ManageBac is a school management platform built to help teachers, students, and families handle curriculum planning, assessment, attendance, and reporting in one connected system. It was created specifically for schools that teach International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, though its parent company has since expanded the platform to serve a wider range of curricula. Today, ManageBac functions as the digital backbone for daily academic operations at thousands of schools around the world, replacing the paper-based processes that once slowed teachers and administrators down.
What Is ManageBac Used For?
ManageBac is used to manage the core academic workflow of a school, including curriculum mapping, unit planning, gradebooks, report cards, attendance tracking, and communication between staff and families. Teachers use it to plan lessons aligned to IB frameworks, record assessments, and generate report comments, while administrators use it to track student progress across grade levels and programs.
Beyond daily instruction, the platform also supports school-wide functions such as scheduling parent-teacher conferences, managing extracurricular activities, and storing student records in one searchable system. This consolidation is one reason schools adopt it: instead of juggling separate tools for grading, communication, and record keeping, staff work from a single dashboard.
Who Created ManageBac and Who Owns It?
ManageBac was founded in 2006 to help schools move away from paper-based systems toward a curriculum-focused digital platform. The company was founded to transition schools off paper onto a curriculum-focused learning platform.
The platform is now owned and operated by Faria Education Group, an international education technology company. Faria’s multi-disciplinary team operates globally across multiple offices, and ManageBac is described as Faria’s flagship product and the leading curriculum planning, assessment, and reporting platform for IB World schools. Faria also owns related tools such as OpenApply for admissions and Atlas for curriculum management, which can integrate with ManageBac to give schools a broader operational suite.
How Does ManageBac Work for Teachers?
Teachers use ManageBac to build unit plans that align directly with IB requirements, then link those plans to assessments, resources, and learning outcomes inside the same interface. Grades and comments entered into the gradebook can flow automatically into report cards, cutting down on duplicate data entry across departments.
The platform also gives teachers a way to track attendance, log behavior notes, and message parents without leaving the system. Because everything is centralized, department heads and school leaders can review teaching plans and student progress across an entire grade level without requesting separate files from each teacher.
How Does ManageBac Work for Students and Parents?
Students log into ManageBac to view assignments, deadlines, grades, and feedback from teachers in one place, which helps them track their own workload across subjects. For IB Diploma Programme students specifically, the platform can also support coursework submission tied to official IB requirements.
Parents use a linked portal to see attendance records, report cards, and upcoming events without waiting for a printed newsletter or a parent-teacher conference. This real-time visibility is one of the more commonly cited reasons families find the platform useful, since it removes the lag between when something happens at school and when a parent learns about it.
What Makes ManageBac Different From Other School Platforms?
ManageBac’s original design centers on the IB curriculum, which sets it apart from generic learning management systems built for any school type. After more than 15 years as the trusted platform for International Baccalaureate schools, ManageBac has been evolving under the name ManageBac+ to serve a wider range of educational institutions while keeping its IB roots intact.
For IB schools specifically, the platform maintains direct integration with official IB systems. This includes full integration with IB eCoursework and IBIS exam registration, along with access to official IB forms, curriculum, and assessment information. That level of built-in compliance with IB standards is something general-purpose school platforms typically do not offer out of the box.
Is ManageBac Only for IB Schools?
ManageBac was originally built exclusively for IB World Schools, and that remains its core market. However, the platform has broadened over time to support other curricula and school types, including faith-based and independent schools that do not teach the IB program. Faria Education Group has continued expanding ManageBac’s reach through acquisitions and new integrations, so schools researching the platform today should confirm current curriculum support directly with Faria or an authorized reseller, since offerings can change.
Conclusion
ManageBac is a curriculum-focused school management platform that began as a dedicated tool for IB World Schools and has since grown into a broader system used by teachers, students, and families to handle planning, grading, attendance, and communication. Owned by Faria Education Group, it remains closely tied to IB standards while extending support to other school types under the ManageBac+ rebrand. For schools weighing whether to adopt it, the platform’s core value lies in consolidating academic operations that would otherwise live across several disconnected tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ManageBac used for?
ManageBac is used to manage curriculum planning, gradebooks, attendance, and report cards in one system, mainly for schools teaching the International Baccalaureate program. Teachers, students, and parents each access their own view of the platform to track assignments, grades, and school communication.
Who owns ManageBac?
ManageBac is owned by Faria Education Group, an international education technology company. Faria was founded in 2006 and describes ManageBac as its flagship product for curriculum planning, assessment, and reporting.
Is ManageBac only for IB schools?
ManageBac was originally built for IB World Schools and remains closely tied to IB curriculum requirements. It has since expanded to support additional school types and curricula, so exact availability depends on a school’s specific program.
Can parents access ManageBac?
Yes, parents typically get access through a linked portal where they can view their child’s attendance, grades, and report cards. This gives families real-time visibility into academic progress without waiting for scheduled updates from the school.
What is the difference between ManageBac and ManageBac+?
ManageBac+ is the newer version of the platform, rebranded to reflect expanded features and broader curriculum support. Existing ManageBac customers keep their current login details and access points, and the added features come at no extra cost.
