Inside Transparent Classroom’s Partnership with Onespot That’s Redefining Montessori Administration

When Transparent Classroom and Onespot announced a formal collaboration this spring, it signaled more than a simple integration. It outlined a shared plan to bring record-keeping, communication, and school operations into a single, Montessori-specific workflow. Transparent Classroom—the leading Montessori record-keeping software—and Onespot—the leading Montessori mobile app & communications company—combined their strengths into a single, integrated system. The aim was to simplify everything from lesson planning to parent communication, billing, enrollment, and more in one seamless hub. Now, half a year into this partnership, that bold effort is paying off. The collaboration is already reshaping how Montessori schools manage their daily operations, making life easier for administrators, teachers, and parents alike.

Rapid Adoption and Global Reach

The interest in the Transparent Classroom + Onespot bundle turned into real adoption almost immediately. The official launch came on May 10, 2025, and within just 2 hours, more than 40 schools had already signed up for demo sessions to see the system in action. In the weeks that followed, over 140 school administrators met with the team for personalized demos. This early momentum continued to grow over time. To date, the all-in-one bundle has been implemented at Montessori schools across 27 U.S. states and 9 countries worldwide, reflecting a broad international enthusiasm for the integrated solution. This bundle is primarily benefiting small Montessori schools (averaging 50–100 students) that are often overlooked by traditional software companies. These schools range from intimate, single-classroom centers to larger Montessori institutions, so the platform is proving value for a variety of school sizes. In total, the Onespot app has already processed several million dollars in tuition payments, fees, and fundraiser sales for schools using the Transparent Classroom + Onespot bundle—a clear sign that communities are embracing the convenience of handling everything from chats to finances through the new app.

Many administrators report that the integrated billing has been a game-changer on its own. A number of schools have even dropped their previous billing software—systems like TUIO or QuickBooks—in favor of Onespot’s built-in billing module that ties directly into their Transparent Classroom data. All of a school’s tuition and fees can now be managed in one place, with parent accounts already linked to their children’s records, eliminating redundant data entry and reducing errors. The strong early adoption signals that Montessori schools were more than ready for a unified platform after years of patching together separate apps.

Excitement about this approach was palpable from the start. At the American Montessori Society’s annual conference in Denver last spring, educators got a first sneak peek at the combined platform. The Transparent Classroom and Onespot teams exhibited side by side, showing how a child’s work record entered on a teacher’s laptop would instantly appear on the parent’s smartphone app. “The response has blown us away,” Onespot co-founder Samuel Buchanan remarked at the time, noting that schools had long been craving an easier way to connect all their systems. Six months later, that initial buzz has translated into lasting demand and tangible benefits in Montessori schools’ day-to-day workflows.

Seamless Integration in Action

The partnership between Transparent Classroom and Onespot is resonating because of how seamlessly the two systems now work as one. Through close technical collaboration, the platforms have been woven together so that for teachers, parents, and administrators, it often feels like a single product. A new “Sign in with Transparent Classroom” feature lets users log in to their school’s custom mobile app with one set of credentials, while roles like teacher, parent, and administrator automatically sync across both systems. This connection means schools no longer have to maintain separate user lists—parents and teachers added in Transparent Classroom appear instantly in Onespot—saving administrators hours on setup and ongoing management.

That same level of integration extends into the classroom. Within each school’s custom Onespot app, teachers can see lesson progress, activity records, and classroom notes from Transparent Classroom, all alongside calendars and messaging. A teacher can log a presentation in Transparent Classroom, then instantly share a photo and update with parents through the app—no extra steps required. The app even pulls in small but meaningful details like children’s birthdays, giving staff a complete, connected view of school life. And, of course, the collaboration also streamlines one of the most time-consuming parts of running a school—billing. It automatically links invoices & payments to the right child’s account, allows parents to securely pay for everything with a tap, lets the school admins and bookkeepers track and reconcile everything in real time, even syncing with a school’s QuickBooks accounting system.

All of these features come packaged in each school’s own custom-branded mobile app, listed on the iOS and Android app stores with the school’s name, logo, and colors, which becomes the central hub for parents and staff. Instead of juggling a record-keeping website, an email service, a separate messaging app, and a paper billing system, a school community can do it all through their one app. From the parent’s perspective, it feels like magic: they can sign their child in each morning, see what lessons they worked on that day, chat with their child’s teacher, read the latest newsletter, and pay tuition—all in one place on their phone. And for Montessori educators, who already juggle many roles, it’s a level of streamlining that they deeply appreciate.

Montessori Schools Embrace the Change

For Montessori school leaders who have adopted the Transparent Classroom + Onespot bundle, the impact has been overwhelmingly positive. Stephanie Hull, co-founder of Sage Montessori School of Nashville, says the all-in-one approach has dramatically simplified her work. “Not only does the app offer an easy way to send invoices and collect tuition, it also has amazing features like parent chats, all of our info in one space, and [it’s] integrated to Transparent Classroom,” Hull explained, describing the bundled platform. “We know there is so much that this app can offer and are just now scratching the surface. I would recommend this to any school that wants a one-stop shop for your school. This really has been a dream for us and our families.” For Hull’s school, having everything connected—from billing to record-keeping to parent communication—in one hub means less time coordinating disparate tools and more time focusing on the children. Parents no longer have to navigate multiple apps or websites to stay involved, and the staff isn’t constantly exporting and importing data between systems. As Hull’s experience shows, the promise of a “one-stop shop” has translated into real convenience in practice.

Alison Evans, Director of Birch Tree Montessori in Haverhill, Massachusetts, shares a similar story from the parent perspective. Before Transparent Classroom’s partnership with Onespot, Evans says, many parents at her school were unsure when to use Transparent Classroom’s app and when they needed to go online or use a different tool for school communications. Now, that confusion is gone. With the new bundle, “they have everything in the palm of their hand,” Evans notes. Parents can handle almost every school-related task through the app: signing a child in or out, viewing photos of classroom activities, reading the latest newsletter, reporting an absence, even updating their payment method on file. “It’s already changed the way we communicate with our families,” Evans says, “and we have received nothing but positive feedback. Everybody loves it.” The streamlined communication means no more important announcements lost in email, and quicker updates from teachers to parents. Evans adds that even board members and extended family can be looped in through the app if needed. In short, the whole school community stays connected through one portal.

Just as importantly, Evans has high praise for the support behind the product. Rolling out a new system in a school can be daunting, but the Onespot team made the transition “seamless,” she says. “I have to give them all a big shoutout. They are incredibly patient, incredibly responsive, and really knowledgeable about all things Onespot and Transparent Classroom,” Evans explains, noting that the support team treated her small school with the same level of attention as a larger client. “Even though we are a very small school, they make us feel like we are the most important customer,” she emphasizes. Whenever parents ran into a little hiccup or had questions during the changeover, the Onespot staff were there to help “with anything we needed along the way,” making what could have been a tricky software rollout into, as Evans describes it, “one of the best decisions we’ve made in our short history.” Hearing such feedback from early adopters, it’s clear that the partnership isn’t just a success on paper; it’s touching the daily lives of Montessori teachers and families in meaningful ways.

Continuous Collaboration and Lessons Learned

From the perspective of the companies behind the bundle, the past few months have been a whirlwind of growth and learning. Samuel Buchanan, co-founder and COO of Onespot, reflected on how the collaboration with Transparent Classroom has unfolded. “Our team has learned a ton from the schools who’ve come on board these past months,” Buchanan says. “Each Montessori school is unique, but their underlying challenges were surprisingly common—like dealing with multiple disconnected tools and data in too many places. Bringing everything together in one place has been a game-changer in ways even we didn’t anticipate. When you truly integrate systems, the time savings and peace of mind for educators are enormous. We expected it to help, but we’ve been blown away by how much stress it relieves for school staff.”

One key to this success has been the close coordination between the Transparent Classroom and Onespot teams. The partnership didn’t end with the initial software integration—it became an ongoing, cooperative effort. The two teams still meet every single week to align on updates, address any issues, and plan new improvements. This tight feedback loop allows them to respond quickly as more schools come on board. “Our weekly coordination calls with Transparent Classroom have been invaluable for iterating based on user feedback,” notes Buchanan. “It’s a real collaborative effort. Both teams are committed to making the experience as smooth as possible for educators.” In other words, as schools use the platform and suggest tweaks or request new features, the developers and support staff are listening. For example, if a group of schools expresses a need for a certain report or a new communication feature, the Transparent Classroom and Onespot teams ensure those ideas are discussed and implemented if feasible. This responsiveness has further endeared the bundle to Montessori administrators, who feel like their tech providers truly understand and support their mission.

Half a year in, the Transparent Classroom–Onespot partnership is achieving what it promised and then some. Montessori schools now have a modern, unified tech solution that actually aligns with their holistic approach to education. Administrators are reclaiming hours previously spent cobbling together spreadsheets and apps. Teachers can share classroom moments with parents effortlessly, without breaking their observational flow. Parents, for their part, are more engaged because all the school information they need is at their fingertips instead of scattered across platforms. And perhaps most importantly, educators and families are finding that less time spent on managing logistics means more time devoted to the children.

As the integrated platform continues to evolve with new updates and more schools joining, it may well become the new normal for how Montessori schools operate in the digital age. What started as a bold partnership in the spring has grown into a burgeoning movement toward simplification and connectivity in Montessori education. In Buchanan’s words from the initial announcement, “when you remove the friction of administrative tasks, educators can spend more time doing what they love: guiding and observing the children”. Six months in, that vision is coming true—and Montessori communities around the world are celebrating this smoother, smarter way of running a school.