Transparent Classroom is an exciting tool Forestville Montessori School is using to make the “FMS experience” even better! Parents can use it to be in-the-know about what is happening in the classroom. Teachers can use the program to lesson plan, make observation notes, and record mastery of lessons. All records of lessons, pictures taken by your child’s teacher, and parent/teacher conference reports are kept in one convenient place for parents and teachers to view at any time.
Transparent Classroom is currently being used by many Montessori schools in Australia and world-wide. It comes highly endorsed by those schools as it is a sophisticated tool that simplifies the task of planning and record keeping across multi-age classrooms, multiple documents, for multiple stakeholders.
Transparent classroom makes the task of monitoring and recording a child’s educational progress easy. We currently have over 18 months of data showing your child’s progression. Everything is at the educator’s fingertips and everything is stored together. Parents have access to their child’s educational journey with up to date ‘snap shots’ of real-time data and photographs.
What are the real benefits of Transparent Classroom?
Transparent Classroom assists us in tracking student progress in literacy and numeracy across all Key Learning Areas. It helps us strengthen all internal student transition programs. Teachers know exactly where a child is up to within our educational program, and where they are going to next.
Transparent Classroom provides a value-added investment in teacher professional development. Teachers are developing and refining lesson plans and the delivery of the Montessori program. There is a stronger focus on different forms of assessment, and how to report a student’s learning journey to multiple stakeholders.
Transparent Classroom provides enhanced communication channels to our community. Parents and caregivers are provided with regular posts about their child’s educational journey in real-time.
Transparent Classroom enhances our business practices within a regulatory compliance environment. It is a one-spot repository of a child’s educational journey at Forestville Montessori School.
How is Forestville Montessori School Using Transparent Classroom?
Forestville Montessori School has tailored Transparent Classroom to meet the needs and requirements of multiple stakeholders – students, parents, staff, and external agencies.
We have created our own lesson sets that sit within Transparent Classroom. These lesson sets follow the Australian Montessori National Curriculum Framework, AMI Montessori Teacher Manuals, and are also mapped to the New South Wales Education Standards Authority Syllabus Documents and Outcomes.
At any moment in time a teacher can track a student’s progression. At a glance a teacher can see achievements and where the student is going to next. This feature will assist us in making sure that no student is left behind. It will assist us in strengthening all internal student transition programs. All teachers will know exactly where a child is up to within our educational program, and where they are going to next.
What information do parents see about their child?
Once you have set up your profile you are taken to your home page. Here you will see your child, their classmates and a parent directory. Clicking on your child’s name will take you to their activity page. Here you will see photographs of your child at work, the lessons they have had, and any observational notes as recorded by your child’s teacher.
Clicking on ‘Classmates’ in the menu bar will only give you basic information about other children in your child’s class, such as the child’s age and the parent’s name. Once again, this is only displayed if the child’s parent has chosen to disclose this information. If another parent clicks on your child’s name they do not have access to your child’s profile page, including lessons and photographs.
Clicking on ‘Directory’, will give information about parents in your child’s class. This could include parent’s name, address, and email address – only if they choose to disclose it.
At all times parents have total control over what information they wish to share, and can change their selections at any time.
Data privacy & security
The only information we collect is about your child’s educational journey, which includes education and scholastic outcomes.
Forestville Montessori School has in place, in accordance with the Association of Independent Schools and the Australian Information Commission, guidelines for managing the Notification of a Data Breach should there be any issues associated with the data that is stored. It needs to be put in perspective that this is in line with government requirements as affects all businesses, corporations and institutions with the handling of data and the risk associated with it (regardless of the location of the storage of that data).
Semester 1, 2020 report cards
Semester 1 report cards will be released shortly via Transparent Classroom. These reports will outline your child’s learning progression during Term 1 and 2, 2020. It will list the lessons and activities that your child engaged with at school and where possible at home during the COVID-19 interruptions. Returning to school, Transparent Classroom has allowed us to start from where we left off and continue great learning. The progressions noted on this report are developmentally sound and match the learning needs of your child. They are not based on arbitrary makers such as age or grade level, nor compare your child to other children. During this time Transparent Classroom has provided you with a ‘window’ into your child’s school environment and the many faceted activities that have engaged your child.
Our Parent Teacher Conferences will be held in Term 3 on Friday 14th August 2020. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore your child’s written report and progress with your child’s teacher. The booking link will be sent to parents early next term. We encourage all parents to attend.
