Case study · Education · Indiana Microschool Collaborative
School-network operations without the enterprise ERP.
A growing microschool network needed enrollment, attendance, progress, family communication, and fee payment on one platform — with legally serious student-data handling and none of the weight of an enterprise school ERP. Logic Square built the operational platform; the AI layer is now in active development as Phase 2.
- Client
- Indiana Microschool Collaborative (IMC)
- Industry
- Education
- Status
- Live in pilot · AI layer in development (Phase 2)
- Privacy
- FERPA / COPPA-aware from the first schema
- Stack
- MERN · Alma state-SIS sync
01 — The Challenge
A school network’s backbone, without the weight.
Microschools need the operational backbone of a school network without the administrative weight of one. Off-the-shelf school ERPs were built for a different world — large institutions with IT departments — and bring complexity the microschool model exists to escape.
IMC needed enrollment, attendance, student progress, family communication, and fee payment running reliably across a growing network of small schools — all handling student data with the care the law and families demand.
02 — The Decision
Foundations first. AI earned, not headlined.
The ambition included AI from the start — but the decision was to earn it. Operational and privacy foundations first: enrollment, attendance, messaging, payments, and FERPA/COPPA-aware data handling that parents and administrators could trust. Only on that trusted base does an AI layer make sense — which is why it is Phase 2, in active development, rather than the headline.
03 — What We Built
The operational spine of the network.
Enrollment through attendance, progress tracking through payments — pods with tasks, goals, and badges, family messaging, and role-based access fitting every participant from network administrators to teachers to families, with state-reporting connectivity built in rather than bolted on.
The hard workflows
Alma state-reporting sync
Enrollment and attendance flow into state reporting through Alma (state SIS) synchronization automatically — no duplicate data entry, no reporting scramble at deadline.
Role-based access under privacy-aware architecture
Network admins see the network; teachers see their pods; families see their own children — least-privilege by design, with FERPA-aware records handling and COPPA-aware treatment of data involving minors from the first schema.
04 — Before vs After
The pattern small school networks run on — and what one platform changes.
- —Enrollment, attendance, and progress scattered across tools and spreadsheets.
- —State reporting as duplicate manual entry.
- —Family communication and payments in separate channels.
- One operational spine — enrollment through payments.
- State reporting flows automatically via Alma sync.
- Every role sees exactly what it should — and nothing more.
05 — Tech Stack
Privacy architecture first, framework list second.
Student-data discipline: role-based access, encryption, and least-privilege boundaries in production from day one — FERPA-aware for records, COPPA-aware for minors. Aware by design; no certification claims.
Reporting connectivity: Alma state-SIS synchronization built into the attendance flow, not bolted on after.
MERN — MongoDB · Express · React · Node.js
Alma (state SIS) attendance sync
06 — The Results
Live in pilot, running daily network operations.
- Live pilot running the network’s daily operations — enrollment, attendance, progress, messaging, payments.
- Alma state-SIS sync connected — state reporting without duplicate entry.
- Role-based access + privacy architecture in production from day one.
- AI layer in active development as Phase 2 — on top of the trusted base, not ahead of it.
“They were flexible, responsive, and able to translate a fairly unique educational vision into a practical product. What stood out most was Logic Square’s willingness to really understand our model and build around it rather than trying to force us into a generic platform.”
07 — What we usually tell clients
In education, sequencing is what makes AI trustworthy. Build the operational and privacy foundations families can trust first — then add intelligence on top. Phase 2 status isn’t a delay; it’s the order that earns the right.
Common questions
Education platforms, answered.
Why not a standard SIS or school ERP for a microschool network?
+
Enterprise school ERPs are built for large institutions with IT departments — they bring administrative weight the microschool model exists to escape. IMC needed the operational backbone shaped to its scale, without the enterprise overhead.
How is student data handled?
+
With FERPA-aware handling of student records and COPPA-aware treatment of data involving minors — role-based access, encryption, and least-privilege architecture in production from day one. Aware by design; we don’t claim certifications.
What will the AI layer do — and what won’t it do?
+
The AI layer is in active development as Phase 2, on top of the trusted operational base. It targets the slow administrative parts; it will not make consequential decisions about students — those stay with educators and families. Nothing AI has shipped yet, and we say so plainly.
What do education platforms like this cost, and how long do they take?
+
Scope drives both: the operational spine (enrollment through payments), the roles and portals, state-reporting integrations like Alma sync, and the privacy architecture. Delivery is phased — IMC’s platform went live in pilot running daily operations before the AI phase began.