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Edline makes virtual classrooms a reality

Bishop Dunne Catholic School

(Dallas, Texas)—Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s philosophy hinges on the fact that the most effective way to teach students is to reach them where they are—wherever and whenever that may be. The school, its administrators, faculty and staff need the ability to connect with students and their families any time. With nearly 700 students, Bishop Dunne found that simply mailing reports to students’ homes or hoping that permission slips, school menus, dress codes and other policies found their way from a student’s knapsack to a parent’s hands was simply not enough.

Bishop Dunne needed an all-in-one, integrated system to create the strong partnership programs that research has shown to “improve school programs and school climate, provide family service and support, increase parents’ skills and leadership, connect families with others in the school and in the community, and help teachers with their work.” [Epstein, Joyce L. “School, Family and Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share.” School, Family and Community Partnerships: Your Action Handbook. (pg. 7) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.]

Like many schools, both parochial and public, Bishop Dunne had found what studies said about parental involvement in student education were indeed true. The families of its students were “eager to obtain better information” from the school “so as to remain good partners in their children’s education” [Ibid, pg. 11], and that its students wanted “their families to be more knowledgeable partners about schooling and... willing to take active roles in assisting communications between home and school [Ibid, pg. 12].”

Still, the school realized that addressing these issues effectively would require moving beyond the “rhetoric rut” that researchers have described as arising when “teachers and administrators would like to involve families, but many do not know how to go about building positive and productive programs and are consequently fearful about trying [Ibid, pg. 11].”

Since Bishop Dunne prides itself as a school that is on the forefront of technology, its administrators and IT professionals were eager to find an on-line tool that would not only increase parental involvement, but also offer convenience for everyone involved in the school community—from administrators to teachers to parents to students.

After reviewing a number of learning systems on the market, Bishop Dunne’s technology committee identified Edline as the ideal solution to meet its needs. The world’s leading web-based solution for K-12 schools, Edline helps students succeed through parental involvement. This system provides more than just progress reports; it’s an opportunity for parents to teach children how to manage priorities and juggle complex schedules. It provides a 360 degree view that includes upcoming quizzes, homework, sports practice, and field trips – all of the crucial information that parents need to understand how they can help their students manage their sometimes hectic schedules and succeed in the classroom and beyond. Bishop Dunne’s Director of Technology Paul Wood notes that “Edline saves times and parents absolutely love it!” Edline has helped build relationships between parents and teachers and establish a learning community devoted to the child’s achievement. With Web Lockers to house data files, calendars that keep classroom and extracurricular activities in synch, teacher Web pages and grade tracking, Edline has a host of services to support communication.

According to Hill Copeland, Bishop Dunne’s director of online education, “Technology is the only way we can stay on top of things and, for us, Edline has been the main ingredient.”

For Bishop Dunne, Edline has made the virtual classroom a reality. With more than 90 percent of Bishop Dunne parents holding active Edline accounts the school and families are putting Edline to good use. Teachers are encouraged to create video and audio podcast lessons—from video versions of vocabulary flash cards to correct pronunciations for students studying a foreign language--which Bishop Dunne students can then download from each teacher’s personalized Web site that is hosted by Edline.

Bishop Dunne’s teachers are able to do more than update their grade books and post homework assignments from afar. For the last two years, Bishop Dunne has been conducted a distance-learning program, in which students are provided with individualized lesson plans and classroom assignments for students needing remedial credit. With only 48 students in its introductory semester, the remedial credits program has grown to over 200 students. Instead of attending summer school and revisiting previous lesson plans, students are able to work with teachers based in Wisconsin and New Jersey at their convenience to complete make-up work. Students use Edline to download lesson plans, assignments and check grades. Teachers love Edline for its ease-of-use and organization. In describing the success of the program, Copeland said, “Kids take very quickly to anything on a computer or that uses technology these days—Edline is exactly what they need.”

Edline has also allowed Bishop Dunne to reduce its mailings to students’ homes through its email module and online updates, reducing paper costs. Parents can log in to their account to review general information about school activities and specific information about their children’s assignments, coursework, schedules and extracurricular activities. The system also has allowed for parents and teachers to communicate directly via e-mail, and as a result, many Bishop Dunne teachers have found less need to have face-to-face parent-teacher conferences. In fact, because the communication among the school’s administrators, faculty and parents has dramatically improved because of Edline, the school has been able to reduce its total number of in-service days as well as days set aside specifically to meet with parents.

Edline has kept Bishop Dunne ahead of pace in terms of technology, flexibility, and lesson-plan organization. Its suite of products has given students, along with their parents and guardians, the tools to succeed.

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