Here at Heartland, our goal is to help make your life a little easier by providing innovative software and dedicated service – that goes not only for district staff, but for the parents in your communities as well.

To that end, we’re thrilled to announce that Heartland has chosen to partner with FamilyID, a leader in cloud-based registration platforms, which will streamline and simplify program registration and payments for parents and school administrators.

Those end-of-year events are sneaking up on schools with AP exams, proms, and graduation right around the corner. And what’s next?...summer programs! It can be a challenge to promote your summer programs when spring events and exams become a focus.

Many families start making summer plans early in the year to accommodate work schedules, vacation time, and other obligations. This means that creating a clear communication plan early on is the key to successfully promoting summer programs before school lets out for the summer.

Here are 5 tools to help get the word out and increase participation in summer programs at your district:

In the morning, school breakfast offers the necessary nutrition a student needs to thrive and grow in the classroom throughout the day. Across the county, districts have been adopting and growing their school breakfast programs.

We've rounded up our top 3 articles about school breakfast:

TED is a nonprofit organization that strives to spread ideas, spark curiosity, share information, and start conversations about topics that matter. Their short-form, powerful TED Talks cover a myriad of topics from technology to sociology and fine arts to nutrition.

In the spirit of sharing ideas, we've rounded up 5 inspirational, thought-provoking TED Talks that will get you talking about nutrition in schools:

Remember the first day you started using your new POS computers? Everything was shiny and clean, your POS system ran fast (or so we hope), and your pin pads worked perfectly.  Now fast forward to today.  Is that still the same story?

Meeting and connecting with other nutrition professionals is a great way to help develop and grow your career in school nutrition. After all, your peers are your best resource to learn new tips and skills, understand best practices, and share success stories. Here are a number of ways you can connect with other school nutrition professionals in your area:

Creating a Facebook page for your School Nutrition department is the perfect way to promote your program, connect with school nutrition professionals, and share the great work your program does on a daily basis. And there are some school's out there that are doing just that and more!

Here are 5 delicious school nutrition Facebook pages that you just have to see for yourself:

So you're thinking breakfast in the classroom might be the right breakfast service model for your school?  Maybe you've noticed students don't have enough time in the morning to eat before class, or that some students are coming to school hungry and unable to focus.  Breakfast in the classroom has helped schools across the country increase participation while ensuring that students are well-fed and ready to learn.

Here are 4 considerations to think about before starting breakfast in the classroom at your school:

The history of school lunch programs in America is anything but brief.  The Children's Aid Society began feeding hungry, needy school children in New York City as far back as 1853.  But it wasn't until the late 19th century that some major US cities, including Philadelphia and Boston, started their own school lunch programs.  Over the next century, authors, war, and politics continued to shape the school lunch program into what we know it as today.

Bringing your school fundraiser online makes your cause convenient to donate to and easy to manage. But even with all the benefits of online fundraisers, there are still things you and your team can do to truly amplify the success of your event.