08.17.12 Weekly Report
This blog is intendend to provide additional information or discussion on content listed in the TISD weekly report or request a topic to be reported. Provide your thoughts, questions, comments or request for additional topics below. Thanks.
Mr. Hartt -
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I'd like to thank you for communicating openly and keeping us informed on district business, vision & short-term and long-term objectives.
Can you please update us on the Parent Portal and whether or not it's fully functional? Will all teachers be using it in 2012-2013?
We'd like to see it expanded so teachers can post all homework documents and lesson plans. This will allow parents to hold students accountable and allow us to be intentional in creating hands-on learning opportunities at home to support teachers in their efforts. Example: If I know my 5th grader will be studying erosion, then we might take a hike around the lake to try and spot places where erosion is occurring and discuss how it might affect the lake.
Thankfully you have so many dedicated teachers who were willing to email me homework documents when our son "lost or forgot" his. Some have their own blogs with homework assignments and the elementary school's newsletter was helpful in providing spelling words and information on teaching topics. It would be so nice if we could access the homework, lesson plans, events, etc. in one location on the web site.
Please share your plans and timeline with us.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for your questions, let me gather some information and I'll respond in full in a couple of days.
DeleteThe parental portal will contain information regarding the students class schedule, grades, attendance and discipline. There is a section for assignments, but TISD uses a separate application called Eduphoria to manage lesson planning. Eduphoria was chosen over the Tyler SIS parent portal software due to additional functions that aren't in Tyler SIS. Unfortunately, Eduphoria doesn't allow for parental access.
DeleteTISD understands the importance of keeping parents informed and lists communication of academic requirements and academic progress in the TISD Professional Standards. The only mandatory part of these requirements are the three week progress reports, the rest are suggested best practices for teachers.
At this point, due to numerous factors, TISD will not require all teachers to provide the information you are requesting. Several of the reasons are, but not limited;
1. Assignments posted at the first of the week will change by the day or different class periods during the day based on student progress. So, the assignments planned on Friday of one week for the next week almost always change.
2. Since parent access isn't allowed in the Eduphoria system the teacher would have to complete the same task twice.
In the end, if your child is struggling in a class and you would like information on class or homework assignments to assist them, please contact the staff member for assistance.
Thank you for your thorough explanation and quick response. I understand the limitations of the present system, but I'd like to encourage you and your staff to reconsider this request in the near future. There are many Tatum parents who'd like to partner more closely with the school in our children's education. We just need to be equipped with specific information (assignments, project scope and timelines, lesson plans, etc.) that can be easily accessible. Obviously it'll cost additional money to consolidate the information in the parent portal and Eduphoria into a system that serves both the school, parents and students, but we'd all gain in the long run.
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