Amazon Valley Academy and Virunga Valley Academy move from spreadsheets to a unified SIS—supporting grades, attendance, communication, and family access across a platform serving schools in more than 40 countries.
Sycamore Leaf Solutions, LLC (“Sycamore”), a K–12 school management platform serving schools in more than 40 countries, today announced that Amazon Valley Academy (Pará, Brazil) and Virunga Valley Academy (Musanze, Rwanda) have selected Sycamore as their Student Information System (SIS). Both schools are transitioning from manual processes and spreadsheets to a centralized platform designed to reduce administrative friction, improve data consistency, and strengthen day-to-day execution.
These deployments reflect a growing international demand for practical, all-in-one school operations—supporting mission-driven schools with lean teams across diverse academic calendars.
Amazon Valley Academy (Pará, Brazil)
Amazon Valley Academy (AVA) is a Brazilian Christian English-immersion school serving approximately 150 students in PreK–12, committed to academic excellence, character formation, and faith-centered education. As a Google school, AVA is implementing Sycamore as its first SIS, moving from manual and spreadsheet-based workflows to a unified platform that supports clear, consistent grading and academic reporting, strengthens family communication, and gives parents timely access to grades, attendance, and—where enabled—payments through the Sycamore Parent App.
“Sycamore has provided our school with the tools we need to operate efficiently in an increasingly digital environment, while remaining mindful of the budget realities of a small private institution,” said Danielle Soares, Middle School Lead Teacher of Amazon Valley Academy. “Their team has been supportive and willing to work with us, and we value the all-in-one platform they offer.”
Virunga Valley Academy (Musanze, Rwanda)
Virunga Valley Academy (VVA) is a Rwandan American international school serving approximately 200 students in Nursery–Grade 11, and is adding 12th grade this year. VVA operates almost entirely in person and uses a hybrid grading approach: standards-based grading in K–3 and letter grades from 4th grade through upper school. Moving from manual and spreadsheet-based workflows (with limited prior tooling in middle school), VVA is adopting Sycamore as a single SIS foundation across divisions—centralizing student records, strengthening consistency in grading and reporting, and improving visibility for administrators and teachers. With mobile connections at roughly 92% of the population in Rwanda and smartphone adoption rising across East Africa (Kemp), VVA will use the Sycamore App to keep families informed in real time. Parents will have fast access to the two highest-frequency touchpoints—attendance and gradebook progress—without relying on manual updates.
What schools gain by moving from spreadsheets to a unified SIS
With Sycamore, both schools are establishing a single operational system of record-supporting:
- Cleaner enrollment and student records (one source of truth vs. scattered spreadsheets)
- Consistent attendance tracking and reporting
- More reliable grading workflows across divisions (standards + letter-grade models)
- Streamlined family communication to reduce handoffs and confusion
- Better visibility for leadership through centralized data and standardized processes
“International schools often operate with highly committed teams and limited administrative bandwidth,” said Dr. Ryan Lowe, CEO of Sycamore. “Across the schools we support in more than 40 countries, we see a consistent pattern: when enrollment, records, grading, and communication live in one system, staff gain time back, leadership gets clearer visibility, and families get a more consistent experience.”
