Montgomery Public Schools Consider New Software to Track Graduation

Montgomery Public Schools is considering HiEd, a software program that allows high school students and counselors to track the student’s progress toward graduation. The software program, which costs more than $100,000 annually, was presented to the Montgomery County Board of Education during an Oct. 7 meeting.

The program looks at students’ transcripts and shows them which courses are offered and are needed to graduate, as well as what is required from the state’s four-year colleges to be admitted. The program also shows athletic requirements for NCAA eligibility, which involves a sliding scale based on GPA and ACT and SAT scores.

The program would alleviate a school counselor’s tight schedule and keep students up-to-date on their academic progress.

The cost is a per student rate, averaging between $18 to $25, depending on the size of the district. MPS has eight high schools with about 8,000 students. An estimated cost for the district is $126,000.

HiEd launched two years ago and is being used by 17 schools, including Troy City Schools, just outside Montgomery.

"When you’re dealing with a large student population, it does get difficult to see where a student stands as far as college acceptance and scholarship opportunities,” Troy City Schools Superintendent Lee Hicks said to a local newspaper. “It does free up time for counselors as well as administrators."

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.