Marketplace K-12

K-12 Dealmaking: SchoolStatus Acquires SchoolNow; CentralReach Buys SEL Platform

Michelle Caffrey
Staff Writer
K-12 dealmaking

Communications and attendance software provider SchoolStatus acquired SchoolNow, a 25-year-old company that offers K-12 districts a website, app, and social media management platform.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but SchoolStatus said the purchase included SchoolNow in its entirety, including operations, technology, team, and clients. SchoolNow users will continue to have access to the products and services they currently use, the companies said.

SchoolStatus, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, provides communication and attendance software to districts, allowing them to communicate with families through calling, texting, videos, and print materials.

SchoolNow, formerly known as Campus Suite, was founded in 1999 and offers districts a way to manage a mobile apple, website, notifications, social media, and a live feed through one platform.

Purchasing the company will allow SchoolStatus to offer districts additional online publishing capabilities, including an online content management system and website tools, it said.

“Integrating SchoolNow’s technology will further allow SchoolStatus to offer our district partners the leading solutions for improving student achievement and attendance—delivering another piece of the puzzle,” SchoolStatus founder and CEO Russ Davis said in a statement.

SchoolNow has worked to streamline school communications and “be the easiest way for families to connect and schools to engage,” co-founder and CEO Steve Williams said in a statement. “By teaming up with SchoolStatus, we can continue to help school staff focus on what is being shared in a meaningful and personalized way.”

CentralReach Buys SILAS. CentralReach, makers of autism software for special education teachers and caregivers, has purchased New Jersey-based social and emotional learning software provider SILAS.

Terms of the deal were not released.

CentralReach, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said the acquisition will allow it to incorporate SILAS’ programs into CentralReach’s existing suite of education solutions, which includes ABLLS-R and AFLS digital assessments, IEP management, student rostering, data collection, parent training, and professional development tools.

CentralReach is backed by New York-based private equity firm Insight Venture Partners, which made a significant, undisclosed investment in the company in 2018.

SILAS says its platform offers social-emotional learning screening and a curriculum that’s aligned to the standards issued by CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. The platform also includes an animated, video-making app that allows to students to virtually work through SEL lessons and ongoing progress monitoring.

The company, which was founded in 2007 out of an effort to teach students audio and visual technology in after-school and summer programs, reports serving more than 40 school districts in New Jersey.

In a statement, SILAS founder and CEO Chris Dudick said he wanted to partner with CentralReach because of its “strong, mission-driven culture” and “the vast amount of resources, expertise and talent they bring.”

The latter will enable SILAS to “take the product to new levels and unlock even more potential within the schools that we serve,” he said.

CentralReach CEO Chris Sullens said in a statement that the company had been looking at what the SILAS team has been doing “for quite some time” and that the “positive outcomes of their interactive, animation-first approach to social skill acquisition are truly impressive.”

CentralReach made a variety of acquisitions following the 2018 investment from Insight Venture Partners, including acquiring ABA software platforms LiftEd in June 2022, ABA Tools in December 2021, Thread Learning in February 2020, and practice management software company Pathfinder Health Innovations in June 2019, among others.

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Image by Getty.

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