A computer software program that lets parents and students in the Penn Hills School District go online to check academic progress has earned a failing grade and will be replaced.
"There's a lot of interest among parents to be able to do this," said Sally L. Myers, the district's technology coordinator for secondary schools. "But at the same time, there has been some frustration because we've had so many problems.
"The bottom line is, students and parents have to have access and timely reporting of progress and grades," she said.
The school board recently approved spending $37,500 for a new database program called GradeQuick, which will replace the system the district has been using for the past 2 1/2 years.
In addition to the initial purchase price, the new setup will cost $22,900 a year for training, product updates and maintenance.
One of the biggest problems is experienced by parents with more than one child attending school, who often find that when they attempt to check their academic progress, information is not available for all their children, Myers said.
The district will begin testing the new software this spring and start training teachers and guidance counselors in July so the system will be ready for the 2007-08 school year, Myers said.
To work out the bugs, the technology staff will conduct a trial run using a number of fictitious students for whom a year's worth of grades will be input, Myers said.
"We'll try to come up with every possible scenario we can think of to make sure it works," she said.
The new program, like the one it is replacing, only will be available for middle- and senior-high school students and their parents. But Myers hopes to expand its use to the elementary schools.
After experiencing so many problems with the current system, Myers concedes that a critical step in launching the new system will be convincing parents -- especially those who are uncomfortable with technology -- to give it a try.
"We hope to communicate this in such a way that we are not going to scare people away," she said. "We are going to embrace the concept of making their lives better."
School board member Robert Hudak suggested that Myers introduce parents to the revised system by having computers set up at open houses, parent-teacher conferences and PTA meetings.
"It would be nice to have something there when parents are coming in to see the teachers," Hudak said.
The online system will not replace traditional paper report cards and notices that are sent to parents, Myers said.
