Parents of GEMS students can now track student progress through the PowerSchool website:  http://powerschool.sd244.net/public/

Parents and guardians need to obtain their Web I.D. and Passwords from the Principal's Office.

How does it work? 

• Go to the website listed above. (It's also on the GEMS homepage.)  Enter your Web I.D. and password.  Each of your children have a different I.D. and password. 
• When you first get in, you'll see a screen for Grades and Attendance.  Click on each highlighted grade to find a list of assignments.  Watch for the blue links;  teachers may add weblinks or comments for individual assignments.
• Use the "Back" Button to return to a previous screen.
  You can access Grade History, Attendance History, Email notification, Teacher Comments, and the School Bulletin.

Cautions: 

• Teachers are not able to go on every day to update grades, so please be patient.  Most teachers use the following system:
   
  Open parentheses (  ) mean that the assignment has not been completely graded.  Teachers are starting to put in assignments early, before they're due, especially if it is a long-term assignment.  Watch for weblinks, dates, and information attached to these assignments.
• If your child has been sick, most teachers use ABS for absent.  These assignments need to be completed.  If a teacher uses EX, then your child is excused from an assignment.
•  An assignment marked with a "0" generally means that the assignment was graded and entered, but it was missing for your child.
• If a student turns in late work, it usually takes at least 24 - 36 hours for the teacher to grade the late work.

Feel free to e-mail teachers through the PowerSchool site if you have questions or concerns.

Some general guidelines:

One of the keys to making this system work is maintaining security.  Keep your passwords safe at home and caution your children not to give passwords to others.

The system logs out after inactivity for a short time.  That happens so that if you get distracted and leave the computer for a few minutes, no one else may come along and find the portal open.

Only teachers can update or change grades from their school computers.  The parent portal is a "read-only" site, so nothing can be accessed and changed from the PowerSchool site.