has made organizing volunteers for events and class parties much simpler too, without having to rely on extra links or Signup Genius logins and it's helpful being able to pull reports showing who signed up for each role. Communication with parents overall has been excellent. I also appreciate that calendars can be assigned to different groups, like after-school clubs and parents can just choose the one they need from a dropdown menu. Having the whole school's parent contact information available on our phones in the app has been especially valuable for situations like field trips. Our staff, teachers and parents have all enjoyed a lot of things since making the switch and even enrollment and enrollment inquiries are far better than with the system we used before.

Cons

Billing and invoicing side for parents could definitely be more easy and simpler to use and the training overall feels a bit lacking. During training, there really weren't any "what if" situations or practical examples covered. It was mostly just "click here, click there," which is already fairly simple for most people. The grades feature has also taken some adjustment for our teachers and caused a few frustrations along the way, although nothing ended up being too difficult to figure out.

“Fast setup”

Pros

At Thrive Academy Atlanta, our entire staff enjoys using School Cues because it's very easy. As the school's lead administrator, I especially appreciated how quickly we were able to get everything configured. Compared with other similar platforms, we were up and running in a fraction of the time and it helped us align a wide range of school processes right away. The difference it has made in the way we manage data and records has been tremendous.

Cons

One challenge comes up when we need to move students between classes which happens because of different learning needs and performance issues. If a student has to be shifted from a regular class to a modified class, we currently have to delete the assignments already attached to that student and that makes the process difficult.

“frustrating payments and poor support”

Pros

It's helpful to me to have parent-teacher communication, electronic forms and payment handling all in one platform.

Cons

Customer support has been really poor and the payment side is difficult to navigate because it feels overly complicated. It's not very user-friendly and ends up being frustrating to work with. Compared with this, QuickBooks is much easier to use for payments.

“all-in-one school management win”

Pros

It covers a lot of ground. We rely on it for student enrollment, billing and payment collection, emailing and texting parents, parent-teacher conference scheduling and plenty more.

Cons

Since the platform is so wide-ranging, it handles a ton of tasks and some modules are definitely more polished than others. For example, the sign-up feature isn't quite as simple as Sign Up Genius but the tradeoff is having everything in one system instead of juggling several disconnected apps. They also roll out updates often so a few small glitches can pop up when new features launch, though it's clear they keep improving the product. Some other apps may look more appealing or feel more charming for early childhood families but from what I've seen, this one delivers the most useful functionality for what schools actually need especially at its price point.