1.+Executive+Summary

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** Project 7: Strategic Plan to Implement Training for an Online Grading System **
=Group Members= Susan Gorjup William Jones Nicholas Trojack

=Executive Summary=

**School District**
The school district services 8,200 students and is located in a suburb 30 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. There is one High School serving grades 9-12, three Middle Schools serving grades 6-8 and ten Elementary Schools serving grades K-5. The district demographics are comprised of the following:
 * 94% White
 * > 2% of each category: Asian, Black, Multiracial, Hispanic
 * 14% Special Needs
 * 18% Economically Disadvantaged

The district has a graduation rate of 97% and has received a rating of "Excellent" or higher from the Ohio Department of Education for the last 5 years.

**Current Situation**
The district recently began using an online grading program for all grade levels and although initial training was provided, there is still a need for a strategic developmental plan for new users, additional follow-up training, and parent user training. Currently, many of the teachers are still relying on the use of old fashion grade-books as their primary source for tracking student progress or as a back-up to the online grading system. The program provides a secure system, 24 hour accessibly and reduces the potential for human error yet teachers are still reluctant to make the transition to the online program. As the classroom teacher's accountability and responsibility continue to grow, the need for greater efficiency is necessary. Tracking student progress and timely feedback is a requirement for teachers and using a manual process for posting grades may lead to decreased parent involvement or unnecessary correspondence, adding to the many challenges teachers already face daily.

**Anticipated Results**
1. New and existing users will be able to promptly access and update student data, providing a tool for immediate communication with parents. 2. Teachers will develop greater skills, efficiency and confidence with the online grading system resulting in a higher level of acceptance and the elimination of manual gradebooks. 3. Teachers and other staff members will have a resource available for all current procedures and updates to the online grading program. 4. Parent progress monitoring will increase resulting in more efficient tool for parent/teacher communication.