In Hinds County, Mississippi, parents can now log on to their school district website and receive an update on their child’s grades. They can also monitor attendance records, in case they suspect their son or daughter might skip school.
The ability to involve parents doesn’t stop there. The district is also capable now of sending parents text messages on their cell phones as well as e mail alerts concerning absences, disciplinary problems, and academic weaknesses.
The program is developed by Software Technologies Inc Home. It enables the district to offer a service which makes life easier for both teachers and parents. Currently, the service is free to parents and students. The district is able to compile statistics, such as whether or not absenteeism affects a particular class, neighborhood, gender, or peak time. Coaches can also use the system to receive a warning when one of their players may be in danger of becoming academically ineligible to play a sport. The Information Now software developed by STI cost the district $12,000, and will cost $2,000 annually to maintain. Next fall, parents will pay a one time nominal set up fee to activate their preferences for notification.
In Mississippi, only 39.5 percent of homes have access to the internet. The traditional methods of informing parents with phone calls and notes will also continue. While a parent may not have internet access at home, many are able to log on at work, and receive the instant updates.
The most active use is coming from Terry High School, which has about 1000 students. Between January 1 and March 24, 2006, there were 21,000 log in sessions.
The STI technology for student tracking is currently used in 28 states. STI also has systems for tracking special education students, making it easier parents and teachers to access data which determines their eligibility for programs and tracks progress and goals.
For more information about STI systems, look here: http://www.sti-k12.com