It is a return to school pastime which has been commonly known as “Parent Homework.” A task dreaded by many each year as their children return from the first week of school with a stack of papers requesting updated information in the way of medical records and emergency contacts. Families with more than one child, treated to all the more in the way of “homework” as each child comes with their own set.
The 2017-2018 school year however, offers parents and families the opportunity to sidestep or better yet, completely avoid that mound of paper students lovingly bestow upon their parents.
In late spring, letters, as well as ‘all calls’ went out encouraging parents to create an Aeries Parent Portal Account. Prior to this year the parent portal was utilized solely by parents with students at Oakdale Junior High and Oakdale High School.
“The Aeries Parent Portal is now accessible to all grade levels,” Assistant Superintendent, Pupil Services Larry Mendonca said. “The other advantage to this is that elementary level parents may now review their student’s progress/information.”
Once the parent portal is created, parents are able to access the student’s On-Line Data as well. In so doing, they are able to review and update any and all information that would have been noted in the packet given out to each student the first week of school.
According to Mendonca, credit for the idea to go paperless goes to the OJUSD technology committee, most specifically Data and Information Specialist Nelisa Vigil.
“Nelisa was instrumental in the process,” Mendonca said.
In making the transition, student information from the 2016-2017 school year was rolled over to the current year. Parents must access, review and confirm the information on-line for it to pertain to the current year. The process can take as little as five minutes for parents of returning students to complete, if there are no major changes.
A workshop was hosted last week at Oakdale Junior High School to assist parents from throughout the district, as well as give access to laptops. Mendonca indicated that families should check with their varying campuses to inquire if on campus opportunities will be available the first week of school.
While the superintendent anticipates that it will take the next couple of years to get all parents on board with the process, he’s both encouraged and optimistic about the overall outcome and the impact it will have on each of the school sites.
“The more parents we can get through the on-line process, makes things more efficient for everybody,” he stated.
Aeries Parent Portal Accounts must first be set up, in order to complete the On-Line Data Confirmation. This may be done by visiting the www.ojusd.org website from a laptop or desktop computer. Deadline for completion of the process extends through Friday, Aug. 11. Parents not utilizing the on-line option will be responsible for completing the packets and returning them to the school, as they have in years past.
