School officials will consider posting student’s individual graders on the Parent Internet Viewer (PIV) when the topic is brought up at a Leadership Council meeting in the near future.

The Leadership Council is made up of school department heads and administrators, and usually meets every Wednesday in the Information Center.

If accepted, the school plans to implement changes next year. “We have to give enough support and training [to teachers],” said assistant principal Dawn Baglos.

Students are clearly in favor of having individual grades posted on the viewer. “I wouldn’t have to constantly annoy my teachers,” junior Jared Rubens said.

For some students, the proposal would give them greater understanding of their classes. “I could see how many A’s or B’s I need to get the next grade,” senior Eve Feldman said.

This knowledge about grades, however, is what some teachers fear. Spanish Department head Phyllis Blanco thinks students would take advantage of it, using the viewer to decide whether they will complete their next assignment, based on how much it will affect their academic performance.

Other teachers are in favor of it. “The more information students and parents have for individual grades, the better they’ll do in school,” said Science Department head David Buncher.

Buncher also feels the proposal has other benefits. “It would save paper,” he said. “Kids would see [their] grades instantaneously.”

Another supporter of showing individual grades on the PIV is Rita Gold, head of the English department. According to her, if the new policy was implemented, “They [students] could see their strengths and weaknesses.”

Math department head Joan Friedman opposes the proposal, but would like to see a comments section on the PIV, where a teacher could keep parents informed about a student’s individual progress.

The PIV, set up at Krop in 2002, is run by Richard Valdez, the school’s IT Technician. According to him, the Viewer has huge potential for what it can do. “You could list everything,” he says. “It [the PIV] could look like the grade book itself.”