Oceanside gives parents more control

Gone are the days where students could skip class and rush home to erase the automated message sent by the school district off of the answering machine.

Set to launch in September, the Oceanside School District's newly installed “Parent Portal” is part of a student management program launched a few years ago that will allow parents of students in grades 7-12 to keep an online permanent record of their children’s progress and attendance.

By logging in with a username and password that will be sent in a letter along with detailed instructions in the fall, parents can view their child’s attendance records for each year, including the number of excused and unexcused absences and how many times they arrived late.

In addition, progress and report cards will now be available online so that parents can view them at any time and see how their child has improved in a particular subject throughout their academic career.

“The system will allow parents to have easy access to information about their children and answer any questions they may have,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Robert Fenter said. “The more information that is available to parents, the more likely that children will remain where they should be.”

Test scores and transcripts will be listed as well, allowing parents to see how their child has performed on state-issued exams and view a chart describing their progress throughout the years.

“The goal is to help parents have more information,” Donna Kraus, public relations coordinator for the district, said. “Generally speaking the students do well on attendance and assignment, but with the Parent Portal, parents can keep tabs on things and intervene quickly if there is a problem.”

The Parent Portal will start running at the beginning of the school year.

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