Let’s face it – in this increasingly technologically advanced society, print is becoming obsolete. People are opting for electronic transfers of their paychecks, they pay their bills online, and they get their news from either a TV screen or computer monitor.
Having all this information available online is beneficial because everything that is updated is available to the user directly and quickly. PowerSchool grades function the same way, once a teacher updates grades, students can see it right away. The sheer convenience is one reason why PowerSchool has become a big hit with students, parents, and teachers alike. This online program allows students and parents to keep track of grades as quickly as teachers input them.
“I find it a really useful tool. I occasionally go on during the week, but I’m not as obsessive as I was last year,” Mitchell Jowers ’12 said. In one instance, Mitchell went into school early and checked out PowerSchool on his phone. Curious about a recent update in his Advanced Precalculus class, he went to Mr. Dembinski’s classroom to inquire.
“It was shocking. I had only updated the grades literally two minutes earlier,” Mr. Dembinski, head of the Mathematics Department, said with amusement.
Although a lighthearted story, it brings an even larger issue to mind. With PowerSchool, students are able to access their current grades, even on the go, which is a great tool. However, report cards take time to be printed, stuffed in envelopes, and processed in the postal system. If they are outdated by the time they arrive in the mail, why are they sent out at all?
As a widely available and widely used program, PowerSchool could replace report cards and progress reports all together. Not only is all of the information current, but WWT could also cut expenses by switching to exclusively putting out grades electronically. “Approximately $2,449 is spent each school year to mail out the report cards. This isn’t including the report cards that are mailed back due to complications or the progress reports that were mailed out first quarter,” Ms. Reed, principal’s secretary, said.
Not only is the cost unnecessary, but so is the work that goes into prepping the report cards and progress reports. “For the report cards alone, I go through a process of labeling the envelopes, stuffing them, and then driving them to the post office,” Ms. Anderson, an administrative assistant, said.
The whole process takes approximately four days and is done in conjunction with her usual office duties. Ms. Anderson does the work without payment for her time or for mileage but if she didn’t, then the price of the whole report card process would end up costing more.
Although $2, 449 doesn’t seem like much in the grand scheme of things, the money could be well spent in other areas. “We haven’t been told to ration paper or other supplies yet, but in years past it’s happened. When we get that email, teachers start hording their supplies like squirrels with nuts,” Ms. Curcio admits. When essential supplies need to be rationed, every spare penny matters.
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