Custom school software
Done-for-you tools for the institutional workflows your SIS, LMS, and vendor platforms do not handle well — scoped with your administration, used by your teachers.
Educator-led school software studio
Custom school software — built, hosted, and supported for your school.
Second Bell is the done-for-you software partner for schools. We build, host, and support the custom tools your institution needs — shaped with your administration, used by your teachers — led by a teacher and technology leader and delivered faster and more affordably with modern AI-assisted development.
- Build
- Custom tools
- Host
- Stable deployments
- Support
- Teacher-ready help
School workflow
From need to supported app
Teacher need
A real workflow that existing tools do not solve.
Modern build
Focused scope, fast iteration, and current development practices.
Supported launch
Hosting, documentation, maintenance, and a clear help path.
What we do
School software without the enterprise drag.
Schools often know exactly what would help teachers, but the path from idea to usable software is slow, expensive, or unclear. Second Bell gives schools a smaller, sharper way to build.
Manage & support the tools your school already built
Adopt the prototypes and internal tools your staff created and make them reliable: ownership, hosting, documentation, and a support path that does not depend on one person.
Hosting and support
Deployment, maintenance, monitoring, and first-call support for school-built or custom applications, handled for the institution.
Consulting and advising
Practical guidance for heads of school, deans, and IT leaders on when to buy, when to build, and how to turn a good idea into a durable, owned tool.
Flagship engagement
A School Partnership.
A yearlong partnership — a fractional AI office for a school that does not have one in-house.
Faculty build cohorts
We run cohorts of roughly 8–30 teachers over about four weeks. Each teacher ships one deployed tool plus a short write-up your administration can review.
AI policy
A plain-English policy draft — FERPA/COPPA/CIPA-aware and written to be enforceable — with an annual review built in.
Quarterly stack audits
A tool inventory and risk notes every quarter, so the school always knows what is running and where the exposure is.
On-call support
Monthly office hours for IT and administration, plus first-call support when parent questions arrive.
Custom, sized to your school
Scoped to your faculty count and professional-development budget · Rolling intake — start when it fits your school
Promising internal tool
Useful, but fragile
Clarify ownership and requirements
Harden permissions, hosting, and data handling
Document workflows for teachers and admins
Create a support and maintenance path
Managed app support
Turn useful school tools into supported software.
Some schools already have useful prototypes or internal tools. The problem is making them reliable enough for real users. We help schools move from a promising app to something documented, hosted, maintained, and ready for daily use.
- Led by a teacher and school technology leader
- Built around real school workflows, permissions, and support needs
- Faster, more affordable development with modern AI-assisted engineering
- Designed for teacher trust, not generic software demos
Selected work
Software shaped by real school workflows.
A curated set of tools Second Bell has built for schools and the teachers in them — proof of the standard we hold for custom work: useful, durable, and clear enough for busy teachers to trust.
Available now
Better Feedback
Chrome extension that embeds an AI grading assistant into Canvas SpeedGrader. Suggests scores, generates rubric-aware feedback, and batch-grades with full cost control.
- AI feedback drafts with teacher review
- Batch grading across full rosters
- Prompt caching for cost control
Available now
Canvas Quiz Generator
Convert quiz documents into Canvas LMS-compatible QTI format. Upload PDFs, Word docs, or drag-and-drop questions for instant Canvas-ready imports.
- PDF, DOCX, and pasted text inputs
- Drag-and-drop question ordering
- Math rendering and DOCX/PDF export
Available now
Canvas Gradebook Enhancer
Chrome extension that adds real-time analytics directly into the Canvas gradebook. Sticky class average, per-column stats with charts, and at-risk highlighting.
- Sticky class-average row
- Per-column stats and mini bar charts
- At-risk student highlighting
Available now
Canvas to Sheets
Google Apps Script that pulls Canvas LMS grade data into Google Sheets nightly on an automated schedule. Auto-detects active terms and runs headlessly.
- Nightly grade sync to Google Sheets
- Auto-detect active terms
- Headless scheduling with Apps Script
Available now
Reflection Wall
AI-powered yearbook for school events. Students post reflections; Claude generates AI reflections; Gemini creates unique art cards per post with real-time sync.
- Student text and voice reflections
- AI-generated reflections and art
- Real-time sync and projector view
Available now
APES Simulations
Interactive educational web app for AP Environmental Science. 3D Three.js globe with animated simulations of ENSO, ocean cross-sections, and climate graphs.
- 3D Three.js globe with animations
- ENSO and ocean system simulations
- Climate data visualization
In progress
Secure Browser
Lightweight Electron app for secure exam proctoring without invasive surveillance. Uses "Social Friction": navigate away and a red lockout fires instantly with local screenshot.
- Instant lockout on navigation
- Local screenshot capture only
- Teacher in-person unlock review
Available now
Pro Sort
Custom scheduling tool for school weeks. Reads student preferences from Google Forms and runs an optimization algorithm to assign hundreds of students across dozens of course offerings.
- Google Forms preference import
- Constraint satisfaction algorithm
- Schedule visualization and management
Available now
Page Punch
Chrome extension for capturing page, selection, and area comments on any website. Export as markdown, zip, or PDF with optional voice-to-text and annotation.
- Page, selection, and area comments
- Voice notes and screenshot markup
- Markdown, zip, and PDF export
Other projects
Outside the school-software focus, the studio has also shipped a few independent projects.
- Moki Law — AI study companion for law students, grounded in their own materials.
- Halley Personal CRM — Native iOS/macOS app for tracking professional contacts, fully on-device.
How we work
A practical path from idea to launch.
01
Diagnose the workflow
We map the actual school process, the people involved, and where current tools are slowing teachers down.
02
Build the first useful version
We keep scope tight, ship quickly, and focus on the smallest product that can prove the workflow.
03
Pilot with real users
Teachers and administrators test the tool in context while we refine language, permissions, and edge cases.
04
Host, document, and support
The tool gets a stable home, clear documentation, and a support path that does not depend on one person remembering how it works.
Studio lead
Chris Meehan
Teacher & academic technology leader
“Software for a school has to be technically sound — and it has to fit a teacher's day, a school's constraints, and the trust that education work requires.”
Led by an educator
A studio led by someone who has lived the school side of the problem.
Second Bell is a studio led by Chris Meehan, a teacher and academic technology leader who has worked across classrooms, school systems, global education technology programs, and school operations. Schools get an accountable partner behind the contract — and product work shaped by someone who knows what it takes for a tool to earn a place in a teacher's day and a school's stack.
Canvas and LMS workflowsAI in secondary educationCustom tool developmentTeacher training and support
New projects
Have a tool your school needs?
Send a short note about the workflow, the teachers who depend on it, and what currently gets in the way. We can help your school decide whether to build, improve, host, or support the right next version.