MCPS feels out who they can bully

This has been our experience as well. Unfortunately it's too easy to make DD uncomfortable while still technically not violating any policy/rule. e.g. a teacher can express sentiments with tone of voice, facial expressions etc that make DD feel singled out out or otherwise uncomfortable.

If it was just between adults, I could just lawyer up to get what the law says I should have. When my child is involved I have to prioritize and with the teacher last year that meant minimizing any requests from parents.

I know another parent who is a very well spoken attorney and she doesn't get pushed around nearly as much. Of course it helps that her child is much less sensitive too.

Anonymous wrote:If a school receives a FERPA request for this data then they need to provide it either by exporting the data or doing a screen shot. If the school places unreasonable barriers then you can file a complaint with the DOE. MCPS feels out who they can bully and who will step up to the next level of escalation. If your principal thinks that are mean and she can intimidate you then you won't get the information. If she knows that she will be risking getting into trouble then she'll comply quickly. Its a game.

See pp. 8-11 for the FERPA request policies: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/joara.pdf

If a school receives a FERPA request for this data then they need to provide it either by exporting the data or doing a screen shot. If the school places unreasonable barriers then you can file a complaint with the DOE. MCPS feels out who they can bully and who will step up to the next level of escalation. If your principal thinks that are mean and she can intimidate you then you won't get the information. If she knows that she will be risking getting into trouble then she'll comply quickly. Its a game.

Of course you can see the grades. Make an appointment for a conference with the teacher after school, and you can see it.

If you're looking for real-time updates and unrestricted at home access to the teacher's grade book, that doesn't happen with the elementary school grade book system.

Has anyone been successful doing this?

OP Here: My experience is that while technically I might have a legal right to something, teachers and administrators can easily make it a battle I don't want to fight by making my child uncomfortable. DD is very sensitive and it doesn't take much in the way of teacher comments or attitude to make it where she is begging me to stop trying to talk to the teacher because it only makes things worse. As introvert, non-confrontational type parents it is also no fun when simple requests like clarify what papers child should have brought home result in us being called to talk to (be talked at by) principal & asst principal about how the request is insulting to the teacher.

If the teacher keeps an electronic gradebook, you, as the parent, have a right under FERPA to see all the grades associated with your child's name, as well as any supplementary documentation if kept (like hard copies of assignments).

Has anyone been successful doing this? I would love to consistently see my child's actual grades. One teacher in one grade at our school does give out P- and P+ grades even though everything must just be a P for the grade card. The rest just do Ps but I've heard that the grades recorded are more granular. As a parent we also see never see the grades for assessments that are not worksheet or paper based.

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is the STAFF RESOURCES page. It's a link to the electronic gradebook application for elementary school teachers:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff/

If the teacher keeps an electronic gradebook, you, as the parent, have a right under FERPA to see all the grades associated with your child's name, as well as any supplementary documentation if kept (like hard copies of assignments).

Elementary schools have online gradebooks for staff. The teachers put in grades online. It's not like edline for MS and HS, and parents are not privy to it. This is the alternative to bubbling in grade sheets.

We had it at our school too. I thought this was normal.

My guess is that some elementary schools may have been/are piloting some version of this at the elementary level.

We had it at Barnsley..several years ago. It was helpful.

My kids are ES through HS years. I have never heard of a MCPS school offering online gradebooks for ES - only for MS and HS.

OP, this is the STAFF RESOURCES page. It's a link to the electronic gradebook application for elementary school teachers:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff/

Our principal has consistently said that on-line grade books don't exist for elementary schools. She not always honest so this could be just another lie.

I was Googling around and saw a link on the Clarksburg ES http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/clarksburges/staff/staffresources.aspx website for online gradebook access. I clicked on it and got a message saying it's not available during the summer.

Is this something where parents can view their child's grades? I would *love* to have access to this. I tried asking the math teacher to periodically send me information on assignments/assessments because I suspected my child wasn't bringing home all the graded material. (It turned out that the teachers were being very slow at getting papers turned around to go home and I still think some never did make it home.)

When my child does bring home a graded paper there are times I can't figure out what subject is being graded much less what the basis for grading as I or P is. It would also be helpful to know how many items were included to make up a grade on a report card. For example, if a report card "In Process" grade is based on just 2 items then as a parent I wouldn't give that as much weight as one that had more.

Do other elementary schools do a better job of a child's gradebook information with interested parents?

TIA.