YUHSD offers training to parents for online portal
Tool allows for direct access to student grades, other information
Yuma Union High School District is now offering training sessions for their online portal that gives parents direct access to student information and grades.
According to YUHSD family and community engagement project coordinator Zayda McIntire, 97 percent of students are actively involved with the Illuminate Student/Parent Portal, though only a roughly estimated 23 percent of parents are currently active on the system, which spurred the district to reach out with the training.
“There were a few parents that were aware of it, but most of them would just have the student check for them,” she said. “Now, since we are putting out our training, more and more parents are starting to sign up.”
Thus far, McIntire said
there have been seven sessions with about 15 parents attending each training. This semester, she added that the district will offer 22 sessions both in English and in Spanish.
“It’s a great tool,” Mcintire said. “It keeps parents up to date in everything.”
With the portal, parents can not only check student grades, but they can also see if a student misses a class or an assignment, set up notifications in various areas such as if their student makes a visit to the nurse, and they can even message teachers directly.
Raymundo Chavez Jr., a parent whose son currently attends Gila Ridge High School, said he finds the portal helpful in monitoring his son’s progress in school. Though Chavez was already familiar with the portal, he noted that he took the training to learn more about its features.
“I think it’s to the student’s advantage,” he said. “I think it keeps students honest and I would encourage every parent to educate themselves in Illuminate because it will not only help your child but it will educate you to what’s really going on in school.”
McIntire noted that the district has also been reaching out to parents through “patron tours” where parents can take a tour of a school of their choosing. On Thursday, senior Justin Ambriz gave a tour for local media of the historic Yuma High School, highlighting its history and present growths.
The high school student added with a smile that his mother, like many others, asks him to check the portal for her, so he would not doubt that a small percentage of parents are actively logging in themselves.
For more information on the training sessions or to arrange for a tour, call (928) 502-5024 or visit www.yumaunion.org.