MARATHON—Superior Greenstone District School Board continues to look for ways to enhance engagement and communication between its schools and parents or guardians, with a series of new initiatives.
Consequently, it has developed a series of initiatives with which parents and guardians can create accounts in the new PowerSchool Portal, designed to help share up to date information with families regarding their child’s education.
For example, by creating an account, parents/guardians gain online access to mid-term and final report card marks, live attendance data as well as providing them with ability to complete forms online.
Stacey Wallwin, Technology Enabled Learning and Technology Lead, said, “The school board continues to use its online platform Edsby as their main communication tool for parents/guardians, students and staff. However, as we all know, there is not one ideal digital tool that meets all our needs. Many of us have different communication apps like Facebook and Instagram to connect with others, and many have multiple streaming apps for entertainment. Education is no different. By welcoming parents/guardians into the PowerSchool Portal, we have provided our families with great access to the information that matters, right at their fingertips”.
This initiative also helps to support an important change mandated by the Ministry of Education to be implemented across the province of Ontario.
All students who began secondary school in the 2020-2021 school year are now required to earn two online learning credits in order to graduate. Wallwin stated that, “Students who take an e-learning course have the flexibility to schedule their learning around other timetable offerings, while having a greater number of courses, to choose from.”
Students will be taught by an Ontario teacher and connect with peers in the safe, online, provincial e-learning platform. As our world becomes increasingly digital, the important skills acquired while taking an e-learning course will transfer beyond Superior-Greenstone District School Board into our student's post-secondary education and work lives,” added Wallwin.
The board is giving those parents and guardians the option of having their child opt-out of this learning opportunity should they wish to do so, without any impact on their child’s graduation requirement.
For parents with students already enrolled in one of Superior Greenstone District School Board high schools, they will be contacted through automated attendance calls and texts to inform them of any student absences.
Charles Bishop, superintendent of education, shared that, “Attendance auto calls are another mechanism for schools to be able to communicate with parents/guardians. But because these calls report student absences, they become a great opportunity for schools and parents/guardians to work together to support those students who may face challenges that hinder their ability to attend school on a regular basis. Regular school attendance is a major contributing factor to student success, and truancy is higher in schools in the North than the rest of the province. The more schools and parents/guardians can work together to support students to consistently attend school, the better it will be for the student’s success.”
Superior Greenstone District School Board assures its school community that all of these tools are designed to align with its Multi-Year Strategic Plan.
A primary goal of the board is to continue to improve and enhance communication with their families. “Superior-Greenstone District School Board strives to enhance our communication and transparency with our families and we look forward to the conversations and increased connections that will occur as a result of the latest technology enhancements,” stated director of education Nicole Morden Cormier.