User Reviews
Sycamore Education by Sycamore Leaf Solutions
USER REVIEWS - All reviews
Purchased Date: June 01, 2009
Office Manager, Clarksville Christian School, Inc.
February 11, 2011
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Pros
I have been working in the education field for 25 years, 20 of them with the local public school system, and have used many different student management systems during that time. Being a small school, I worried when we implemented Sycamore Education because I knew that I was pretty much alone when it came to troubleshooting. No longer would I have an IT rep inhouse who could solve any problems I might have. I have been very happy with the customer service with Sycamore and the ease of use as well. I usually get an answer within 10 minutes any time I submit a ticket for technical help. They are also constantly adding upgrades to the program that are very helpful to the staff and the parents.
Cons
There have been very few things that our school personally wanted changed that were not feasible as other schools had not asked for the same changes. We have been able to work around them.
Overall
I would give them an excellent rating and would have no problem recommending Sycamore to any school looking for an online student management system.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
board of education advisor, Northland Christian
February 11, 2011
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Pros
Sycamore is priced right and very user friendly. A huge advantage to the system is the technical support. We find the support staff provides great assistance with easy questions as well as more complex solutions. We appreciate their willingness to see us through to the end when we have an issue (even when it's self created). The web-based system provides easy access from anywhere which is a great feature. The system is continually being updated with no expensive upgrade charges which is great for sticking to a budget. Communication with families and among staff is made easy with Sycamore as well.
Cons
Not as much database flexibility (adding fields/tracking) as we woud like.
Overall
I would highly recommend Sycamore. Our school has benefited so much from using Sycamore and are pleased with the decision we made to use this software. For the price, ease of use and great tech support/upgrades, it would be difficult to find anything better.
Purchased Date: August 01, 2008
Secondary Math Teacher, Plaza Heights Christian Academy
November 01, 2010
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Pros
Sycamore Education is very easy to use. It makes communicating grades to parents so easy. A parent can log on at their leisure and check on grades for their student. The Pass-A-Note option is very handy, as well. I communicate hourly with parents and fellow faculty using Pass-A-Notes. I often print reports of students grades to go home, and in a few clicks can email that same report directly to parents!
Cons
It takes a little while to learn to navigate the ins and outs of everything. After a few quarters it becomes like second nature. I just KNOW where everything is.
Overall
I recommend Sycamore Education to any school who wishes to increase the daily communication between teachers and parents.
Purchased Date: N/A
IT Administrator, Black Forest Academy
October 27, 2010
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Pros
- All in one System
- Customer support is quite responsive
- No software to upgrade, No servers to back up
- Very feature rich
- Cost effective all in one solution for Schools of all sizes
Cons
- Many reports are available and Dynamic reports are great but need the ability to save Dynamic report definitions.
Overall
Overall our School users are happy with Sycamore. I would recommend this product as a cost effective way to get your school up and running on cloud computing. There is no software to maintain and minimal start up costs.
Purchased Date: April 01, 2010
Tech Director, Northern Michigan Christian School
September 28, 2010
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Pros
Ease of system
Reports
Tech support
Quick response to personalized needs
My Teachers LOVE IT!
Has so much to offer beside attendance and grades
Cons
We have not had any issues with this system. Any changes we've needed have been addressed quickly.
Overall
Our school would HIGHLY recommend sycamore education, we've used other systems and have NEVER had such an easy time converting over to a new system. Even though training is not available, you don't need it. Sycamore Education is so simple to use. Thanks Sycamore - NMCS LOVES Sycamore Education!
> Vendor Responses
09/29/2010 by Sycamore Leaf Solutions
Purchased Date: July 01, 2008
High School Academic Counselor/Lead Teacher, Faithway Christian School
August 27, 2010
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Pros
User friendly, affordable, numerous features
Cons
Discipline section does not work with our school discipline plan
Overall
Highly Recommended
Purchased Date: July 01, 2008
Guidance Counselor, Lakeland Christian Academy
August 05, 2010
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Pros
-support is rarely needed, but EXCEPTIONAL in times of need. support ticket response time averages 10 minutes. (yes...10 minutes, not 10 hours!) Support staff is EXCEPTIONAL.
-easy for teachers, parents, & students to use
-has become our "go-to" method of communication with the school family
-ALL IN ONE! No "module" ridiculousness
-no servers to maintain!
-teachers have access 24/7, on or off-campus
-SE is always improving their product and making the experience more and more user-friendly
Cons
-pictures aren't easy to upload (in SE's defense, photo-sharing is not their expertise)
Overall
WITHOUT A DOUBT, Sycamore Education was the right solution for our school. We evaluated 2 other systems and we are so very glad we chose Sycamore.
Purchased Date: April 01, 2006
Superintendent, Blue Ridge Christian School
January 13, 2010
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Pros
1. Looks and performs professionally for school employees and parents.
2. Provides an excellent platform for ongoing communication between the school and home.
3. Customer support is exceptional. They provide helpful, easy to understand assistance in a timely fashion.
4. Over other web-based programs we've used or reviewed, Sycamore stands out as the best value and highest quality for our money.
5. We've received comments from other schools regarding the professional appearance of our grade cards, transcripts, and other school communication.
6. The Pass-a-Note feature makes communication among the school community easy and quick.
7. We've never experienced any "down time"; Sycamore is always functioning quickly and properly.
Cons
1. The user manuals would be more beneficial if they guided the user step-by-step through each process, especially during initial setup. What the user manuals lack, the customer support makes up for!
Overall
We are extremely pleased with the quality of the product and the service received from Sycamore. Our transition to Sycamore was smooth and the customer support is clear and responsive. Using Sycamore has revolutionized communication throughout our school community. As an experienced school admnistrator and adjunct college professor, I am extremely pleased with Sycamore Education and am grateful for the opportunity to recommend it to others.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Principal, Shakopee Area Catholic School
January 11, 2010
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Pros
-Excellent customer service. Their contact person for us (Nancy) has been very receptive to our needs and is an outstanding communicator for Sycamore.
-Incredibly fast response to support tickets. Almost instantaneous.
-Flexible! They have been willing to work with us to modify to some specific needs we have.
-Simple to use. Once you learn a few key areas, it's so easy.
Cons
-Needs an aesthetic facelift/tweak.
Overall
I highly recommend the site. It's functional, easy to use, VERY affordable and the people working there have been just phenomenal.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2008
Administrator, North Rome Christian School
August 29, 2009
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Pros
1, Very cost effective
2. You are purchasing all that the program has to offer. There are no additional fees for upgrades
3. Customer Service is awesome! Quick to respond, helpful and you can reach them by phone or PAN.
4. Very user friendly
5. HIGH HIGH rate of parent satisfaction with being able to access grades, teachers, one another, etc. All of them rave about the program!
6. Sycamore Leaf keeps us updated
7. Sycamore is always seeking to improve their program
8. PAN - we absolutely LOVE this feature. Our high school classrooms are in "learning cottages" aka trailers - and the teachers are separated. This feature allows all of us to feel so connected!
Cons
1, Not too many or serious... we did notice that if you make a change on the family or student information (you have the mother's name wrong ex.) then when you correct it, you cannot do it in just one area, you have to go into multiple areas.
2. We had some issues with the GPA configuration. I did not deal with it, but I know our high school conselor had numerous phone calls and PAN' s to get it figured out properly. For some reason we now have to do something different to get our proper grading.
3. Getting my parents over the learning curve of using the program. It is frustrating to hear them say " We seldom check Sycamore" and in our memos and everything else we keep saying HOW MUCH we put on Sycamore and to check it out. Word of mouth is helping this... I hear parents telling other parents that they really need to use it, or someone asking another how they knew about something and they will say "on Sycamore" .
Overall
1. I would love to see you all at the Mid-Atlantic Convention in Lancaster PA.
2. I had a new family comment that they were telling a group of people their child was coming to the school. Someone in the group, who does not have a child at our school and we are not sure how they even know about the school, spoke up and said "Well they have Sycamore and it is a wonderful program!". Someone is talking!
Purchased Date: June 01, 2008
Technology Coordinator, San Francisco Christian School
November 02, 2008
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Pros
The conversion from our previous network-based program went flawlessly. We were up an running within a couple of weeks with the majority of the time just verifying data. Our main objective was to improve communication between school and home. Being a small school (<300 students), we were looking for the most inexpensive solution. We compared several of the competitors (e.g. Hunter's, RenWeb, Blackbaud, ACS, etc.) and found this to meet our needs. Our parents appreciate the built-in communication system between them and the school. The customer support is terrific. You can either phone or submit a support ticket online. They respond within 24 hours but most of time sooner.
Cons
The user interface is quirky at times. The button placements are not consistently located. It is a menu-driven interface as opposed to GUI though there is rumors of its soon release.
Overall
We have been very satisfied with the product and the support. It has met our expectations and beyond. We probably use only half of the features and are excited about the prospects of the implementing and expanding our school's effective using this product.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2007
Director of Academic Information, Bishop Machebeuf High School
October 28, 2008
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Pros
Web interface is speedy
Training is easy and intuitive
Implementation and customer support are exceptional
Openness to innovation, enhancements
Cons
Master Scheduler isn't as robust as I would like to see it, but a new version is set to be released soon, which is a testament to the continual improvement of this product.
Overall
As a Catholic High School with limited resources, we found Sycamore Education to have the most bang for the buck. We did exhaustive research and evaluation of other products and Sycamore delivered the most features that met our needs. Our faculty, staff, and families have widely accepted Sycamore, praise its features, and it has quickly become the center of how we get things done at Bishop Machebeuf High School.
> Vendor Responses
03/29/2010 by Sycamore Leaf Solutions
