BARRINGTON -- Budding Ferris Buellers beware: the days of fooling mom and dad about a botched test or a low grade are coming to an end.
In Barrington next month, parents of middle and high school students will be able to use a computer to access their children's recent grades on tests and assignments, overall academic progress and daily attendance. Teachers will update information about every two weeks, though the technology is capable of daily updates.
The system, called iParent, is also being introduced in the North Kingstown district. And more Rhode Island school systems might follow.
The option promises to spell the end for that crumpled-up test vanishing into the void of a student's backpack or locker. But education officials said the main purpose was to give even the busiest parents a convenient way to keep up with their children's successes and stumbles so they can act quickly if there are problems.
"I look at it as a way we are improving communication between the schools and the parents," said Schools Supt. Ralph A. Malafronte. "I'm very excited about being able to offer this."
Letters are being sent to parents to explain how to set up their account.
"It is very user-friendly," Malafronte said.
Bristol-Warren Schools Supt. Edward P. Mara said the district might start using iParent for some high school grade levels in the last quarter of this year, and planned to put it to wider use in September. "What a wonderful tool that is," he said.
iParent is one of several programs available in a student information system called SchoolMAX that is being used in 19 school districts in Rhode Island and in some charter schools, said Steven Foehr, director of information services at the Rhode Island Network for Educational Technology, or RINET.
SchoolMAX has centralized students' records at RINET, replacing record-keeping that used to be the responsibility of school districts, according to Bill Fiske, education technology director for the state Department of Education.
iParent seems poised to give the technology a public face.
"Let's say you knew your child had a test this coming Friday. We assume that two weeks from this coming Friday, you should be able to see the grade," Malafronte said.
Several Barrington educators are using iGrade to input information for such records as report cards.
To get started on iParent, parents will enter a school district number, an iParent access key, and the birth date of their oldest child as a way to validate access. After typing in the password and user name, parents will reach the "select a student" screen that displays their children's names. Click on a name and that day's schedule of classes and teachers will appear. To the left of the schedule are choices: attendance, grade book, schedule, and discipline.
An example under discipline displays a date, time, description -- gum chewing -- and the name of the teacher who reported the misbehavior.
Malafronte said iParent does not use any information, such as a Social Security number, that has fueled concerns about online hacking.
And unlike Ferris Bueller, who used his 1980s computer to reduce the number of absences shown on his principal's computer screen, iParent will not allow tampering, officials said. It simply compiles and presents the information, Malafronte said.
"Parents will be given read-only access," RINET information director Foehr said.
Malafronte said the plan does not include information about absences from individual classes.
Teachers can decide what information to post on their students.
Mid-term progress reports will still be mailed to students' homes. iParent can be used on a computer in a library or elsewhere.
mmckinne@projo.com / (401) 277-7447
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