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| District technology keeps parents in the know |
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| Written by Maddy Houk / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | |
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“It’s a way for the non-serious things to get to parents and to keep the communication going.” — Shawn Posey Creekside Middle School principal With a click of the mouse, Patterson Unified School District parents can stay abreast of what’s going on with their children. Bob Sherburn, the district’s director of technology, and John Hawksworth-Lutzow, coordinator of technology programs, gave an overview of such programs at the Oct. 1 school board meeting. Two nationwide programs, TeleParent and Snap Grades, enable parents to keep up with the latest messages from teachers and their students’ academic progress. Creekside Middle School Principal Shawn Posey said every parent at Creekside, where the program is in place, can be called within seconds, or a teacher can call a specific family, using TeleParent. “It’s a way for the non-serious things to get to parents and to keep the communication going,” Posey told the board. TeleParent’s automated phone system allows a school’s administrators and teachers to send student-specific messages and general messages home whenever necessary. The TeleParent messages — about schoolwork, school events, behavior and attendance — are delivered verbally and can be sent in many languages. Non-urgent messages usually get to parents between 6 and 9 p.m. Meanwhile, Snap Grades allows students and parents to check on homework assignments and grades online. Parent Rebecca Robinson, who attended the meeting, said Snap Grades has worked well for her and her family, and it takes just a few seconds. “I can see if there’s a missing assignment,” Robinson said. “It breaks down the grades and assignments.” Trustee Ruben Piña suggested a survey to see how many families in the district do not have a computer. Audience members mentioned if a computer is not available at home, students and parents can go to a friend or relative’s home or to the local library. “I think it’s like anything, there’s not going to be a 100 percent,” Trustee Michele Bays said. “You gotta start small — baby steps — one step at a time.” Sherburn told the board that Global Valley Networks is upgrading the network in the district offices and classrooms. The district’s tech support team of Nick DePauw, Lauren Nield and Corri Silveira has been on local campuses troubleshooting problems and helping employees with student information system programs. Special “Parent Tech Nights,” allow parents to learn about Internet safety, transferring files and the TeleParent and SnapGrades programs. The district has met all of its goals for student and staff training, Hawksworth-Lutzow told the board. That also included getting students and staff comfortable using the Power Point slideshow program. He said the district did not receive a state Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant it had sought for Creekside Middle School, but teachers will move on with what is already in place. EETT Grants help districts integrate technology with academic subjects in the classroom, a process that is already well under way at Creekside. “We’re really focusing on making technology part of the curriculum,” Hawksworth-Lutzow said.
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