Oslo International School
Oslo, Norway
Colin Docherty
Not having to dig through all the information from multiple different places, it’s just been a breath of fresh air. Synergy around the school has vastly improved!
School Overview
Oslo International School (OIS) is a leading international school in Norway, providing a dynamic and student-centered education for children from early years through secondary school. The school emphasizes inquiry-based learning, collaboration, and holistic student development, preparing learners for the International Baccalaureate (IB) and beyond.
Challenge: Managing Complexity Across Systems
Before implementing ManageBac+ and fully integrating OpenApply, OIS faced what Technology Manager Colin Docherty describes as “organized chaos.” The school was using another platform as their primary LMS, and ManageBac+ on a smaller scale for IB students, handling components such as CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) and TOK (Theory of Knowledge).
“So we already had OpenApply for admissions. That was already there, and that was working really well,” adds Colin. “It's definitely made life easier for parents. We can add checklists, parental consent forms, reminders, and everyone’s profile is in one place.” However, many other processes at the school remained fragmented.
Colin recalls the difficulty with their previous LMS, “It was just a huge system, and not very intuitive for the users — and for the admin staff, it was…just extremely challenging.”
Similarly, during this time period, managing extracurricular activities, transport, and parent-teacher communications was cumbersome, relying on a combination of Excel sheets and manual checks.
Solution: An Integrated Ecosystem
OIS chose to expand ManageBac+ across the entire school, integrating it with OpenApply and SchoolsBuddy to create a seamless, frictionless ecosystem. This allowed the school to consolidate student data, streamline communication, and improve administrative efficiency.
Colin explains the approach, “We managed to really just kind of clean up, and get everybody onto the same platform. Any kind of legacy patchwork that we had in the past just all came together into one place, where everybody feels empowered and safe in the knowledge that we can all speak to each other on the same platform.”
SchoolsBuddy further simplified operations, offering real-time tracking for buses, parent-teacher conferences, and extracurricular activity management. As Colin notes, “Everything’s integrated. We can use an iPad, checking the students in and out for the buses. Contact information is there. Everybody sees everything the same in real time. It's just making my life easier and everyone else's life easy.”
Implementation and Support
The OIS team highlighted the outstanding support they received from Faria during implementation. Colin praised the support from one particular colleague as “absolutely legendary,” adding, “ It would have been a lot more painful if it were not for Marie… her knowledge has just been exceptional, and just made everybody feel completely at ease.”
The smooth onboarding, combined with ongoing support, enabled teachers, administrative staff, and parents to quickly adapt to the new systems.
Impact: Time Savings, Transparency, and Empowered Staff
The integrated solution provided clear benefits across the school:
Time Savings: Teachers and administrative staff saved hours previously spent navigating multiple systems.
Transparency: Parents can now monitor student progress, access portfolios, and stay informed about schedules and activities.
Empowered Staff: ManageBac’s portfolio functionality allows teachers to build flexible, subject-specific curricula, add multimedia resources, and foster collaboration.
Colin highlights, “With the portfolios — they are more empowered to actually develop their classes. It’s just really expanding their idea of what they can do in their class. The excitement around that is huge, and the flexibility between different subjects, is something that we didn't have before. Teachers are really happy with that tailoring aspect of ManageBac+.”
Additionally, interoperability with platforms like Microsoft and Google has enhanced workflow efficiency, reducing repetitive administrative tasks and giving staff more time to deliver excellent teaching and learning experiences.
Looking Ahead
OIS continues to expand usage of SchoolsBuddy for parent-teacher conferences and other operational functions, reinforcing a single, unified platform for the school community. Colin emphasizes the broader value — “Not having to dig through all the information from multiple different places…it’s just been a breath of fresh air. Synergy around the school has vastly improved thanks to Faria’s solutions, from OpenApply through to ManageBac+ and SchoolsBuddy.”
Conclusion
By leveraging the combined power of OpenApply, ManageBac+, and SchoolsBuddy, Oslo International School has transformed fragmented processes into a cohesive, user-friendly, and efficient system. The result is a more professional, transparent, and enjoyable experience for students, parents, and staff alike.”