January 7, 2021, 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
LAFAYETTE, LA — SchoolMint, the leading provider of Strategic Enrollment Management products for K-12 education, announced today it has completed the acquisition of New Orleans company Whetstone Education and will now be supporting over 11 million students and 18,000 schools.
Whetstone provides the leading teacher observation and instructional coaching platform that uniquely systematizes teacher feedback via the coaching process and provides the support framework to empower teachers to hone their skill sets.
Effective teachers translate into improved instructional outcomes, more engaged classroom management, teacher job satisfaction, and improved student relationships — all of which result in positive school climates and higher teacher and student retention.
SchoolMint CEO Bryan MacDonald said, “Today’s teachers are being asked to do more than ever and do it in ways they never imagined, often without the support, training, and coaching they need to be successful. Teacher burnout is at an all-time high and many teachers are leaving the profession entirely. Whetstone helps address this challenge with 21st-century tools to support teachers with a coaching-centric positive classroom approach and equips them to transform teaching in a changing climate, including online and hybrid models.”
The combination of Whetstone and SchoolMint positions the combined companies to further innovate and expand the impact of Strategic Enrollment Management in K-12.
Strategic Enrollment Management helps schools and districts strengthen and stabilize their year-over-year enrollment health by eliminating barriers to find best-fit schools and helping to create positive classroom environments.
“We are beyond excited to join the SchoolMint team. Whetstone and SchoolMint are aligned in the mission to ensure teachers are getting the support and tools they need to be successful,” said Whetstone CEO Libby Fischer. “It’s exciting to join a team driven by innovating and transforming traditional K-12 administrative processes that impact the sustainability of schools and districts, while also enriching the classroom experience for students and teachers alike.”
“The Whetstone toolset is especially effective in today’s classroom environments where online and hybrid learning are necessary. Our virtual coaching tools enable schools to effectively support their teachers in whatever classroom configuration is needed, even when that ‘classroom’ is fully online,” Fischer added.
“We are confident that a combination with SchoolMint Hero offers teachers the support and coaching they need to grow professionally, along with the proven Hero tools that enable simple and powerful solutions to positively transform a classroom environment.”
MacDonald added, “SchoolMint’s strategic enrollment platform has proven to be successful helping schools and districts attract, enroll and retain students. Our customers tell us that sustaining and growing student enrollment is more important now than ever. Schools have long invested in streamlining the enrollment process for parents and school administrators. We think there is more to the story. With the addition of Whetstone to the SchoolMint family, we can now help districts retain their students and teachers, adding significant value to their investment in enrollment.”
According to SchoolMint’s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Christopher Balow, “Families are attracted to and remain in districts and schools that are innovative, have great teachers, and produce outstanding student performance. The combination of SchoolMint and Whetstone software platforms will help districts and schools achieve these outcomes.”
“Simply put, together, the SchoolMint family of software solutions will help districts and schools attract, enroll and retain students and their amazing teachers,” MacDonald added.
About SchoolMint
SchoolMint Inc. is dedicated to helping educators create bright, sustainable futures. Serving over 10 million students and families with more than 16,000 schools across the country, SchoolMint is the leading K-12 provider of solutions for Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM). SEM is a strategic approach that brings together solutions that help students get to and through school successfully. SchoolMint’s holistic enrollment platform enables administrators to centralize activities such as the school choice application & lottery, registration/re-enrollment, tardy tracking, and positive behavior reinforcement to make school operations more efficient and fiscally sound. With products that put the family experience first, while generating powerful insights, the company is helping all schools across the K-12 landscape attract, enroll, and retain students. SchoolMint is backed by BV Investment Partners and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Learn more at SchoolMint.com.
About Whetstone
Whetstone is a classroom observation and coaching platform that enables teachers, coaches, and leaders to work together to amplify instruction. Whetstone supports one million students and 2,000 schools. Designed by educators for educators, Whetstone streamlines the complex work of classroom observation, teacher feedback, instructional coaching, and lesson planning by organizing everything in one place so teachers can teach, coaches can observe and give feedback, leaders can see progress and analyze trends, and everyone can collaborate, plan, and grow together. Whetstone is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.