PowerSchool to Acquire SEL Provider Kickboard
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 11/12/21
Education technology
company PowerSchool
has announced it will acquire Kickboard,
which produces K-12 education behavior management software, to help
educators manage social emotional learning (SEL) and multi-tiered
systems of support. PowerSchool offers a number of products,
including a K-12 student information system, a learning management
system and enterprise resource planning. However, this specific
purchase fills a gap since the company lacks dedicated software in
the SEL realm.
"This
announcement represents PowerSchool's continued commitment to helping
ensure students can get the support they need for future success as
lifelong learners," wrote PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati in a
message to customers. "I couldn't be more excited about bringing
Kickboard into the PowerSchool family. Addressing students' social
emotional well-being and mental health is critical, not just for
schools and districts, but for our families and communities. By
adding Kickboard's solutions, we're taking an important step to
providing real, comprehensive insights that give educators a complete
view of the whole student."
Eventually,
PowerSchool officials noted, integration of the two companies'
technology will enable schools to:
-
Centralize
behavior management and reporting, including SEL, positive behavior
intervention and support (PBIS), MTSS, overall student performance
and professional development programs; and
-
Gain visibility
to the "whole child," combining SEL well-being and mental
health data with student performance, academic outcomes, demographic
data and attendance.
Terms of the deal
were not disclosed. The two companies said they expected the
acquisition "to close soon."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.