Parent Portals, New Site Will Help Parents Stay In Touch

"This is nothing new. We've had parents from up north asking why we didn't have a parent portal system before," Harts said.

"It's a wonderful communication tool that parents can utilize to keep posted or up to date with children's grades," she added. "It helps to engage parents more in their child's grades, and helps them be as up to date as possible with how their child is doing."

Coinciding with the parent portal are changes to the primary way parents will be accessing it - through the district's Web site.

Officials launched a new, fully redesigned site at noon Friday, designed to be more user-friendly and appealing for local families and staff.

"It's a work-in-progress. It's been a lot of work, but we're quite proud of it," said Barbara Renczkowski, production technician and webmaster.

She said district staff members have been working on the design for the past year and a half, which features a completely different format and search feature, as well as photos and latest district news.

It also features a unique translation feature, which instantly translates all of the site's content to a choice of 24 languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Swedish.

Officials hope to eventually start uploading videos and podcasts to the site, which will soon link to all of the district's new parent portals.

"That's where we think parents will want to go the most," Renczkowski said.

Visit the new site at www.hernandoschools.org.