Ever since Fieldston replaced PowerSchool with Blackbaud in the summer of 2025, the switch has become a heated topic among members of the Fieldston community.
PowerSchool and Blackbaud are software platforms that allow students and their families to access schedules, class information and grades through cloud-based technology. They are also built for teachers to manage student information and attendance records.
These types of platforms play an essential role at Fieldston. They keep everything running in the background so that the teachers can stay organized and students can focus on learning. It can be difficult to adjust when the system undergoes changes because of how much we rely on services like PowerSchool. Some members of the community, however, are willing to accept the change, and some even appreciate the new features that Blackbaud has to offer.
Student Head of Technology Andrew Cantor (Form VI) believes that, “compared to PowerSchool, the [Blackbaud] interface is more modern… [it] is simpler and more efficient.” He adds that many teachers find the new system to be superior for taking attendance. Cantor notes, however, that Blackbaud also has its problems. “Because of its simplicity, it cannot always do everything. For example, when a student in my physics class was incorrectly marked absent according to Blackbaud, the teacher was unable to mark him as present.”
Kayla Resnick, a Form IV student, is more critical of the new system. “I liked PowerSchool a little bit better… it had my schedule and which courses I’m taking all in one place. Additionally, it would tell me what time my free periods are, and what time lunch is.” Meanwhile, Blackbaud does not leave a blank space or display any schedule block for these periods. “I think PowerSchool was working,” she explains, noting that, at least for students, she “[doesn’t] think there was a reason to change it.” She understands, however, “that it helps the teachers organize.”
Form Dean Anthony Marro remarks on both the positives and negatives. “Like anything new, there’s definitely a learning curve. It is challenging to learn a new system in the beginning of the year… However, if in the long run it makes all of our lives a little more manageable, then it certainly is worth the extra time.” Overall, he finds Blackbaud to be more user friendly than Powerschool, adding that “it works better with Google.”
While some community members reminisce about the older, often more comfortable systems, many others look forward to a better technological future. When the end of the quarter rolls around and home reports come out, there will inevitably be confusions to deal with and issues to work out. As the year progresses, students and faculty will continue to adapt; only time will tell whether Blackbaud stands as a lasting improvement.
