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December 17, 2003
Trustees impressed with PowerSchoolDISTRICT OFFICIALS VOTE TO SPEND $164,000 ON SOFTWARE THAT PROMOTES ACCOUNTABILITY
By MARK WAITE Other trustees apparently came away equally impressed as they voted to spend $164,000 on the system. A $9,800 discount will be offered if they purchase it by Monday. A representative from Apple computers, Scott Odegard, said the system could be totally implemented within 18 months, including parental access. The computer program would enable parents to see how many credits their child needs to graduate from high school or e-mail their teacher, Odegard said. Teachers can keep track of attendance, grades; there is even an alert function in which a candle lights up on the screen when it's the child's birthday. Numerous reports are in PDF format, which allows the user to burn a compact disc, e-mail it or save it on their desktop, Odegard said. School board member Debbie Wescoatt asked about information on bus routes and athletics. Those can be included, Odegard said, allowing coaches to view grade point averages of players to see if they're eligible. He added the dates of health immunizations would be included, while cafeteria workers can look up information on students enrolled in free or reduced lunch. Of course average daily attendance statistics would be included, Odegard said. "Nye County School District is striving to be world class, with a world class student accountability system," Superintendent Rob Roberts told the board. Wescoatt noted some parents wouldn't have access to computers. While Ward suggested they could use libraries, board president Nancy Sollinger said even that's difficult in the rural areas. Roberts said school officials would have to provide printouts from the computer for those parents. Board member Dennis Keating said Lyon, Eureka and Pershing county schools are using the system. Sollinger added the quality of the computer software still depends on human input. "This system is only as good as people using the system," she said. Business Manager Ray Ritchie found an unexpected surplus in the budget. He said the Nye County School District will be receiving possessory use taxes paid by contractors at the Nevada Test Site, while the net proceeds of mining of $600,000 for this year is quadruple the budgeted amount. Information on PowerSchool from Apple states PowerSchool can be accessed from any Windows or McIntosh computer with a web browser. The Apple Power PC G-4 based server or Windows 2000 server will support up to 10,000 students with a single database. |
