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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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.
