David Patterson, Headmaster, Norfolk Christian Schools
Christian schools face many struggles today. Two areas of major concern are parent communication and the use of technology.
Effective parent communication has a profound effect on the degree to which parents become involved in the education of their children. At Norfolk Christian Schools, the biggest complaint after every report period was that parents did not think adequate communication took place with them regarding academic and behavioral difficulties. Their comment was invariably “We would have done something if we had been aware of the problem.” When parents told us this, a search would immediately begin in order to find the breakdown in the communication. Lost letters, erased phone messages, and unreturned phone calls were always the culprits. The frustration was that the cycle repeated itself over and over with little change or resolution of the problem.
In our search for a solution, we discovered several computer programs that can give parents access to information such as homework assignments, grades, test dates, and behavior reports. Now that we have implemented one of these programs, parents can access this information from any computer connected to the Internet. This ability gives the responsibility to the parents for monitoring their child’s academic success. The phrase “I didn’t know” is no longer applicable. Teachers do not need to do mid-period reports because parents have every grade available to them daily. Faculty and staff have saved a significant amount of time because they no longer need to calculate grades and make daily phone calls concerning specific issues such as student behavior or parental frustration over not being informed about missed assignments and low test grades.
Schools, of course, must make a substantial financial commitment in the purchasing of this software. However, the benefits far outweigh the financial costs. When schools keep parents informed, the school community has a much greater sense of well-being and teamwork that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
Upgrading software means upgrading computers, and as in most Christian schools, a number of our computers were severely outdated. We estimated a cost of over $60,000 to update our equipment. Additional computers were also necessary in order for our faculty and staff to have the ability to input data in a convenient and timely manner. Miraculously, one of our staff members attended a technology conference where he learned about a computer system with the ability to address our needs at a cost that was significantly lower than we had originally thought. This system allowed us to bring older, outdated computers online. Teachers are able to work from any computer that has Internet capabilities.
In the past two years, we have moved from approximately 60 computers to over 250. Each student has 10 megabytes of memory on the school’s system. This transformation has taken place with some struggles. However, our entire faculty and staff have risen to the task, and we are already seeing great results. Not only has frustration in parents and teachers dissipated, but also a God-ordained partnership created for the best interest of our precious children clearly exists. This result is immeasurable and priceless. We give our Lord the glory for this dramatic transformation.ia
Technology, Communication and Parent Involvement 7.1