2. Brief Skyward History
• Company founded in 1980
• 1984 - After accumulating over 50 Wisconsin school districts as customers,
the company was incorporated as "School Administration Software, Inc.“
• 1994 - School Administration Software, Inc. is renamed to Skyward,
Inc. The company took on a new look and logo, yet maintained its focus
on schools.
• 2001 - Skyward partners with the Washington School Information
Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) as the software solution for 297 school
districts in WA
• 2003 - Skyward acquires Golden Concepts, LLC, an information
technology company dedicated exclusively to providing technology
services to K-12 schools. As a result, Skyward opens a new branch office
in Madison, Wisconsin named Enterprise Solutions.
• 2009 - Skyward releases the latest version of the Skyward Student
Management System which is comprised of the completely web-based
Student Management Suite and the School Business Suite. This change
allows for customers to operate in a true HTML environment, requiring
nothing to be loaded on a local desktop.
• 2011 - Texas recognizes Skyward as a preferred statewide Student
Information System provider.
3. Who Benefits from
Skyward?
• School Board • Superintendent
• Business Office • Business Manager
• HR Director
• Human Resources
• IT Director
• Curriculum & Assessment
• Secondary Principal
• Student Services
• Elementary Principal
• Classroom • Curriculum Director
• Food Service • Special Education
• School Office Director
• Technology • Secondary Teacher
• Health Office • Elementary Teacher
• Athletics & Activities • Parent
• Student
4. Product Features
• Single Database
• “Cloud” accessibility and backup
• K-12 specific programs
• Extensive Product line-up
o Finance
o HR
o Student Management
• Future Updates Twice a year
• Included State Reports
5. Skyward Services
• Project Management of product and service
implementations
• Data Conversions of over 38 different databases
• Expert Training on all the new enhancements and
techniques
• Customer Support with a proven track record of
outstanding support
6. Parent’s Reviews
“Like many American families, my wife and I work full time.
Skyward Family Access allows us to stay connected and
informed about our child's progress in school. Whether it's
reviewing current grades, making a deposit in her lunch account,
verifying attendance, or reading messages posted by the
teacher, the online portal helps us maintain a strong home-to-
school connection, despite leading busy lives. The information in
Family Access is a valuable tool and allows us to have
meaningful conversations with our daughter about her school
work and academic progress. “ - By Mark Hess (Executive
Director, WALLED LAKE CONS SCHL DIST, MI )
“This tool helps me help my son, as well as helping me to support
his teachers. When I am on the system I can communicate with
his teachers right there. I don't have to worry about looking up
email addresses or phone numbers. This is the best thing since
sliced bread.” - By Laura Cobb (Parent, ALLEN ISD, TX
7. District’s Reviews
“Skyward has been a valuable strategic partner of Jordan School
District since 2005. Our selection process was designed to strike a
careful and reasonable balance between functionality and cost.
Skyward’s attention to detail for project management, data
conversion, and training services was instrumental in our successful
implementation of mission-critical systems. The district is able to
operate more efficiently because our student information system is
also a Skyward solution. Jordan School District continues to improve
many of our processes thanks to Skyward and their ongoing
support.” - By Cindy Nagasawa-Cruz (DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION
SYSTEM, JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT, UT)
“This was a great way to network with other districts within our state
as well as nationally and internationally. It gave me the ability to
put a face to the name of Skyward staff who I generally only
contact via email or on the phone. It also gave me knowledge of
new features to take back to my district with me.” - By Carmen
Kizmann (SYSTEMS ANALYST, ST LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT)
8. Galveston, TX Case Study
• In 2005, Galveston ISD implemented Skyward’s student
and financial management solutions and also added a
disaster recovery plan.
o The school district moved from a pre-Windows, unsupported information
management system and away from it’s local disaster recovery solution only
1/8th of a mile from the coast.
• The director of information management systems for
Galveston ISD stated that a number operational
improvements have been seen since Skyward was
implemented. Also, the administration office is able to
generate reports “faster and more easily” since campus’
are able to make routine changes quickly.
• The implementation process of the new skyward system
as well as the Disaster Recovery Service plan was “quick
and painless”.
9. Galveston, TX Case Study
Continued
• September 15th, 2008 – Hurricane Ike strikes the Texas
Coast and as a result, massive power outages and
widespread destruction is left in it’s wake.
• Galveston ISD puts into action it’s Disaster Recovery Plan.
o Because of previous preparations and how well thought out the plan was, within
hours they were able to run their payroll systems, submit their student
displacement data to the state and maintain other critical information and
services.
o The School Management Software was able to be ran from remote locations via
a secure internet connection thus enabling the payroll system and check
printing.
• Galveston ISD was well pleased with Skywards results
before, during, and afterwards and as a result, seem to
be considering moving other services over to them.
