Parents to utilize PowerSchool |
Starting with the spring semester, parents of elementary students in the Pittsburg USD 250 system will now get the chance to use the PowerSchool system, an online system that allows them to monitor their students' progress. The system was implemented in the fall semester at Pittsburg High School and Pittsburg Community Middle School. PowerSchool will grant parents of fourth and fifth-grade students instant access to spelling assignments and scores, a detailed attendance log, daily lunch account balances, the daily school bulletin and calendar, and e-mail addresses for teachers. Tina Jones, USD 250 Communication Coordinator, said in the near future parents will be able to access all students' grades at the elementary schools. "As part of the process, now they're bringing the elementary schools in," Jones said. "This is just the beginning. There will be more access to the academic records for the parents as they continue to build the system. "We just feel this communication tool is so important for the district and for the parents that we wanted to get them an opportunity to come to the school, let us help them log in, get a feel for the program, ask questions. It's just another avenue to form that partnership with the parents." Parents were mailed letters before the holiday break detailing the features of PowerSchool. The letters also included the parents' username and password for the PowerSchool system. Parents also have the option of changing the usernames and passwords if they call and notify the school first. Training sessions are at the following dates and times: Westside Elementary, Jan. 10, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Meadowlark Elementary, Jan. 12, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Pittsburg Community Middle School, Jan. 19, 6 - 7 p.m.; Lakeside Elementary, Jan. 26, 5 - 6 p.m.; George Nettels Elementary, Jan. 30, 5 - 6 p.m. Jones said PowerSchool is just another step in the increasingly growing technological age. "One of the things that we put in our letter to the parents is the line 'remember being sent home from school with a note pinned to your shirt,'" Jones said. "That's how much times have changed. Technology has afforded us so many ways to communicate and PowerSchool is one of those things for us right now." Jones also said that the great thing with this system is that parents, and teachers in some cases, are able to learn from the students, who have grown up in the technological age. "When kids use this system, they will show their parents," Jones said. "The parents will be able to learn from the students. "The newer, younger teachers have had more exposure to that in their educational career. They're gonna be very comfortable with this type of system. When you have a teacher who has taught for a number of years and they're used to the old-fashioned way of doing things, there's a little bit more training, but it's more of seeing what the system can do and changing with the times." Jones said that while some teachers and administrators have had to adjust more in the installation of the PowerSchool system, it has been a team effort that has made it successful. "The administration, the teachers and the technology department have all worked collaboratively to make PowerSchool a reality for U.S.D. 250," Jones said. "They all realize the benefits of the program and have been eager to learn and make it a viable educational tool for the schools, the students and the parents." * Twenty-five students from Pittsburg will be doing a first for the school district on Jan. 14, traveling to Burlington to participate in the Middle School District Honor Band, Honor Choir and Elementary Honor Choir. The students are from Pittsburg Community Middle School and the Youth Chorale from Pittsburg's four elementary schools and PCMS. They were selected to participate from students across southeast Kansas. The students have been under the instruction of Lacy Mikrut, music teacher at Meadowlark; Virginia Darling, vocal music teacher at PCMS; and Katie Miller, band teacher at PCMS. They will be accompanied by Darling on the trip. * Northeast High School finished installation of security cameras over the holiday break. Cameras have now been installed at all district schools. Northeast Junior High and Elementary School is preparing for its Kansas Day celebration on Friday, Jan. 27 and also will host the USD 246 spelling bee on Jan. 27, with the winners advancing to the county spelling bee. * The beginning of construction on the addition to Frontenac Junior and Senior High School and Frank Layden Elementary is scheduled to begin at the end of the month. When construction is completed. There will be 14 new high school classrooms, a new gym/locker room at the high school, new offices at Frank Layden and FHS, new elementary art and music classrooms, and renovation to different parts of the existing building. The project, at a cost of $5.9 million, was approved by voters in an April 2005 bond issue. * George Nettels Elementary School will host a group of Russian students, teachers and principals on Jan. 11. * Fort Scott's Eugene Ware Elementary School is going through final preparations for its state assessment in March. The Morning Sun, (www.morningsun.net) January 5, 2006 |
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