Parents can see grades, attendance
CVHS decided to use this new system in response to suggestions from WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) which evaluates and certifies the school.
“WASC recommended that something we needed to improve on was communication with parents and students,” said Assistant Principal Jesse Woodward. “Aeries will provide that.”
Senior student Ryan Marquez supported this change.
“It’s about time,” Marquez said. “Teachers never show me my grades. Now I’ll be able to do it freely.”
Senior Harrison Lambert pointed out that although the system could have been implemented at a better time, it would be an “overall beneficial upgrade” for the school.
However, not all students agree on the school’s decision to have a new system. Tracy Trope, another senior at CVHS, stated that while the improved technology benefits schools by letting students access their grades, Aeries will cause “unnecessary stress on students,” since parents will have access as well.
Trope also pointed out that it adds pressure on teachers, since students and their families will expect them to turn in grades more frequently than usual.
“This almost assures that teachers will be slow to post and teacher-parent relations will be much tenser than they were with the old system,” claims Trope.
This will have both positive and negative effects on teachers, says English teacher Daren Wilkerson. Wilkerson hopes that the system will be more informative and “take away from the weight of the progress report,” but fears that frequent conversations about grades with both parents and students will get in the way of teaching.
Wilkerson believes that once students and parents should treat the Aeries grades like progress reports: information that shows where students are, not where they will end up. He also states that parents should make use of the easy access, but not contact teachers every time a student receives a low grade.
Instead of “micromanaging the grades,” Wilkerson says, “parents should wait until they see trends (in the student’s grade) that aren’t satisfying, before contacting the teacher.”
In response to these arguments against the sudden change, Woodward explained that the administration is not doing anything out of the ordinary.
“Most schools around the district already have this system,” said Woodward. “All we’re doing is following them.”
As a final statement, Woodward said, “The pros definitely outweigh cons. It’s going to provide much better communication at CVHS.”