Special Report: Rate your school

Pat McCarthy
I probably go every couple of days

The busy mother of three uses a program called Power School. Maintained by her kids teachers it allows parents to log in and check their grades, attendance, home work and any discipline reports they may have....

Pat McCarthy
Its a great tool, a way to keep up, see what the kids are doing in school, see how they’re doing, and um you know be able to you know ensure that they’re doing their homework and getting assignments in on time

It is all part of a growing trend across the country - - getting parents more involved in their kids education by making information easy to access

Dr. Joseph Connors
Grafton Public Schools
The more involved parents are, um the more productive and the better the outcome is for their kids and our students.

Grafton's school superintendent is happy with how their online program has been going and says although they are still working out the 'kink's results so far are promising

Dr. Joseph Connors
Grafton Public Schools
We have we've seen an improvement in terms of attention to detail and task and timelines

That's for your kids, but how about their schools performance? Another high tech tool is giving parents the power to find out...

Michael Stewart
Standard and Poor's
They can get a better sense of how their school stacks up against others

Michael Stewart is from Standard and Poor's. They run the web site School Matters Dot Com

Typing in your zip code you can see your schools reading proficiency, average class size and ranking amongst other nearby schools

Michael Stewart
Standard and Poor's
The hope is not only parents but educators and policy makers across Massachusetts across the United States can better understand the factors that lead to successful school

So what do students think about all of this? Well Pats son Chris says the idea is growing on him...

Chris McCarthy
Student
I wasn't so thrilled at first but I mean I've gotten used to it after a while. It definitely gives them the opportunity to crack down on the homework situation,

And that's the goal..connecting parents and schools with the click of a mouse.

School Matters

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