Alma Announces Student Information System Upgrades

Alma Student Information System (SIS) recently unveiled updates to its SIS platform, providing new features making it easier for districts to onboard schools and use third-party apps. Both the parent and student versions of its portals are also now available in Spanish. The updates were released in time for the new school year.

“Alma’s upgrades make the onboarding and overall day-to-day SIS experience for schools and districts even better, and also support our mission of increasing educational equity, inclusion and family engagement,” said Andrew Herman, Alma’s founder and CEO, in a news release. “If schools and districts learned anything in 2020, it’s that technology demands on educators and parents are greater than ever. We are creating tools such as the App Center to make it easier for educators to use the apps they love while using their student information system. And we are improving access to student information for Spanish-speaking families, making Alma a comprehensive SIS solution for schools.”

Upgrades to Alma include:

  • Navigator, which helps school districts transition over to Alma. The in-app SIS implementation guide reduces migration and setup time by providing point-by-point onboarding instructions, project management tools, and progress updates. Schools can configure project plans to assign tasks (like setting up GPA scales or class schedules) to team members around the school, and users with permission can track the status of all assigned tasks.
  • The app center, which enables districts to integrate third-party apps into the SIS. Administrators can select their app of choice from Alma’s Vendor Library and select the appropriate files and data to share. They can also add apps to the Vendor Library and use the Integrations Dashboard to view the setup and metrics of its daily use.
  • Multilingual parent and student portals offer access and engagement to non-English-speaking families. Spanish versions of the portals are already available, with other language options coming soon. Students and families can access the system in English or Spanish for tasks like registering their children and viewing grades form a mobile device.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.