NEW YORK (TIP): Schools Chancellor David C. Banks announced on May 19  that the New York City Department of Education’s Division of Instructional and Information Technology (DIIT) is launching the DOE Grades, Attendance, and Messaging applications. These applications will be available at no cost to all NYC public schools this summer in anticipation of the 2022-23 school year. The Department of Education is recommending that schools currently using third-party vendors for these purposes transition to the free DOE Grades, Attendance, and Messaging applications in the upcoming school year. “This new platform is safer and was designed alongside our outstanding educators to ensure it meets their needs and frees them from spending time on unnecessary administrative busy work,” said Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. “I am so thrilled to announce the launch of this exciting new, free for schools, platform, and grateful to our DIIT team’s steadfast dedication to our children and families.”

Integrating data from across DOE systems, the Grades, Attendance and Messaging applications will give teachers the ability to record period and daily attendance, collect grades for all assignments, quizzes, and exams, and allow them to easily submit final grades. Grading integrations between the DOE’s learning management systems (Google Workspace and iLearnNYC) are also in the initial release of the system, providing even more efficiency to schools. The Department of Education will also be launching a Messaging application that will allow schools to create and send communications to families, students and staff via email, text, and robo-call.

Because there is no cost to schools, this grading, attendance and messaging solution represents a shift to a more equitable technology ecosystem. Additionally, because the DOE Grades, Attendance and Messaging applications are built, owned, and managed by the Department of Education, the DOE can ensure they meet the rigorous requirements for protecting personally identifiable information (PII), particularly given the ongoing risk of security incidents when working with outside vendors. “The idea to build the application arose from conversations we had directly with schools, who needed a custom DOE grading and attendance application that could replace burdensome manual processes and the ongoing costs of using third-party software tools,” said Anuraag Sharma, the DOE’s Chief Information Officer. “Between March 8 and April 6, 2022, we provided demos of the DOE Grades, Attendance and Messaging Applications to a range of stakeholders, including teachers, principals, central office staff, and regional office staff.” The Grades, Attendance and Messaging Applications are part of DIIT’s strategy to modernize the DOE’s systems, especially systems serving schools and families. Since the beginning of 2020, DIIT has introduced the following systems for use by students, teachers, families, and administrators:

Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Google Workspace and Brightspace

TeachHub for Student and Teacher access to apps (Students using Central Accounts)

DataHub for data collection and reporting

SupportHub for obtaining answers to IT questions and obtaining IT services

Parent University, where parents can register for classes and information sessions from the DOE

Learning Management Integration between DOE systems (ATS and STARS and the LMS platforms

New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) enhancements, including the ability to fill out and submit forms electronically

The DOE Grades, Attendance, and Messaging applications will be available in August in advance of the first day of the 2022-23 school year.