Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By Sean Barron
POLAND — The school district is in the early stages of implementing a new feature to its database that promises to improve communications among students, parents and teachers.
During its meeting Monday, the board of education approved technology training for teachers of grades five through 12 for the program, which will allow parents to access their children’s grades online starting at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.
Another benefit of the upgrade will be quick access to students’ attendance, discipline reports, class schedules, test data and transcripts, noted Vince Procopio, Poland Seminary High School’s principal.
The technology should be cost-efficient, partly by reducing the need for paper and eliminating grade books; it also is to improve reliability of information gathered during parent-teacher conferences, he explained.
The feature is safe and provides confidentiality for each student’s records while allowing for greater transparency, noted Kevin Snyder, the high school’s assistant principal. In addition, Snyder continued, it won’t be an added cost to the district.
A pilot group of parents and teachers is taking part, and certain glitches are being worked out, he said.
Along similar lines, the district is revising its Web site and could have the project finished by month’s end, noted Superintendent Robert Zorn.
Information on the H1N1 flu virus, as well as athletic schedules, is part of what’s posted. A school calendar for this and next school year, a five-year financial forecast, and maps to help people from out of the area find the schools are part of what’s to be added, Zorn pointed out.
Also at the session, North Elementary School was recognized for being one of 20 Ohio schools to win the Radio Disney “Move It” Challenge, designed to encourage youngsters to be more physically fit.
Also, the American Red Cross Mahoning Chapter nominated the school’s parent-teacher organization as Hero of the Mahoning Valley for its contributions to the community. The PTO will be honored at a breakfast Feb. 6 at Antone’s Banquet Centre in Boardman.
Other accolades went to sophomores Mitch Dinopoulos and Kaitlin Poland, who were selected to represent the school at the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Seminar, set for June 4-6 at the University of Mount Union in Alliance.
The event’s purpose is to bring together a select group of 10th-graders who demonstrate leadership abilities to interact with leaders in business, government and education.