SchoolLoop is one of the best investments SFUSD has made recently. It’s enormously helpful for remembering due dates, contacting teachers, and improving transparency in grading. When teachers use SchoolLoop, your grade on the report card is no longer quite so mysterious. You can see the grades you’ve gotten on all of your assignments, and how much they are worth in terms of your overall grade. You can easily see where you need to improve your grades. This isn’t just a boon for students — teachers have a simple way to explain to parents why their precious little brilliant teenager got a B-.

The issue at Lowell is that many teachers don’t use SchoolLoop at all. Currently, only half of my classes post homework and grades. I strongly urge all teachers to improve communication and clarity by using SchoolLoop. I hope there are appropriate resources to deal with the annoyances and technical glitches currently associated with it.

— Mia Shackelford, Reg 1310

This letter originally appeared in the Oct. 7, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.