Parents can monitor students on Web

Students in Warren County Schools may want to change some of their habits, the bad ones anyway, like putting off homework and unexcused absences, because somebody’s watching, but it’s not big brother, it’s mom and dad. Or at least it could be.

Parents who have Internet access and are interested in viewing up-to-date information on how their children are doing in school have a rather amazing, and high-tech, method of doing so these days. It’s a Web site called K12Planet which has actually been around for some time, but school system officials want to remind parents of its existence and how easy it is to use.

The service offers a wide range of information, including student’s grades, schedules, classes, homework assignments, attendance, conduct, and even includes a message board with current events, holidays and schedule dates for important tests like the ACTs and PSATs.

All parents of Warren County public school students must receive a user name and password to access the K12Planet Web site. Parents can either have their child bring the user name and password home, or they can go by their child’s school to request them. Once they have them, all they have to do is go to www.k12planet.com and log onto the secure Web site to gain access to the student information.

Currently, every public school in Warren County is on K12Planet, from kindergarten through high school. However, grades for kindergarten and first grade aren’t listed on the site. A link to K12Planet is also listed on the individual school’s Web sites.

School officials see the innovative Web site as a great way for parents to become more involved with their child’s school. Bonnie Collier, the school system’s new professional and community development coordinator, says this involvement is a vital part of a child’s educational career.

“There are more and more studies that are now showing that the best predictor of student achievement is parent involvement,” Collier said. “But parent involvement doesn’t necessarily mean a parent in the building. Parent involvement can mean that you ask your child every day, ‘What did you do at school?’ And then you don’t accept, ‘Oh, nothing.’ The parents actually probe and question and find out. And that may be the No. 1 thing a parent can do as far as school involvement.”

For more information, contact your child’s school or the Warren County School administration office at 668-4022.