LIVERMORE FALLS — RSU 36 Superintendent Sue Pratt asked for school board members’ input about whether the district should pay another $5,000 to renew its license for Edline.net.

The program is a student information system that allows students and their parents to check grades on the Internet.

Pratt said on Thursday that the district and Jay School Department are looking into partnering to get PowerSchool, which Pratt says is a more user-friendly online program for the 2011-12 school system. That program uses the Internet to facilitate student information management and communication among school administrators, teachers, parents and students.

Jay uses a different system, Schoolmaster. Jay is working to get the system secure so it can go back online so parents and students can check grades again on the Internet. Schoolmaster has not been accessible to the public since the summer because of a program glitch.

The Edline program does just grades and RSU 36 has another program, Administration Plus that partners with it for other elements, Pratt said.

Pratt said Edline is antiquated in its formats and a bit clunky, and there is some delay in posting the information.

The district’s license for the current program expires on Dec. 31, she said. She tried to get a half-year license but the company only does full-year licenses, she said.

The cost is $5,000 a year to maintain the license, Pratt said.

It is estimated that less than 31 percent of teachers, students, staff and administrators use the program.

Some teachers feel it is usable, she said, but they are willing to try another way if it is available, Pratt said. Two teachers said they rely on it a lot, one at the high school and one at the middle school, she said, but they are willing to try something else if it would work.

“We have really been pondering if we should renew it,” she said. That “$5,000 is a lot of money.”

Director Gina St. Pierre of Livermore said she uses the program often to check her high school students’ grades.

“I like the system,” Director Diane Gould of Livermore said. “I like to keep up with what my children are doing.”

Both women said they would be open to using another system.

“As a parent, I love Edline. I’m on it daily,” Livermore resident Lisa Holt said.

She doesn’t feel the communication is great between teachers, parents and students, she said. Sometimes, she doesn’t find information that was sent home until she cleans out a backpack, she said.

“I feel Edline is the only way I can keep up with what’s going on,” Holt said. “I’d hate to see it go away.”

Holt said she understands $5,000 is a lot of money but it is already budgeted. If there is some other way that parents can check grades and communicate with teachers, she would be willing to try it.

She just doesn’t want to see it go away for six months and not have another way to communicate and check grades, Holt said.

She believes the percentage of use is higher.

“I talk to a lot of parents and I know they are using Edline,” Holt said.

Pratt said that they could use e-mail or a Google program.

The high school has access to another communication program, FirstClass with all students having e-mail addresses, district Technology Director Craig Suttie said.

High school student representative, Lexie Niedner says she uses FirstClass to get her assignments now rather than Edline. However, only grades nine through 12 have access to that program.

Pratt thanked parents for their input. No decision on discontinuing the program was made.

[email protected]

Supporting Sponsor for Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser, Rangeley Highlander and Rumford Falls Times.
Keeping communities informed by supporting local news. franklinsavings.bank