No, the question I posed is not about RUSD looking and praying to God for guidance on how to engage parents in the educational process. I am referring to the software that district started using some time ago - Skyward is software made exclusively for both public and private K-12 institutions.
As a parent, I have already seen what Skyward has done for the teachers and employees in the district - grades are entered easily and the reports that the teachers can run are phenomenal.
Also once a change is made to a students profile, its changed everywhere in the district. No longer does it have to get changed at the school level, then the district level. No more forms in triplicate that have to be routed from department to department for signatures.
But Skyward can do more than make RUSD employees lives easier, it can help parents become more engaged in their child's school life. I know this because the school district in Union Grove uses the web-based component of this software, and the parents can log on from home and check their child's grades, attendance, even how much is left in their school lunch "account".
I understand that these enhancements ARE in the works for RUSD, but as with anything, there MAY be obstacles. Teachers need to make sure that the data is up-to-date, and of course there MAY be technical issues as well. Certainly the district will need to increase its bandwidth, and most likely will have to invest in additional computers for its staff to use.
But coming from a parent who sometimes is leery about "bothering" teachers and staff, this enhancement would be worth the nominal cost. In the long run, having parents know what the kids are doing (or not doing!!) in school will make better students in the future.
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Will we have to invest in computers for the parents as well?
There are numerous places in the community with free access to computers and the internet - the libraries and most of the community centers for those families that do not have computers at home.
According to the World Internet Usage
website, 70.2% of us use the internet on a regular basis. Taking out many seniors and very small children out of the equation, I am sure that most RUSD parents can figure out a way to get online if they choose to.
The amount of time staff spends for parent contact is often part of a union bargaining process. If that's so in Racine, staff is probably not encouraged to go the extra mile.
There are follow-up steps in place now (initiated by Dr. Hicks) so that parents phone calls will be returned. That involves a lot of paperwork, and an appeal process. That's crazy. Before, with no response (even by Central Office) you'd have to drop it off in writing with an extra copy for the secretary to initial. That way they couldn't say later they never got it. It was really a problem
So does/can Skyward alleviate this problem (with phone calls) also?
Teachers often were very resistant to filling out weekly progress reports, or requests to call parents weekly with an update if a child was struggling. Many just refused to do it. The Principals didn't want their staff in a rebellious mode, so they seemed to look the other way. Results were parents didn't get what they needed to work together, would become frustrated and give up. Grade books are often only looked at before report cards. It took too much time.
Would they learn the technology? Would accurate information be sent to the family, and collaboration be there to help the child? Would reports be sent out that were merely very negative, blaming the child and family?
I can see non-compliance with the use of Skyward in light of the problems with resistance even to progress reports. Who would enforce this?
I have seen the "technology" of Skyward in action, is it really that difficult?
I know I am somewhat a geek when it comes to computers, but it does seem pretty simple to me.
Skyward is really a fabulous thing. I wish that Unified would have parent access to (only part it) so that we could see our children's grades like Union Grove.
We use Skyward for all sorts of things. Secretaries pull all sorts of reports from it, grades, student birthdays, discipline, yes all those "blue slips" are logged into it.
We entered all of our Summer School kids into it, both Sailing to Success & those fun enrichment courses. It's how we kept track of the numbers of students enrolled so we can receive State & Federal Funding.
Secretaries also keep track of book rental & who has free or reduced lunch etc.
Currently the Wings Volunteers are entered into it. Any parent or community member who wants to volunteer in the school or go on their child's field trips etc must have a background check & when they pass, they're entered into Skyward.
It really is a wonderful thing.
For the parents who care, it will make communication with the school marginally easier.
For the parents who are the problem, however, it will have no effect. If they can't be bothered to attend conferences (and talk to a teacher in one of the city schools if you have any illusions about that) then what makes you think they will log on to check their kid's grades? If they have a computer, and it survives the sequential evictions, it eventually will get sold to buy crack anyway.
That is the unfortunate barrier to more parental involvement in RUSD: It's not technology, it's parents who are just bad people.
As a parent of 2 school age children and whose school uses Skyward - I can say I love it. I also have to say the teachers in our district are very responsive when it comes to returning emails (even late at night) and phone calls to parents. I guess the RUSD really has changed since I graduated in 1981. It is all about how much time a teacher is willing to put in to make it work for both parents and students. Unfortunately I haven't heard much in the way of positive news on the school district front. It is unfortunate for the students. It was once a great district. Parents - also must engage in their children's education in order for them to succeed. Support your teachers - they may be willing to then put in the extra time if they feel like it matters!
As a parent of 2 school age children and whose school uses Skyward - I can say I love it. I also have to say the teachers in our district are very responsive when it comes to returning emails (even late at night) and phone calls to parents. I guess the RUSD really has changed since I graduated in 1981. It is all about how much time a teacher is willing to put in to make it work for both parents and students. Unfortunately I haven't heard much in the way of positive news on the school district front. It is unfortunate for the students. It was once a great district. Parents - also must engage in their children's education in order for them to succeed. Support your teachers - they may be willing to then put in the extra time if they feel like it matters!
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