Skyward Causes Major Problems For Students and Teachers

Opinion
By Sara Jex
Husky Herald Reporter

  During the summer of 2015, Port Huron School District switched from the familiar Zangle Student Connect online gradebook to the brand-new Skyward: Student Access program. This change caused an uproar among discontent students and teachers alike, who had trouble making good use of the new format.

   In theory, the two programs work the same way. “The concept is the same, students can look up their grades,” said Mr. Wing, the Port Huron Northern librarian.

   Nonetheless, students and teachers are still frustrated with the switching of online gradebooks. “When teachers put in assignments without grading them, it gets marked as a ‘0’, so you never know what your actual grade is,” Mary Ratajczak-Smith (‘18) said.

  However, some differences between the two gradebooks make it easier to access grades than ever before, such as the Skyward app. “Students now can look at their standing within seconds, if they have a smart device,” Mr. Wing said.

  Despite this, the dissatisfaction with Skyward has reached the point that students have started petitions and voluntarily wrote essays and letters to the school district, asserting their distaste. One student who is well-known for her fight against the new program is Ariana Britz (‘17).

  “You can’t see your accumulative GPA, ranking of class, or credits,” Britz said. On Student Connect, all of these devices to make students aware of their standing in the school were available.

  In response to Britz’s concerns, Mr. Mossett, the Port Huron Northern principle, said, “The transcripts are not ready yet; they should be ready by the end of the semester.” Though Mr. Mossett is “withholding judgement,” on the new program, he agrees with Mr. Wing that the new app available to the students is an “improvement over anything before.”

  When asked why the school district chose Skyward over the old system, Mr. Wing said, “Student Connect phased out due to age -- it was twelve to thirteen years old, and so it no longer offered tech support.” Port Huron Northern High school was one of the final schools in the Port Huron School district to use Skyward, so by making the change, the whole district was unified.

  Change is difficult for large amounts of people, as it takes time to adjust to new methods of doing essentially the same thing. Over the next few years, teachers and students may be able to discover tools they can use on Skyward that will change their opinion on the program-change, but for now, Port Huron Northern faculty and students alike are still adjusting.