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Pennsbury officials defend Schoology rollout; district to survey start‑time changes in October
Summary
District administrators acknowledged frustration over Schoology's high‑school rollout, said improvements were made (running grades enabled) and urged families to use familytechhelp@pensbury.org. The district also announced an October survey to evaluate fall start‑time changes.
District administrators addressed concerns about the rollout of Schoology and the recent high‑school start‑time change during the Sept. 18 Pennsbury School Board action meeting.
Dr. Ritchie, speaking for district technology and secondary operations, said Schoology is part of a multiyear plan to move the district under the PowerSchool umbrella and that the platform had been fully in place at the elementary level last year. He acknowledged frustration among students, parents and staff and said the district had enabled a running/average course grade view on Schoology "as of the tenth day of school," a change intended to address a major concern raised in earlier surveys.
Why it matters: Learning‑management‑system changes affect how students and families access grades, assignments and feedback. The district said it provided professional development and support resources and urged families with access or grading issues to submit tickets to the technology department or send email to the district family tech contact.
Student feedback and district support Junior representative Jacqueline Gaffney delivered a student report that included results from a Pennsbury High School survey; she said 83 percent of respondents reported being uncomfortable using Schoology day‑to‑day. Dr. Ritchie said the district provided parent information sessions and a family tech hub on the district website. He gave the support email familytechhelp@pensbury.org and said staff are available in rotating schedules across secondary schools to help teachers with rostering, grading and integration issues.
Start‑time survey Superintendent Dr. Smith told the board the district will administer a start‑time survey in mid‑October to parents, students and staff to measure the impact of the fall start‑time adjustments. The district plans a follow‑up survey in May to compare results with a pre‑change baseline gathered last year; measures to be considered include attendance, punctuality, health and wellness indicators, athletics/extracurricular participation, school climate and academic performance.
Ending The district reiterated that Schoology support resources are available online and that the October start‑time survey will be shared with families and staff; administrators asked community members to submit specific tech issues so the technology department can address them directly.
