News: New LCPS Tool to Allow Parents to Access Student Grades, Assignments Online

(Aug. 20, 2012) - For the first time all Loudoun’s parents will be able to check their student’s grades and assignments online this year through a parent portal using the CLARITY system.

This application, found on the webpage for each Loudoun County public school, allows parents to view their  student’s grades and also attendance in secondary schools. By using their student’s ID number and a password assigned by Loudoun County Public Schools, parents will be able to view their student’s current information as well as information from previous marking periods.

This system will be fully operational for grades three through 12 during the first quarter of the 2012-2103 school year. Kindergarten through second grade will have their parent portals opened during the second semester.

Expectations for updating grade books, adding new assignments and responding to parent e-mails is handled on a school-by-school basis.

The CLARITY system has a number of features designed to make the system safe and secure for maintaining student grade information. First, the URL for the parent portal begins with https://, rather than the standard http://. This indicates that the information contained on that page is secure and encrypted. This is similar to what you would see in the URL for online banking or any e-commerce site. Second, the parent portal in CLARITY provides read-only access. Using the parent portal would not allow anyone to change information, only to view the information on the page.

For more information about CLARITY, click http://www.lcps.org/Domain/12058.