This year, Middletown Township public schools started using Genesis to track grades and assignments. Genesis is a website with a gradebook, schedule, calendar, and attendance log. It has most of the same features as PowerSchool, but it just has a different layout. Despite the similar functions, the switch from PowerSchool has proven to be a decision that a lot of people have strong feelings about. So what are students, teachers, and parents talking about?
Students and parents seem to think the main problem with Genesis is the lack of an app. Having an app made it easier for parents to keep up with their childrens’ grades. Parents could easily find out if their child is having problems in some of their classes. Students liked the app, so they could be immediately notified when an assignment’s grade went in or when a grade was changed. The log-in process has also proved to be a challenge for many Genesis users. The student portal frequently does not work, and a lot of kids have just resorted to using their parents’ log-in information. Some parents say that just having to log in every single time they want to check grades is very annoying. The students definitely seem to agree with that. One student says, “It takes so much time to log on when I just want to check a grade quickly before a class. It also takes way longer to actually get to the grade I want to see because there are so many different parts of the website.” Out of the eighty-nine students surveyed, only four prefer Genesis.
The teachers at South also seem to be having problems with Genesis. Some teachers said that the process of putting grades in is much more complicated and requires more steps than it did on PowerSchool. It took a lot of time for most teachers to adjust to the new process. One teacher says, “I think I’ll get used to it by June. It’s very overwhelming.”
On the other hand, people like some of the aspects of Genesis. Some students say it is nice to not immediately be notified about a grade. What if you are doing something important and all of a sudden you get a notification that your grade dropped ten points? You are probably going to be distracted from whatever you are trying to do. Genesis also makes it a little harder for parents to constantly check their children’s grades. With PowerSchool, any parent who had the app would also be immediately notified, which definitely caused students more distress when their grades change. Some teachers also prefer Genesis. “Now that I know how to navigate Genesis, it’s quicker to jump between classes, and it’s easier to find students as needed.”
The consensus seems to be that PowerSchool was the preferred method of tracking grades. Although there are some positive aspects to Genesis, it is overall more complicated and confusing to use for the majority of people in the South community.