I n March of 2001, Apple bought the company that produced the education data management system, PowerSchool, for US$62 million. Thatis quite an investment. Until recently, there has been little mention of the product in the press. Today we noted just such a mention from a local Tennessee newspaper.
In Maryville, Tennessee, Carpenters Middle School is entering the Age of the Internet with its implementation of PowerSchool. The Daily Times, a newspaper local to Maryville, reports in an article titled Parents log on to keep tabs on kids that PowerSchool is being installed to give local parents access to grades and other information about their kids and the software is getting positive reviews. From the Daily Times:
PowerSchool, an Internet-based grade book and attendance record, was launched at Carpenters Middle School in October.
Now, technology personnel are working to get all the bugs out so it can be launched at other schools in the Blount County System, said Brian Bell, technology supervisor for Blount County Schools.
Parents are given a user name and password, allowing them to access their childis grades, attendance records and remarks by the teacher for the student.
"They can actually peek into a teacheris grade book and see how the students are doing," Bell said.
Check out the full article at The Daily Times. Thanks to Observer Andrew for the head up on the article.