New technology connects S.F. schools, homes
By: Andrea Koskey
Examiner Staff Writer
March 16, 2009
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| The San Francisco Unified School District is introducing software that allows parents to log in to an account to see their child’s homework and communicate with teachers. |
SAN FRANCISCO — A new software program at the San Francisco Unified School District aims to put teachers, parents and students more in line with each other when it comes to grades, attendance and assignments.
The School Loop program is an all-in-one that will provide better communication between the home and school by allowing parents to log in to an account to see their child’s homework and communicate with teachers, said Brianne Meyer, chief information officer with the district’s Information Technology Department.
“It’s a big asset for parents to have access at their finger tips,” she said.
School Loop also offers a phone feature for parents who do not have access to a computer, and translates information to their home language, Meyer said.
The subscription is estimated to cost $250,000 per year.
Meyer said the district is working to train teachers and launch the program at 20 pilot sites, with the goal of including all schools in the fall.
Superintendent Carlos Garcia, who was instrumental in supporting new technology and securing funding for the program, was surprised such a system was not in place before he joined the district two years ago.
“It’s absolutely critical to have this in place if we want to be a transparent system,” he said. “Parents should always know exactly how their kids are doing 24/7. That’s why we decided to pursue this.”
Meyer said before Garcia came on board, the district’s previous system varied per site and often per teacher.
“The direction was not tech-focused before Carlos,” she said.
International Studies Academy Principal Bill Sanderson said the school, which is part of the pilot program, used to have an unreliable telephone dialing system that would take hours to reach parents.
Sanderson said as a parent with a 13-year-old daughter who goes to school 3,000 miles away, programs such as School Loop are helpful for him to know how she is performing in class.
