Families have an easier drop-off process with digital check-in

When Weekday School first started using brightwheel in 2017, they were looking for a digital check-in solution that could streamline their long carpool line and give families the option of staying in their cars. As a part-time preschool with 160 families, they knew the importance of an easier pick-up and drop-off process. Paper sheets were no longer going to cut it.

Quickly after adopting brightwheel, Beth and the other program administrators learned that brightwheel solved for so much more than just check in and out.

We can’t imagine what life was like before brightwheel!

Beth H

Director, Weekday School

From “old school” to fully digital

Since Weekday School was established in 1950, Beth says their processes were naturally a bit old school before they moved to brightwheel. Over the last five years, Beth’s team got more and more value out of brightwheel by adopting everything from automated billing and document sharing to health screens and text alerts.

From an administrative standpoint, brightwheel saves so much time, and therefore also saves money.

Beth H

Beth also appreciates the innovation they’ve witnessed from brightwheel over the years. Initially the Finance department at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, Weekday School’s parent organization, was unsure if brightwheel billing would work for their program. However, in a matter of months, they saw reporting improvements that confirmed they could absolutely move forward with the tool.

A more tightly coordinated team

Before Weekday School began using brightwheel Messaging, teachers communicated with families through personal cell phones and email. Since Beth is the only administrator at the school every day, the leadership team often had to play the game of telephone or sift through emails to try and understand which families still needed a response.

Now, it’s easy for Beth and her team to all stay on the same page. Whoever is in the office is able to get back to parents promptly, because they always have full context right in the brightwheel app. They also have visibility into conversations teachers are having with families, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

Alerts for important notices

During Hurricane Ian in 2022, Beth used brightwheel’s SMS alerts to send time sensitive messages to families. This made it easy for families to stay on top of when the school would be closed and when their schedule might differ from the local school district. Thankfully, the Weekday School community remained safe and they did not experience flooding from the hurricane.