Crane schools expanding electronic report cards
Principals from three Crane District campuses shared a presentation about the electronic elementary report card system at Tuesday's school board meeting.
The system is expected to be available for parents during the second quarter of the 2013-2014 year.
While Crane teachers at the middle school level are already using Parent Vue, the district is now implementing the system at the elementary level. Elementary school teachers will go through training this year and will begin using it to input students' grades full-time in the fall, versus a traditional paper and pencil grade book.
Norine Bowers, principal of Rancho Viejo, said that teachers' feedback about the timeline has been positive as they will have a chance to get comfortable with the system this year before using it in the fall.
Bowers said there's also a free application for parents to access the students' grades on their smartphones and other electronic devices. She added that as a parent of two students in the high school district, she's found it's very convenient to see her children's scores with the click of a button.
Ronald Reagan Elementary Principal Tom Fletcher said that not only will this switch help them catch up with technology, it will aid them in communicating with parents.
Crane Middle School Principal Laurie Doering explained that in addition to assessments and homework, which will be weighted 80 percent and 20 percent of a student's grade, respectively, parents will be able to see their child's scores on benchmark exams like the Mock AIMS test.
Also Tuesday, Superintendent Bob Klee reported briefly about the Feb. 5 lockdown at Rancho Viejo and Salida Del Sol elementary schools as well as the neighboring WACOG Preschool.
The schools were placed on lockdown for just over four hours that day and searched by police in response to a report of a student possibly having a gun on Rancho Viejo's campus. A gun was not found.
“I am very proud of the way our Crane staff worked together as a team to do whatever was necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of our students,” Klee said. “Our parents are very fortunate to have outstanding and dedicated and caring individuals looking after their children.”
In other meeting news, the district's 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year nominees were acknowledged for being selected by their colleagues in the categories of outstanding first year, primary, intermediate, middle school, and special area. The teachers will be considered for the Yuma County title, which will be announced in the spring.
Crane's nominees are:
First year:
Joseph Giorsetto — Valley Horizon Elementary School
Elizabeth McShane — Gary A. Knox Elementary School
Alison Mindus — Pueblo Elementary School
Joshua Mount— Ronald Reagan Fundamental School
Logan Pippin — Salida del Sol Elementary School
Caitlin Sheedy — Crane Middle School
Stevin Smith — Centennial Middle School
Primary:
Traci Allen — Ronald Reagan Fundamental School
Beth Lottinger — Salida del Sol Elementary School
Sarah Munger — Valley Horizon Elementary School
Cindy Rice — Pueblo Elementary School
Lavon Sierra — Gary A. Knox Elementary School
Carolyn Smiley — Mesquite Elementary School
Intermediate:
Lindsey Bohstedt — Ronald Reagan Fundamental School
Elena Bowling — Gary A. Knox Elementary School
Anne Foley — Pueblo Elementary School
Erika Johnson — Rancho Viejo Elementary School
Jayne Marshall — Mesquite Elementary School
Isabel Santa Cruz — Valley Horizon Elementary School
Middle School:
Brian Carlson — Centennial Middle School
Lauren Daniels — Crane Middle School
James Kuzniak — Crane Middle School
Karla Lopez — Centennial Middle School
Special Area:
Brenda Ault — Ronald Reagan Fundamental School
Alexis Aviles — Salida del Sol Elementary School
Elizabeth Colton — Valley Horizon Elementary School
Wendy Davis — Rancho Viejo Elementary School
Shelley Hawkins — H.L. Suverkrup Elementary School
Ginger Parsons — Mesquite Elementary School
Cassie Russo — Gary A. Knox Elementary School
Monica Tracy — Pueblo Elementary School
