Report cards come out four times each year, but there are ways for both students and parents to keep track of grades in between. Edulink is a handy tool to keep up with grades and help keep students focused. It provides parents with an up-to-date grade book, attendance records, student information and more.

    “I’d say 90% of people hitting Edulink are going there just for the gradebook,” said Terry Lowry, the ITRT in charge of Edulink at Hylton.

    Because parents can easily access their children’s grades online, they can keep tabs on assignments and tests.

     “My parents do have access to Edulink, but fortunately for me they are very supportive of my work ethics,” said senior Jeson Souvannarath. “They tell me that it is my decision because my actions bring me to where I want to be. It doesn’t bother me that they have access to my Edulink because I know I worked hard for the grades I got.”

    Students feel that parents put too much pressure on them when they know what their grades are and that having access to grades should not be an option. However, parents seem to be catching on to this service and more are signing up.

    “We have 1,188 parent accounts and 2,285 student accounts,” said Lowry, which means only 52% of parents use the service.

    Other students have expressed that how they perform academically is their problem and they should work it out on their own.

    “I’d like to handle things on my own without them [my parents] adding pressure to it,” said sophomore Beatrice Loayza.

    Edulink allows parents to see what class assignments are getting turned in or if their child needs help in a particular subject. It also gives students a chance to double-check their grades that are being put into the gradebook and make sure that they are correct.

    Students may not like the idea of this, but parents appreciate having access to their child’s grades. Having Edulink means there are no surprises when report cards come out.

    “I don’t like the fact that my parents can see my grades whenever they want but in the end I think it’s worth it because they aren’t so tense when they see it on papers and assignments,” said senior Peter Vela.

    The schools concept of using Edulink is to help motivate students to do better in school while they still have time to bring up their grades. Edulink is a great service that Prince William Country Schools provides, and students and parents should take full advantage of it.