Students may not always tell their parents everything when it comes to how much homework they have or when their assignments are due, but parents may soon have instant access to that information, and much more, through an ordinary Internet connection. ##M:[more]##
A new student information system purchased by the board to replace the district’s current system includes a variety of new features, one of which is to allow parents to log in to check on their students’ progress. School administrators, however, have said they will determine which features — including the one to allow for parental access — will be enabled after they get the basics of the new system up and running in the spring.
The new database is called Infinite Campus, and last week the board approved its purchase for $224,”269.75. The entire system is web-based so teachers and administrators can access information from anywhere at any time. It also serves as a district-wide data warehouse, allowing student data to be entered once and leveraged across the entire district, according to the company’s website.
Technology Director Rick Cave says there is a wide range of features to the new system, but for now the goal is for the district to mimic what information it used in its old system for scheduling and keeping student information.
The current SASI system works fine for the basics, like scheduling, but the district is looking to expand.The new system is online and provides more access and a lot more functionality, Cave said.
The new database will become “the center of everything we do regarding data,” as it can also allow school officials to analyze student test scores and assess how well their programs are doing. “That’s really what drove us toward getting a new program,” he said.
The goal for its first year of implementation is to duplicate what the school district already has done with its other data system. Then it will slowly start introducing the other features and use the system as “a portal into the school for students, parents and teachers,” he said.
What’s innovative about the system itself, according to the website (www.infinitecampus.com) for Minnesota-based Infinite Campus, is that one feature — known as Campus Grade Book — allows a teacher to input students’ grades into the system using the Internet. Those grades are immediately available to students, their guardians, counselors, and school administrators. Teachers can also share comments, assignments and progress reports through the Web, and students can view their current academic standing.
Another feature, according to the website, is that teachers are able to set up their classroom plans, including assignments, grading curves, due dates, objectives, and references. Standardized test data can also be assigned to courses to determine if those courses are fulfilling the educational requirements of those tests.
Debra Baer, the WW-P Education Association president, said teachers are excited to see the new system come on board because it will create consistency district-wide when it comes to how teachers keep data, update schedules, and submit grades.
For example, Baer said when she taught eighth grade she would keep grades in a handwritten book, then input grades into one computer program, and have to save that data and transfer it to another when it came time to issue report cards. “It’s a time-consuming program, and if you do it wrong, you have to do it all over again.”
When the district began looking at getting a new system, a team of teachers watched presentations about different systems and gave input into which they thought looked the best.
While the new system has many capabilities — including the ability to allow parents to log in to view their students’ assignments and progress — Baer said ad hoc committees will be formed to determine which of those features makes the most sense for the district regarding community and parental access.
“Because it’s going to be one, giant system, as opposed to what we have now, you need to make sure security is utmost,” she said, especially when it comes to information about where students live. “You have to be very careful in this age about security.”
The system is still brand new, and teachers have not yet seen how it works, but Baer said “overall, teachers are enthusiastic.”
Because there are so many features with the new system, some features will be introduced sooner than others, Cave said. The ad-hoc committees will determine which features to enable, set time frames for introducing them, and talk about the various functions of each one, Cave said.
For now, it will take about three to four months to process the data conversion from its current system to the new one and reproduce the same information the district currently does with SASI. The district plans to have that part up and running in the spring.
