New program lets parents get grades online

The Aiken County School District's technology department has pushed forward with a new digital student data management system that in part will provide online parental access for their children's grades, attendance records and other data.

The conversion to "Powerschool" became necessary statewide because the firm Pearson School Systems will no longer support its own current management program after 2010. Pearson is giving school districts the Powerschool program, Aiken schools technology director Dal Stanley told Board of Education members at a meeting Tuesday.

The Aiken School District was one of three chosen for a preliminary pilot project and since spring has been training administrators and selected faculty and staff members in all schools.

Each student has a identification number using a system that ensures each number is unique, Stanley said.

"The system has a self-generated letter for parents," he said. "Powerschool is not a new program in the U.S., but has been in development for 10 years. There's already a customized letter for parents. The program is intuitive, in that parents can click grades and attendance and the data pops up."

Board Chair Chris Harkins recommended that the schools hold workshops for parents to fully explain the new system.

The data will be available in real-time, Stanley said. As soon as a teacher assigns a grade, parents will get immediate access. If a parent loses the identification number of their child, he or she must go to the school to get it. The numbers will be never given out over the phone, Stanley said.

He readily acknowledged that the new system installation has faced a wide learning curve that remains ongoing, especially in such a large school district. The South Carolina Department of Education has introduced an aggressive implementation schedule, including the training process. The system out of the box doesn't have the data validation that the previous program had. Stanley said he hopes the state will provide that validation component during the school year.

In other business:

* The school system has or is completing this week a number of repair projects at several schools. Deputy Superintendent David Caver said roof work at New Ellenton Middle School and roof and heating and air conditioning work at Clearwater Elementary School had been a concern, but are scheduled for completion this week before classes begin Monday. The roof at New Ellenton was damaged by the tornados that ripped through that area and Beech Island last spring.

The district did not use federal stimulus funds for any projects over the summer. However, Caver does plan to submit a competitive grant application to obtain funds for upgrading lights to provide more energy efficiency.

* The board members approved second reading on a revised policy that will restrict cell phone use for students to before and after regular class hours. During that period, students must keep phones in their cars or in their lockers. The board also moving toward a policy that will require teachers to avoid using cell phones in the proximity of students except for specific school purposes approved by administrators.

* The district has entered into an agreement with MCG Health to collaborate on a new class offering at Midland Valley High School. Two classes on athletic training instruction to 30 students. MCG Health is providing half the salary, and the school district has received a federal Perkins grant to cover the other half. The new program in effect is expanding the health science program at the Aiken County Career and Technology Center, said its director, Pat O'Neill.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.