Parents and students in the Sequoia Union High School District schools have been able to see report cards, attendance records and California High School Exit Exam scores on the district’s website for several years.

In August 2005, the Sequoia district implemented a new website -- Communicado -- to facilitate and improve communication within the district community.Since the end of August, over 4,863 students, parents and teachers have registered for Communicado. As of mid October, 76 per cent of the district teachers are using it.

“This speaks very highly of our teachers -- they are not required to use it,” says Stuart Cianos, the district Information Services’ system analyst who developed Communicado this summer. “Teachers are excited about Communicado because it fosters parent involvement.”

With Communicado, a lot of data about the student and his/her current teachers is accessible in one place (that is, from one web page), making communication more convenient and simpler. Most information is just one click away, says Cianos.

Communicado promotes communication and interaction between teachers, students, and parents in the following ways:

• Teachers can easily create their own home page containing their biography and class schedule. They do not have to be a computer wizard. They can post their class syllabus, Class News, homework assignments plus handouts (for students to download), and report cards.

“Communicado allows the teacher to reach out into each child’s home in a way that wasn’t feasible before,” says Cianos.

• Parents can find out about their student’s academic performance and attendance (tardies and absences are updated hourly). They can see their student’s current classes and current teachers, current and past homework assignments plus assignment grades, as well as assignments that aren’t due yet. And they can exchange email with their student’s current teachers, if the teachers have registered with Communicado. Parents (and students) register by submitting their street address, student’s identification number and date of birth, and a keycode provided by the district.

Families that don’t have a computer may use one at the public library, and they don’t need to have email service because Communicado provides an internal mailbox to each person.

• Students can do everything their parents can do on Communicado. In addition, they have access to a Public Forum for each class where they can discuss homework assignments with their classmates and teacher. (To protect other students’ privacy, parents may not enter the Public Forums. To further protect students’ privacy, their last name does not appear anywhere on Communicado’s screens.)

When parents or students they log on to Communicado, on their home page they will see a schedule of the student’s classes and teachers, a list of assigned homework that is due in the future, and a notice if there is new mail in their mailbox. From their home page, they can open their mail, write to teachers, and access class information. They can also click on the navigation icons to go to Mailbox, Homework, Attendance, Report Cards, Courses Taken, Testing, Class Grades and Change Password.

Sequoia district parents with questions about Communicado may contact the Sequoia district Information Services Department at 650-369-1411, ext. 2364.

Click here to visit Communicado and stay informed about your child's progress