This post is the third in a series of posts exploring the requirements for a K-12 Parent Portal. I’m trying to build a composite persona for each of the stakeholders in a K-12 Parent Portal (see What would you do in a K-12 Parent Portal? for background information on this initiative and links to each of the matching posts as they are available). This is a way to describe their requirements through stories.
In that earlier post I described a process for identifying what parents and teachers would look for in an online Parent Portal. This post is about a trustee named Donna Burke. Does he remind you of a trustee you work with, or are you Donna? Please help me describe what he would like to see in an online Parent Portal by commenting to this post. Future posts will seek to describe the needs of another parent, an administrator and a central office worker.
I’ve built this draft from blogs, comments and personal interviews with trustees. This work will be compiled and posted on the Parent 2.0 wiki. Thanks for your help!
Here is Donna, a trustee with thoughts about a Parent Portal.
Thanks for your comments!
4 responses so far ↓
1 What would you do in a K-12 Parent Portal? // Jul 22, 2008 at 8:48 pm
[...] Trustee – Donna Burke Donna is serving her second term as a trustee. Her three children are graduates of the school system. click here for a post about Donna [...]
2 Tom Whyte // Jul 22, 2008 at 9:21 pm
A little all over the place on this one…
If I was her I would want to attract the most students to my district, more students means more money for the district. That means more programs online for students to complete, providing (yes I am going to say this) alternative delivery. Using the most the medium has to offer. Having podcasts, screencasts, etc… available to the students…
We need a district to get in front of the curve, SmartBoards are getting close to 10 years old, and in most districts they are cutting edge.
The portal should also be an area where the trustee can answer questions, where they can be held accountable for their decisions. A Trustee Blog would be great, instead of the monthly letter showing the highlights of the meeting, a personal perspective (putting a face to the decisions would be nice)
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3 Lorna Costantini // Jul 27, 2008 at 7:29 pm
A Trustee will have the opportunity to inform and educate parents. A place to help parents understand how the education system works – How to access support services. A place to present ideas on how parents can be help their children learn.
I have a series of questions and comments intended to generate discussion.
Accountability is a given with the Trustee role. Parent’s also have an accountability to this portal concept. Personal/personnel conflicts and issues will they arise in this venue? Who will moderate the portal?
Will parents be prepared to receive advice supportive and critical?
Who will be in charge of Trustee communications? Tensions can arise when Board decisions may not reflect a Trustee views and opinions.
A School Board is a collective body , composed of numerous Trustees and usually Board decisions are communicated by the Chair of the Board. In this portal will each trustee have their separate blog? connected to a central hub or will it be a Board blog/ speaker’s corner.
Is this a Board Portal on the School Board’s servers or a stand alone Parent Portal administered by parents?
Lorna Costantinis last blog post..Effective Parent Outreach
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4 rdrunner // Jul 27, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Thanks Lorna – these are great insights. The plan in this case is a Board Portal, so there is the issue of the Board collective. I think each Board will need to decide whether each Trustee has a personal blog. These are important questions to be considered in each implementation.
Similarly your questions about parent role are critical.
Thanks for your insights and questions.
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