PowerSchool to Buy SchoolMessenger, Integrate with its Cloud SIS -- THE Journal

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PowerSchool to Buy SchoolMessenger, Integrate with its Cloud SIS

By Kristal Kuykendall
07/12/23

Cloud-based K–12 software provider PowerSchool has signed an agreement to acquire SchoolMessenger from its parent company, West Technology Group, for $300 million and plans to integrate SchoolMessenger’s features with the PowerSchool Student Information Cloud platform, according to a news release.

The move will “better equip educators to increase overall family engagement in support of student success,” PowerSchool said. The two companies had previously partnered to offer some of SchoolMessenger’s tools to PowerSchool customers.

SchoolMessenger allows educators to connect with students’ families across voice, text, email, and social media messaging, with automatic translations for over 100 languages. The platform “supports emergency alerts, (enables) paperless permission forms and waivers, and integrates with over 130 established systems” and also includes attendance management features that “make it easier for parents to communicate absences, resulting in fewer unexplained absences,” PowerSchool said.

Following the planned integration of the SchoolMessenger platform, PowerSchool Student Information Cloud users will have “centralized access to reliable mass communication and emergency messaging, alongside two-way communication capabilities,” according to the announcement.

Existing PowerSchool customers will see a more unified communication experience as the changes are implemented; SchoolMessenger customers and partners “will benefit from increased investment in and development of their existing platform as well as deepening integration with PowerSchool’s solutions,” the company said.

PowerSchool said it expects to fund the purchase “principally with cash on hand and existing credit facilities” and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, the company said.

Learn more at PowerSchool.com and SchoolMessenger.com.

About the Author

Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].

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