All district schools will be switching from the Blackboard web service to Schoolloop next year. The district is moving to Schoolloop so there can be more consistency in the grading systems used between schools.

Vice Principal Sharon Bartlett believes that the new service will be easier for prospective students. She said, “I think the district is looking for increased consistency amongst the schools, amongst the teachers, and it will make the transition easier for students coming from our partner schools.”

Freshman Griffin Whiting said he used Schoolloop for his seventh and eighth grade years at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School. Whiting said an advantage of using Schoolloop is that there is easier access to grades. Whiting also said, “It is much easier on Schoolloop to see your homework.”

At Stanley Middle School, Freshman Matt O’Reilly and other students used Schoolloop from sixth to eighth grade. O’Reilly said, “Everything is very organized and is easily accessible on the site. I am very happy that we are switching to Schoolloop because it will make organizing homework much easier.”

O’Reilly even went so far to say that there are no faults. He said, “I do not believe there are any disadvantages. I believe it is a foolproof website.”

On the other hand, some teachers are not pleased with the change. Math teacher Ken Ingersoll said, “Teachers may be frustrated because they spent so much time making up their Blackboard sties, and some teachers are just learning how to get their grades on Blackboard, and just about the time everyone started putting up grades on Blackboard semi-regularly they are switching systems on us.”

The teachers will be given multiple training opportunities during and after school hours to learn how to use Schoolloop.  Bartlett said, “There is always a learning curve with something new. The good news is that it is new, and the bad news is that it is new.”