Changing our SIS. Torn between Aeries and PowerSchool, thoughts?

[Kevin252]

We are a small, special needs, NPS in Northern California. We have 200 total students at 2 campuses. We're currently using FACTS/Ren Web as our SIS and we're dissatisfied.

We're entertaining PowerSchool and Aeries. Aeries wouldn't talk to us 5 years ago because we were too small. We went with Ren Web and are ready for a change.

We're leaning towards PowerSchool, what are your recommendations, pros/cons, and insight in these if you're using them.

Thanks for your input.

[trish_behlings]

Our district has been using PowerSchool since 2001. Every Tech director that we get wants to change to Aeries until they see the "power" that we can do with PowerSchool. The biggest advantage is that I can customize pretty much anything in PowerSchool to meet our needs.

We are a large district of 20 schools, K-8 with 13,000 students.

[ItsOnlyDoug]

Well this is a PowerSchool Community so it might be hard to find a truly objective review, but I will throw in my 2 cents. 

We are a small school (<1000) in NJ and we've been using PowerSchool since 2001. I've been the district admin for PS for the last 17 years.  Whenever someone asks me why PowerSchool the first thing I always say it customizability. In working with other SIS platforms any time we needed that company to make a change to a page it always cost time, money, or both.

With PowerSchool if someone in the district comes to me and says, "Hey can we we do...?" I know 2 things:

1. The answer is almost always yes.
2. Even if I can't build what the user needs, the user network for powerschool is so vast that you can be sure that someone has either built what you are looking for or will help you build it.

Now, PowerSchool is not infallible. One of the things that concerns me is the speed at which they acquire new software applications and companies.  This tends to spread support thin until everyone get 'caught up'. It also can create issues if you were a user of a specific product before it was bought by PowerSchool. Early integration is sometimes rocky.  But, like I said the user network is so helpful I have no trouble filling support gaps by reaching out to other users.

Anyway, my 2 cents.  Good luck with whatever direction you choose.