Can’t wait for your child’s report card to ensure his or her progress in school? Soon you can go online and find out if he or she went to school, see his or her grades and look at credits earned.
The Parent Assistant Module, available through N.C. WISE and operated through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, is rolling out in Burke County Public Schools.
Draughn High School began offering the program Monday to parents, and its feeder schools will follow. The rollout continues in other schools through November.
“It provides real-time student progress reports,” said Larry Putnam, Burke County Public Schools interim superintendent. “The benefit to it is increased communication in the school and home.”
Parents will be able to log on and view their child’s emergency contacts, attendance, assessments, credits earned to date, current progress, grades, courses, non-school days and the student’s schedule.
PAM offers information on students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, but some information won’t be available for primary school students.
For instance, profiles for students up to second grade won’t list test scores or assessments because they are not graded, Putnam said.
Draughn High School Principal Emily Garrison said the program is especially useful for parents of high school students who drive to school.
Logging onto PAM will assure parents that their child made it to school that day, Garrison said.
After Monday night’s training session with parents, the program administrator immediately began receiving requests to update emergency contacts, Garrison said.
“I’m excited to be able to start it,” Garrison said of PAM’s implementation at Draughn. “…It’s another one of those ways to increase awareness of what’s going on in our schools, especially at the high school level.”
Using PAM shouldn’t add significantly more to a teacher’s workload, Putnam said, because they already upload the information to N.C. WISE.
Putnam said teachers do need to ensure they are uploading grades weekly, but in some cases grades may not change for a week or two, Putnam said.
“Sometimes, depending on the type of class, you may not get a grade every week,” Putnam added. “You may be working on a specific project.”
PAM is not meant to replace parent-teacher communication, Putnam said.
“They, (parents), can still pick up the phone and contact the teacher,” Putnam said. “They can still do face-to-face meetings, which I certainly encourage.”
Garrison said Draughn will continue to send home progress reports and report cards, too.
PAM will be offered at Patton High School, and its feeder schools, later this month and into November. East Burke and Freedom high schools and their feeder schools will begin using PAM in November.
To learn more and to see a schedule of PAM trainings for parents, visit www.burke.k12.nc.us. For more information on PAM, click on the “Parents” tab.
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