2.+Analysis+of+the+Situation

=**Analysis of the Situation**= The problem of providing training and increasing usage of the online grading system would be best resolved by using resources that are currently available to the district. These resources include an active web site with blogging capabilities to house online training materials that will be generated by multiple groups, including faculty within the district, the county educational service center, and the regional information management center.

** District Role **
With 14 schools and 8,200 students it is clear that each school will need to have teachers who have had advanced training to help facilitate a total commitment to the online grading program in their district. Most teachers prefer to have access to an individual who can answer their questions, rather than needing to locate the answers themselves. These teachers will also need to have release time to work on identifying problem areas and providing solutions to those problems. The district team who tackles these issues will need to work closely with the web designers and the county and regional resources. District technology teachers will be included in the role of expert trainers. The district will need to generate the usernames and passwords for parents and students paying close attention to guardianship issues. The usernames and passwords can be included in other regularly scheduled mailings.

School Role
The building principals will need to identify the innovators in their buildings and provide them with the time, preferably duty time, to make this commitment successful. The principals will need to play a key role in encouraging teachers to increase their usage of the program. Principals will also need to use face to face opportunities to explain and encourage parents and students to use the program.

** Parent / Student Role **
The parents and the students will need to be actively engaged in learning the program, and using it to track and encourage student success. The district has been rated excellent for five years, and parents and students need to understand their role in maintaining the high standards. Both parents and students need to understand the power of this tool in helping them to achieve to the level that they desire to achieve.

Steps to be Successful
The first step is to provide an online tutorial and FAQ site for the faculty who will be entering the data, this site will also provide reassurance as to the methods that are used to back up and secure the information that is entered. It will also include not only the nuts and bolts of how the system works, but also time saving tricks and tips.

The second step is to make students and parents aware of the system and provide them with access information. This will need to be done through direct mailings as well as postings on the web site. Teachers will also need to begin directing students to this site to check their grades instead of providing students with this information directly. The faculty will also need to encourage parent and student usage during parent teacher conferences. The district website will need to contain a prominently displayed link to the Parent Assist Module as well as a link to the parent FAQ site and the blog which would enable parents and students to post new questions, which will require someone from within the district to monitor the blog, and approve or remove posts to the blog, as well as provide the answers to the questions.

** Problems and Opportunities **
The biggest problem that we are attempting to resolve with the online gradebook is communication with parents. The problem is that by the time parents get interims or report cards some students are so far behind that they may not be able to catch up. If we are able to provide parents with the opportunity to see in real-time how their children are doing, we may be able to help the parents provide motivation to their students. The more information parents have, the better they can parent, and the more current the information, the better the outcome. In order for a district to maintain excellence it is imperative that all of the stakeholders are working together to continue to improve the educational environment.