PowerSchool Launches Contextual AI Solutions to Transform College and Career Planning, and Streamline Access to District Information

Artificial IntelligenceHR TechnologyNews

By Business Wire On Sep 18, 2024

PowerBuddy™ for College and Career and PowerBuddy™ for Custom AI address critical education priorities including preparing future-ready students and improving stakeholder engagement, available now for the 2024-2025 school year

PowerSchool the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, announced today the availability of its latest PowerSchool PowerBuddy™ AI products: PowerBuddy™ for College and Career and PowerBuddy™ for Custom AI. These tools aim to transform how school staff, teachers, counselors, students, families, and the community connect with their school district, while also helping students easily explore and take steps to ensure they are on the right path for college, career, and life success. These AI assistants, designed using PowerSchool’s Responsible AI principles, are the latest PowerBuddy products since PowerSchool launched PowerBuddy in January 2024.

“At PowerSchool, AI isn’t just a feature – it’s a cornerstone of our mission to enhance educational outcomes and foster meaningful engagement unlike ever before,” said Shivani Stumpf, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at PowerSchool. “Our new PowerBuddy tools represent a significant leap forward in empowering students, families, educators, and counselors with efficient, secure, and personalized access to critical information by providing instant, tailored, and relevant responses through natural language interactions, eliminating the need for time-consuming searches and sifting through an overwhelming amount of information.”

PowerBuddy for College and Career: Individualized Guidance for Future Success

PowerBuddy for College and Career is an AI companion powered by students’ longitudinal data to guide them in their postsecondary planning. Designed to engage with students conversationally, PowerBuddy offers personalized support, making career exploration and postsecondary planning simple, accessible, and highly impactful. Students can ask questions to discover their options, understand requirements and next steps specific to their context, and receive tailored guidance on which path is best suited for their strengths and interests, maximizing their academic and professional success.

Key Features of PowerBuddy for College and Career:

Empowers Students: Equips students with guidance based on their individual and unique needs such as their GPA, assessments, career interests, location preferences, academic proficiency, aptitudes, personal goals, military interests, scholarship qualifications, and more, to confidently explore career and college paths, weigh their options, and make informed decisions.
Streamlines Discovery: Ensures students can quickly find the information they need, when they need it with its intuitive natural language interface and contextual relevance.
Maximizes Counselor Impact: Frees up valuable counselor time by providing students with a self-service platform, allowing counselors to focus on high-impact student support.
Security and Privacy: In addition to adhering to Responsible AI principles, PowerSchool protects the security and integrity of the application—including robust cloud security, security by design, third-party penetration testing, and a responsible disclosure program—all validated by independent third-party auditors.

According to a report by the American School Counselor Association, the average counselor in the US is responsible for 385 students – well above the recommended ratio. PowerBuddy for College and Career helps alleviate this burden by empowering students to take control of their futures, allowing counselors to focus on addressing more targeted and in-depth student needs.

PowerBuddy for Custom AI: Streamlining District Information Access

PowerBuddy for Custom AI redefines how districts interact with their communities and stakeholders by providing a secure, real-time AI assistant that can answer district-specific questions like details from the district website, policy manuals, athletic schedules, after-school programs, student handbooks, school calendars, lunch menus, job postings, and more. The tool simplifies information retrieval, allowing users to access accurate, approved answers from district documentation, reducing the need for time-consuming searches and direct inquiries. District staff can easily manage and update the AI’s knowledge base with built-in administrative tools.

Key Features of PowerBuddy for Custom AI:

Seamless Integration: Easily integrates into any district website, including Parent Portals, district and school websites, communication platforms, Student Information Systems, e-learning platforms, and community engagement sites.
Secure Content Management: Manages and secures district-specific documentation, enduring privacy and accuracy.
Inclusive Accessibility Features: Offers speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionality, ensuring access for all users.

According to PowerSchool’s 2024 Education Focus Report, only 23% of educators believe the partnership with parents and caretakers has grown stronger since the pandemic. By providing accurate and instant access to information parents need from their districts, PowerBuddy for Custom AI aims to enhance these relationships by providing quick, reliable information access, fostering greater community engagement.

[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]