Legislation can create entire businesses within the software industry. Recent legislation such as Head Start requires schools to keep tabs of all the activities of individual children and then report to parents. Compliance means creating databases and this has spurred competing applications for desktop computers. The good news is that all this head start software is mature and has been used successfully by other teachers to keep parents informed.
Options range from software that upkeep student databases to software that monitors all messaging. Many ordinary users are aware of combination messaging tools that allow several accounts to be combined into one software and messages sent to people with different email services. A scaled-up version of cross-platform software built solely for the needs of public schools, where messages sent through various streams can be kept in a database.
There are two reasons to keep up with all these communications. The first is just to know who has been contacted and to have a carbon copy of all these messages. Since public schools for minors are subject to all sorts of rules and touchy politics, having exact copies can prove useful time and again. The second reason is that schools are monitored by regulators who check for these communications. Having everything on file can satisfy the inspectors.
The Head Start program has been around since 1965 in the United States. Its main focus is to improve the situation of poor children who might suffer from both poor nutrition and poor grades. There is also a concern for discrimination against the poor as it is natural for middle-class teachers to favor children of the same economic strata. The program offers advantages such as improved nutrition and teaching for disadvantaged kids.
Any good principal or teacher wants to put low-income children on an equal footing, as much as can be practically achieved, and this means complying with the Head Start software, among other things. Since the program is ongoing, it is regularly being improved. Proper documentation at the school shows that the school is doing its part to keep parents informed.
There is also the understanding that half the problem with poverty happens at home. Communication with parents can be critical for authorities attempting to understand what is happening in the homes of children. Parents of disadvantaged children might be required to communicate with the school, and these communications as well provide important evidence for investigators.
