The district will explain and unveil the PowerSchool "Parent Portal" tonight at 7 p.m. during an informational meeting in the Sterling Auditorium.

PowerSchool is an information management system used to track and organize a student’s grades, attendance and scheduling. The Parent Portal is one aspect of the software which allows parents to access their child’s test scores, homework grades and attendance via the district’s website at www.cooperstowncs.org.

"It’s a pretty remarkable snapshot of your child’s report card," said high school principal Gary Kuch.

While it’s not providing anything new _ parents have always had access to grades and the teachers who give them _ Kuch said this greatly simplifies the process. Parents no longer have to worry about playing phone tag with busy teachers or finding time during the day to come in and meet with them.

"Now a parent can have almost instant access to see where a child is at," Kuch said.

Additionally, users will be able to see exactly what assignments contributed to a specific grade and find out where a student is succeeding or failing, said middle school principal Michael Cring.

Access to a student’s grades will be limited to authorized staff and that student’s parents or guardians. Using the Parent Portal requires a computer with a web browser and internet connection, as well as a secure login and password.

Parents can enroll in the program tonight after the informational session or by filling out a user form during regular school hours. Forms must be filled out in person and photo IDs will be required as a security precaution.

"We just don’t want any errors in that regard. It’s just too important," said superintendent Mary Jo McPhail.

Attendance is typically recorded into the system by the end of each period. Grades will be available online as soon as possible, but Kuch cautioned that some won’t appear as quickly as others.

While the majority of teachers are on board and adequately adept at using the system, Kuch said some are still learning the ins and outs and are not yet completely adjusted to electronic grade books.

Additionally, the work for some subjects takes longer to grade than for others. So while a multiple choice test score may be online by the end of the day, grades for essays won’t appear quite as quickly, Kuch said.

Kuch and McPhail said implementation of the Parent Portal was a result of the Greatness in Our Sights Initiative. Specifically, it addresses one of the prototypes relating to improving communication between the school and the home.

"It’s coming to fruition," McPhail said. "We’re very excited about it."

For more information on the PowerSchool program, visit www.powerschool.com.