Parent Portal is open

By Sonja Young
Herald Staff Writer

October 24, 2005 11:47 am

— This story is corrected from a previously published version.
CLINTON — Infinite Campus Parent Portal is a new communications tool that will make parents cheer and kids shake in their shoes.
Parents and guardians in the Clinton School District will soon be able to access their students’ data and records online, including information on assignments and the due dates and their students’ schedule and grades.
And some students will maybe think twice about cutting a class or skipping school for that matter. Parents will have almost immediate access to their child’s daily attendance record.
According to Kelly Larkey, information technology coordinator for the Clinton School District, Infinite Campus is the student information system that is used to track information of the district’s students.
“Part of their software package is called the ‘Parent Portal,” she explained. “It allows access for parents to see a students’ grades, attendance and transcripts and test information.”
The software is doing double duty because it is the system that is used to make district reports to the state. Larkey says the application is very secure.
“The parent is given a user name and password,” she said. “The parent also has the ability to change the password if they feel the password has been breached.”
It is a “read only” site. Nothing can be changed by the user, but they will have the capability to e-mail teachers.
Julie Stoller, the information technology technician for the district, says if a parent has a problem with a student who does not like to attend school, they can immediately find out what classes their child is not attending.
Stoller says the site is live and all teachers take attendance before each class. “When a teacher makes a change, it hits the Parent Portal the minute they make that change.”
Larkey indicated the e-mail is part of the grade book on parent portal.
“Once they open up the grade book there is a little envelope there with the teacher’s name,” she said. “They simply click on that envelope and it brings up their e-mail.
Information letters were mailed Tuesday to all Clinton High School parents inviting them to sign up for this free service. All they will need is access to a computer that has an Internet connection.
Parents may sign up at Roosevelt Administration Center, 600 S. Fourth St. between 1 and 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday but Larkey says there are rules that will be enforced.
“A parent must return the ‘acceptable use policy form’ in person because to get access to the Parent Portal they must provide a photo ID,” she said. There is a form included in the information letter. “This is for the safety of our students.”
If they want instant access, high school parents can stop at the CHS library between 4 and 7 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Stoller says the Clinton High School staff will be there. “It will be on-site help.”
Once Clinton High is online, the middle schools will follow, hopefully by the end of the first trimester. Larkey said the elementary schools will go online in the future, but a grade book has to be developed first.
“A parent can really keep track of what’s going on with their student in school,” Larkey said. “Parents are going to love it. It is a wonderful way to have communication between our staff and students and the school.”