Frontline Education and Wagestream Announce Industry-first Partnership that Supports K-12 Districts in Attracting and Retaining Staff
Technology will enable financial autonomy for district employees, starting with substitutes.
Malvern, Pa. and Washington, D.C., October 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Frontline Education, a leading provider of administration software purpose-built for educators in K-12, and Wagestream, the financial wellbeing provider, today announced an exclusive partnership that will enable K-12 school districts to attract, engage and retain top talent to achieve their educational mission by offering financial wellbeing benefits and flexible access to earned wages. Representing the first-of-its-kind in K-12 education, the partnership will effectively enable employees more flexibility regarding when they get paid, providing financial autonomy for essential workers and helping to solve for the staff shortage.
To immediately address the national substitute shortage, the solution will first be offered to substitute teachers and considered an optional benefit. The partnership then aims to expand the solution to school district employees in an effort to support ongoing K-12 recruitment and retention goals.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to support the K-12 community with innovative technology that enables their success, and our partnership with Wagestream is the latest example of how we’re delivering on that promise,” said Mark Friedman, Chief Marketing Officer of Frontline Education. “We are thrilled to partner with Wagestream and provide K-12 stakeholders alternative payment options that could ultimately help attract, engage and retain the highest quality teachers and staff to support student outcomes.”
As inflation and rising interest rates continue to affect many people, control over one’s pay provides a genuine financial wellbeing benefit. A subset of substitutes across the country have opted into the pilot phase currently underway. In the coming weeks, Frontline and Wagestream plan to expand the program to school districts.
Typical payroll cycles might delay access to pay for several weeks which may indirectly deter substitutes from accepting positions. With access to the Frontline Mobile App and Wagestream, substitute teachers will have secure, reliable and flexible access to their earned pay, without loans or high interest and without any disruption to the district’s payroll cycle. Substitutes will be able to access their earned wages from Wagestream via the Frontline Absence Management solution including the mobile app.
“Wagestream is a social impact business, founded to bring better financial wellbeing to frontline workers,” said Anurag Mehta, SVP, Partnerships at Wagestream. “Partnering with Frontline Education is a significant step on that mission, helping us bring greater flexibility and choice to hard-working people in K-12 education around the country. We’re excited by how closely Frontline, an organization that believes in doing well by doing good, aligns with Wagestream’s social charter and societal role as a B Corporation.”
According to recent research, more than three quarters (77%) of people feel less stressed when they have control over their own pay cycle, and 72% report having a better quality of life. Employers see recruitment rates that are on average 27% faster when offering Wagestream as a benefit.
News of the partnership innovation follows yesterday’s announcement on the launch of Frontline Human Capital Analytics. Recent product strategies strengthen Frontline’s position as a leader in human capital solutions that help K-12 leaders manage the employee lifecycle from recruit to retire.
Additional information related to the Frontline and Wagestream partnership will be featured today at the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) event taking place in Orlando, Fla. Demonstrations will be available at Booth #311 and #410. More information on the partnership and how districts can sign up for access can be found here.
About Wagestream
Wagestream is the financial wellbeing app founded by charities, designed for employees and built around pay and makes work more inclusive, fair and rewarding for one million people – by giving them access to fair financial services built around their pay.
Workers use Wagestream to choose their own pay cycle, manage their budgeting, save for a rainy day, chat to a personal money coach, and get fairer deals on financial products – all in one app, with no change to payroll.
Wagestream is driven by a social charter: every service it provides must measurably improve financial wellbeing. Over 70% of people using Wagestream feel more in control of their money, leading to a happier, healthier, more productive workforce.
About Frontline Education
Frontline Education is a leading provider of school administration software, connecting solutions for student and special programs, business operations and human capital management with powerful analytics to empower educators. Frontline partners with school systems to deliver tools, data and insights that support greater efficiency and productivity, enabling school leaders to spend more time and resources executing strategies that drive educator effectiveness, student success and district excellence.
Frontline’s broad portfolio includes solutions for proactive recruiting and hiring, absence and time management, professional growth, student information systems, special education, special programs, Medicaid reimbursement, school health management, inventory control and asset management, payroll, benefits and financial management, and analytics solutions that help district leaders tap into their data to make more informed decisions for the benefit of their students and communities. Over 10,000 clients representing millions of educators, administrators and support personnel have partnered with Frontline Education in their efforts to develop the next generation of learners