I Heart PowerSchool.

Many teachers cringe at the mention of the word, but I love in-service. I really do. I guess I'm just a big nerd; always have been, always will be.

I love the interaction with other teachers, and meeting new people. More than that, I love learning new things.

Yesterday I attended a PowerSchool In-Service, and had more "wow" moments than I can count. This program has so many bells and whistles. I could choose to be overwhelmed or amazed. I went with amazed, and I am honestly excited about how much it is going to simplify all of the tedious little tasks required of a teacher on a daily basis.

For one, we can click on absent students and send attendance electronically. Awesome. The only bad news is we now must send attendance to the office after every class, not just first period. That will take some getting used to...hopefully I will remember!

The amount of information it provides for parents is unreal. They can log on, and actually see their student entered as present, tardy, or absent as they move through their daily schedule. (Kids are going to hate this.)

The gradebook makes our previous programs seem antiquated. Parents can see their child's current grades, as well as missing assignments, late assignments, and due dates. Teachers can choose to post immediately or set a future date and time for them to post. We can enter reasons justifying grades, comments, upcoming assignments, notes about behavior - all of which can be viewed by parents. I believe this is going to cut the number of parent conferences we have in half (at least!)

As a club sponsor, I really like the bulletin feature. In the past, whenever I wanted to post an announcement or event for Student Council I had to walk all the way to the office, fill out a form, and get it approved by administration at least 24 hours prior to its posting. Now I can just send it electronically. Oh how I love anything that saves time.

Wait, there's more! (I heart PowerSchool. And parenthetical commentary. Can you tell?) Student emergency information and class schedules are at our fingertips. We can also see grades, assignments, and attendance in other teachers' classes. Some teachers are going to hate this, but I think it's great. It will allow me to see what my kids are learning in all of their classes, and to see if other teachers are having the same issues I am with a particular student.

I haven't used it yet, and I'm sure we will all go through the inevitable learning curve - that love/hate relationship we all experience when faced with new technology. For me, I am motivated by the mere potential of something to revolutionize my life. I think PowerSchool has that potential.