Gradelink Blog
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How to Redesign Your Report Card Template
Today. Right now. This moment might just be the perfect time to rethink your school’s report cards. Maybe you’re looking for new frames of reference that convey students’ performance in areas of work habits or specific skill sets in addition to core subjects like science and math. Or perhaps you...
3 Top Report Card Design Principles
What does your report card design say about your school? Design is more than a style or trend. Good design builds meaning and communicates values, which also applies to report cards. The overall layout of your school’s report card informs readers of your school’s key priorities, and the...
Gradelink’s History: From a Simple Project to Serving Nearly 2,000 Schools
From its humble beginnings in 2002, Gradelink has grown from an experimental project to a comprehensive school management system and school website design firm, serving nearly 2,000 schools worldwide. We sat down with one of the company's first employees, Steve Lockwood, to learn how it all...
Add Images to Your School News and Teacher Pages
Improving Your Posts A School News page is a great way to communicate important information with your school community. It's the first thing students and parents see when they log in and it can even be posted on your school’s website. And teachers keep their classes informed with Teacher Pages,...
Add Images to Your SmartSend Emails
More Engaging School Emails Your emails don't have to be limited to just text. SmartSend gives you the ability to include photos, illustrations, graphics — even animated GIFs. Let's go over two ways to add images to your SmartSend emails, which should be saved as .jpg, .gif, .png, or .svg. Method...
A Quick Guide to Grading in Gradelink
Gradelink provides educators with multiple grading options. Follow this guide to get your grading set up properly for your specific needs.
Remote Entertainment Resources for Parents and Teachers
In a previous post, we shared some excellent remote instruction and learning resources for schools and educators looking to meet the academic needs of their students. Today we’d like to offer some resources centered on family fun and entertainment because, well, everyone deserves a bit of a break...
About the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program
We want make sure you are aware of the emergency unemployment assistance program under the federal CARES Act being made available this week. PUA provides assistance for unemployed or partially unemployed individuals who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance and who are unable or...
Keeping Enrollment Up While Your Campus is Closed
The spread of the Coronavirus has changed our way of life and is a trying time for us all. Schools have had to rapidly redesign operations and instruction, and these swift changes have been equal parts incredible and strenuous. Understandably, enrollment is a critical issue, and Gradelink is...
Remote Instruction Solutions for Schools Dealing with the Coronavirus
As schools contend with the fluid situation regarding Covid19, we’ve gathered some tips and strategies to help facilitate distance learning should your school decide to close down temporarily. Note that this article is primarily focussed on remote learning, teaching and grading. Broader issues...
K-12 Private School Student Information System Buying Guide
What to Look for and What to Avoid Advances in software have rapidly transformed our world with modern systems designed to improve productivity and efficiency in our daily lives. Yet many private schools are still using clunky, outdated systems that lead to stress, frustration and wasted time....
Affordable (and Even Free) Tech for Non-Profits
When nonprofits invest in technology, every penny counts. These targeted programs and discounts, listed in alphabetical order, help groups do more good for less. Note: Gradelink does not officially endorse or maintain vendor affiliations with any brands or retailers mentioned, with the exception...
Making Your School’s Brand Shine
Branding isn’t just for the business world. Schools and districts depend on effective branding to help draw new families against competing schools. Just like any other competitive organization, they have a need to compete for students, administrative and teaching talent, and community perception....
Six Hats: Looking at a Decision from All Points of View
How do you instinctively approach decision-making? Are you a natural optimist? If so, you may not always consider potential downsides. Are you generally risk-averse? Then you might miss out on new opportunities available to you. Having a rational, positive viewpoint does indeed go a long way in...
Quick and Doable Time Management Tips
Many would argue that time is our most precious resource. It’s the only resource that we all have the same amount of each day, but we don’t all spend it in the same way. Although most of us divide our time between projects, family, and “me time,” we often feel that there just isn’t enough of this...
4 Old School Teaching Practices to Retire
Hooray! Summer is here. Are you looking to do a little “spring cleaning” of your curriculum? We’ve got you covered! Today we are highlighting some “old school” teaching practices to swap out for some fresh alternatives you can roll out in the new school year. It should be noted that these are just...
Helpful Tips for Principals
A teacher can reach 20 to 30 students in a class period. A principal can impact the lives of up to a few thousand students during a school year. The classroom teacher has the greatest effect on student learning, but school leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its effect on student...
Beating Decision Fatigue with Lesson Planning and Routines
Due to the nature of the profession, teachers are easy victims of decision fatigue. Getting a routine established will benefit both teachers and students.
Developing Soft Skills to Complement Academics
Acquiring soft skills – everything a person needs to be successful in their career other than academic skills – is a challenge. Is your school preparing students with the skill set they’ll need to be successful in the future?
Supporting Kids at Home to Do Their Best and Be Their Best
Although a parent’s role in their children’s learning evolves as kids grow, one thing remains constant: you are your children’s learning models. Your attitudes about education can inspire theirs and show them how to take charge of their own educational journey. You can help your child's learning...
The Benefits (and Some Pitfalls) of Project-Based Learning
At its core, project-based learning aims to give students a more active, hands-on approach to learning, touching on real-life skills that students can develop in school and then carry out as adults. Read on to learn the key ingredients to successful project-based strategies – and a few things to avoid.
Did You Get All That? Showing Evidence of Learning
Discover a few effective assessment strategies that will sway any inquisitive observer.
Preventing the Perfectionism Habit
If you find yourself or others falling short most of the time, you might have a tendency towards perfectionism. And while having a slice of it can be beneficial, the whole perfectionism pie can lead to avoiding risk-taking, higher levels of anxiety, and a deteriorating of quality of life.
Busting Boredom in the Classroom
While the classroom isn’t the first place most people think of when talking about fun, it’s an excellent place for stretching those creative muscles and exploring critical thinking in energizing ways.
Helping Introverts Thrive in the Classroom
There are many strengths that introverts bring to society, benefiting our culture greatly. Here are some ways teachers can help students and parents recognize these strengths and help them thrive in their own ways.
Making Memories That Translate into Deeper Learning
What are some moments that stand out to you when you were a student? Chances are they touched on something emotionally significant that solidified the experience and committed it to long-term memory.
7 Fresh Ideas for Teachers This Fall
A few big ideas for educators for thinking about their work in a new way.
Making a Switch for the Better
With Engrade being discontinued, Rachel needed a new student information system that could reliably handle all of her school’s needs.
Grow | Three Tips for Attracting New Families
Build a smarter marketing funnel. Instead of advertising, attract customers through relevant and helpful content and adding value at every stage in their buying journey.
Grow | Streamline Your School’s Admissions
Boost enrollment and eliminate time-consuming data entry. Replace your paper-based enrollment process with a streamlined system on your website.
Grow | Get More Tours with Live Chat
Open another line of communication on your website to book more tours by adding live chat – for free.
Grow | Book More School Tours with This Single Tip
What’s the easiest way to increase the number of school tours booked – while simultaneously simplifying the process? Read on to find out.
Grow | Three Ways to Supercharge Your Website and Boost Enrollment
Learn the secret to getting website visitors to book personal tours or sign up for your open house. If you’ve spent your resources getting people to your website, you owe it to yourself to make sure it isn’t turning visitors away.
Grow | Make a Great First Impression
Make your open house an amazing experience. We share tips on making a great first impression that will entice prospective families to request private tours.
Grow | Tried and True Techniques for Promoting Your Open House
Three ways to help boost attendance at your next open house.
Grow | Leverage Facebook to Boost Your Open House Attendance
How your private school can adopt Facebook marketing to get more attendance at your next open house.
Parent-Teacher Communication Tools That Work
Considering the strong correlation between student success and parent involvement in the educational process, vital connections made through various forms of communication can’t be overemphasized. Read on to find a range of communication tools to maximize the teacher-parent partnership.
Gradelink Stories | EnrollMe, Part 3
Angela knew that if the school was going to attract new families, retain existing ones, and make life easier for everyone, changes needed to be made.
Gradelink Stories | EnrollMe, Part 2
“If we had lost even one student’s papers, we would have lost more than it cost to use Gradelink for an entire year.” It was time to replace the school’s ineffective system with something more professional.
Gradelink Stories | EnrollMe, Part 1
Michael revolutionized his school’s admission process by introducing an efficient, user-friendly, all-in-one system that consistently saves time and money. To make it even better, the school has seen a boost in enrollment.
Engage Students with These Four Tech Tools
Here’s a brief list of ed tech tools for establishing connections and learning development. Whatever your students are working on, there are tools available right now making the process more engaging for them.
5 Handy Classroom Organization Hacks
In a fluid classroom environment, learning happens at an active pace. Having an organization plan allows ideas and creativity to flow uninterrupted.
Cut Classroom Clutter This Summer
As school winds down for the end of the year and many teachers get ready for summer vacation, the optimal time is now to clean up classroom clutter.
How to Ignite Creativity in Any Classroom
In his famous TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson made a case for how schools kill creativity. Sir Robinson argued that “creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and…
4 Tips for Parents to Help with Reading at Home: How to nurture your child’s growing love of reading
Do you remember the first book you ever read? For me, it was the “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” a famous Norwegian fairy tale complete with fattened goats, a troll, and…
How to Make Lessons Pop with Pop Culture
Every educator is faced with the challenge of keeping students motivated and participating in lessons. When speaking to a long-time friend and educator about her best ideas for student engagement,…
Season Opener: 5 Tips for Rookie Teachers
With the fall season rolling in and the school year in full swing, rookie teachers may be feeling the growing pains that come with mastering a new craft. Steven Turner,…
8 Reasons to Invest in a New Student Information System
School administrators always have to keep one eye on the future, whether it’s the first day of a new semester or the bells are ringing for summer break. For schools…
Bettering Student Outcomes with Formative Assessment
Formative assessments, when used correctly and in context, can lead to increased engagement and improved outcomes for students. But defining how formative assessments can help educators, or even what they…
Engage Your School Community with These Information Tools
In the era of the smartphone, expecting parents to get their information about school events from your marquee seems awfully out-of-date. Of course, you’re probably thinking that it’s not that…
6 Top Tips for Managing Technology in the Classroom
Students who bring devices like tablets, laptops, and smartphones to school are prompting teachers and administrators to reconsider the role of technology in the classroom with every passing semester. We…
How to Write Good Narrative Comments
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of report card comments for providing parents with information about their students’ performance. But what kind of information should these comments provide?…
7 Benefits of Lesson Plans in the Cloud
Teachers are used to taking work home. Assignments to grade, reading to finish, lesson plans to write — there’s always a stack of papers, a USB drive, or textbooks that…
How to Find (and Market) Your School’s Unique Value
Private and independent schools have a lot to offer enrollees and the community at large. Oftentimes their biggest problem is making sure that both groups know why their school is…
Should Every Student Have a Laptop?
When used correctly, laptops and other devices in the classroom can be valuable tools that enhance student learning. When used incorrectly, however, runaway technology can become an obstacle to school activities…
5 Ways to Make the Best of Your SIS Transition
Your school’s student information system plays a crucial role in many aspects of your operations. Without it, efficiency at your school could grind to a halt. SIS is like an engine,…
Our Top Social Media Best Practices for Private Schools
The explosive growth of social media over the past decade or so has led to a lot of head-scratching among traditional businesses – schools included. While many schools might see…
3 Ways Your School’s Website Can Help Attract Families
Quick question: Would you rather focus your marketing efforts on a) reaching students and families that are a good fit for your school, or b) casting a wide net and trying to sort the good leads from the bad?
6 Questions to Ask While Shopping For a Student Information System
Choosing the right student information system for your school can be a daunting task. Searching for the perfect system that fits your school’s needs at a reasonable price can lead…
4 Ways to Make the Most of Your School’s Summer
By the end of the school year, teachers and administrators are usually looking forward to summer break as much as the students are. Staffers know, however, that schools don’t simply…
3 Reasons Families Leave Schools – and How to Retain Them
Re-enrolling current students is crucial to your school’s mission. Not only do their families provide the revenue necessary to keep the lights on, the students themselves are the reason that…
How to Effectively Market Your School Part 3: Expand Your Audience
So far in this series, we’ve discussed how your school can boost enrollment and visibility by integrating online marketing, and how to build your online presence by claiming your profiles…
How to Effectively Market Your School Part 2: Building an Online Presence
In our first post on effective marketing for schools, we discussed how important modern marketing techniques are for reaching prospective families on the web, where they do most of their…
How to Effectively Market Your School Part 1: Where to Begin
Your school’s prospective families are getting information about you in the same way that most people get information these days – from the internet. Traditional marketing methods like print advertisements…
9 Tips for a Great Report Card
Report card time isn’t easy. Teachers have to finish their grading, administrators have to collect all of the relevant student grades, and mailing out hundreds of accurate reports on time…
Why Onboarding Your SIS is Important
My wife and I recently celebrated 10 years of marriage. Looking back at old photos, we realized something – we both need to lose some weight! We decided that a treadmill…
Should Teachers Have Their Own Websites?
For most teachers, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. There are papers to grade, meetings to attend, lesson plans to write, tests to administer, a classroom to maintain,…
Is Digital Attendance-Taking Legitimate?
School attendance has been paper-based for years. Teachers are used to it, administrators are used to it, and it works… well enough. But is there a better way? Like the…
Web-Based SIS vs. On-Premises Programs
As web-based information management systems become faster, easier and more accessible, schools of all sizes are weighing the move to a new student information management program. Web-based student information systems…
Consider the Cost: Who Pays For Your Payment Processing?
An online payment portal can provide your school with many notable benefits: reducing time and effort in fee processing, creating easier pathways for parents to make payments, quicker access to…
5 Reasons Your School’s Admissions Should Be Online
Families want to feel confident that they are making the right choice during the application season. They are checking third-party review sites like Private School Review, Greatschools and even Yelp before…
Weathering the Changes
Jack Mefford is the Principal of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Santa Monica, CA. He’s overseen the development of this small, faith-centered high school into a program-rich academically rigorous endeavor serving…
Starting a School From Scratch
In 1983, Dennis Bock was teaching Technology and P.E. classes to just 38 students in between his administrative duties as co-founder of Stoneybrooke Christian Schools in Orange County, California. Thirty-two years…