Grades and Genesis: The New Good Book?

By: Adriana DeFuoco and Sumaia Naga

Genesis is the new parent, teacher, and student portal being used at North Warren Regional. Many thoughts and opinions have been circulating about how the new program is working and how people are adapting to it. People are curious as to what bugs and glitches have occured since installing the new system, or if there are any at all. Genesis was formally installed over the summer of 2018, replacing Infinite Campus, which had been the portal for several years. The students and teachers at North Warren were asked about their thoughts on the new program compared to the old one. Infinite Campus supported North Warren in past years, but since Genesis replaced it, the students and teachers are still adjusting to its differences.

When the teachers were asked about how they feel toward Genesis, they gave a lot of feedback. They were asked which program is better. Ms. Serzan explains that “Infinite Campus was much more user friendly” and the “app [Campus Portal] was very easy for the students to use.” Genesis, not having an app, can make it harder for the students to get the help they need and track their progress. The Infinite Campus app “from the students’ perspective, was very useful [but] there is more functionality when it comes to Genesis,” according to Mr. Kudrak.

Then, we asked North Warren’s students to share their thoughts. One responds with her thoughts on both programs saying that,“Infinite Campus was so simple and Genesis is more complicated.” Another says, “Infinite Campus was better because it had an app and you could get a notification on when your grades came in.”  If they were to go back to Infinite Campus, “the only thing they would want to keep was the schedule from Genesis.” Additionally, another student says that Genesis “doesn’t really show you your grades as well as Infinite Campus did.” One student vehemently expressed his dislike for the new system: “It’s annoying, it’s slow, it’s not good. It’s ugly too, and it’s horrible. The layout is not great. It looks like a seven year old put it together.” On the other hand, some “[don’t] think it’s that bad” and “don’t really have any complaints.”

Be the end of the school year, some of these thoughts and opinions about Genesis  might change. Students and teachers seem to need more time to adjust and figure out the new program.