Most definitely. I would like to be able to go to one site and see what homework each of my kids have without having to search around for it. It would also be great to be able to see assignment/test results from home logic on the portal page as they enter it, so that we could monitor ongoing progress without having to log into home logic and look at each student and subject separately.

It would also be valuable to see school bulletins and reminders. We would also like to pay all the school fees online in one centralized place.

A portal provides personalized announcements, events calendars, connections to classroom and extracurricular activities, the ability to subscribe to these things via preferred tool (web login alert, e-mail, RSS), and direct links to other items that are important to build connections at the school.

Parent communication is one of the most difficult pieces of a school because parent work schedules don't allow the interaction, the institution is geared around that, and the school employees spend most of their time communicating with children and each other to the point where there is little energy or time to focus on those important people outside the school building.

I believe so. I stated in response to the previous question is that cost is an issue at my son's school.

Our school district uses a web site, the schools have websites, and schools are now being required to use the SchoolMax Gradebook so parents can access their students' grades and assignments. We are still hearing from the administration, "Not enough parents are using it". Part of the problem is that some teachers lack basic computer skills to check email, let along enter data. There is no basic requirement or standard to enforce. Some of the educators are astonished that ISTE NETS (http://www.iste.org/) exists for teachers, students, and admin.

At some point the minimum standard of computer use needs to be required for all educators. Recognition needs to be published for those who are leading the way and incorporating technology. We always hear, "We need training or more education" but what about the teachers, students, parents, business partners that thrive on independent learning and improve their technology skills while participating through the edublogosphere?

We cannot forget that parents are the first and lifelong teachers of our children.

I would like to to see a Parent Portal in our school to make information more accessible to parents. My children are in the younger grades so keeping track of assignments and projects due is really not an issue for me. However, in order for parents to be involved with our children's education we need to know, in general terms, what is being studied in the classroom. A portal could help in that regard.

Parents, teachers and children have very busy lives and the portal could also provide a means of connecting all three in a convenient manner. Hopefully it would also provide parents with a means to communicate with the school, offering suggestions, asking questions and advocating for change.