Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling Software - Comparative Review

Now that we have laid out the reasons why Parent Teacher Conference scheduling software is so important, we will take a closer look at some of the leading providers.

My research lead me to 7 companies that either focus exclusively on Parent-Teacher Conference scheduling or are just "scheduling" software companies that can also provide a system for Parent-Teacher Conference scheduling. (I personally believe that the companies that focus on school scheduling have a better understanding of the specific needs that are unique to Parent-Teacher Conference scheduling.....and their offerings reflect that.)

Here is the list with a short description of each company:


PTC Wizard This company seems to really have done a thorough job on Parent-Teachers Conference scheduling software. From their website to their actual product.....things are looking good. A friend of mine who is an educator showed me how their system works. The software is extremely user-friendly and I really enjoyed playing with it. From creating conference dates and times as an administrator, to setting up appointments as a parent, the system was intuitive, attractive and easy-to-use. It was clearly designed to prevent human error. For example, there is no way that scheduling conflicts will ever occur, whether scheduling between parents and teachers or even when working with teams (which is ideal for middle-schools).

PTC Wizard also allows schools who do not want to deal with annoying and time consuming data exports/imports to get up and running immediately without worrying about syncing their data every semester(parents can register themselves with all their details). They also provide the data import feature for the schools that are interested in doing that kind of customization.

Another cool thing my friend heard from PTC Wizard tech support is that apparently they are on their way to offering a SIF agent with their product. This will allow SIF agents to connect and download data without any human interaction…saving more time for administration.

PTC Wizard also provides customized interfaces for each school and can also be configured for other uses (like lab sign-up, student events, PTA, etc.) making the system valuable year-round. I also heard that pricing is quite competitive starting at around $650/year with unlimited scheduling for as many conferences or events that the school has.

pick A time These guys have spread themselves out to scheduling for health-care, general business, as well as for educational systems. It looks like they provide a simple-to-use system that allows for basic scheduling without much hassle. However, their pricing is based on how many teachers are being scheduled for any given conference (between $2-$12 per teacher). The downside to this is that if you want more than one session per year, you could end up paying double what other systems cost.

PT ConferenceMaker This company, as their name implies, is focused just on Parent-Teacher meetings.
Their demos look really good and they have a rich feature set for admin, parents and teachers. However, if you read between the lines on their website, it seems that they might not have worked out all the issues with potential scheduling conflicts. Also, parents are not able to make their own schedule, but need to choose from the options the system provides. Lastly, their pricing for 2 annual conferences is really steep with a subscription of $2,000 + another $2/student for schools with enrollments over 1,000 students.


Canyon Creek Software Their website didn't provide too much info and as I didn't register for their "test drive" with a representative, I can't tell you all that much.

Teeso These folks certainly have a very colorful website. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy. They are definitely a "school-only" scheduling company to their credit. They offer conference scheduling as well as a solution for PTA/PTO volunteers where parents can sign up for volunteer activities and parents can post new events on the fly. Pricing info and extensive product details were not available on their site.

Appointment-plus They are the self-proclaimed "industry leaders for online scheduling". The truth is that their website is great with a solid video demo of their offerings. My only concern is that their software might be overkill for schools. They really are focused more on scheduling for retail operations like salons, spas, medical offices, etc. Their software offers rich features which are totally unnecessary for Parent-Teacher Scheduling. Even though you can subscribe for a more basic feature-set, I think these guys have their minds on markets outside the education system.....and their pricing and offering clearly confirm this.

Virtual Paragon This company seems to have a solid, no-nonsense product that offers the basics of Parent-Teachers Conference scheduling. Additionally, they offer other features such as an online school events calendar, and a "college applications tracking system". To top it all off, they offer all sorts of web services for schools that are not too web savvy.

I hope this overview is useful and that it helps your school achieve success in increasing parental participation.