If you have ever wondered how your child is doing in school, you need to know about Parent Student Connect. Also known as PS Connect or GradeSpeed, it is an essential tool for every HISD parent or guardian. PS Connect gives you instant access to your child’s grades, assignments, progress reports, report cards, class attendance, tardies, and class schedule. To stay on top of students’ performance, you can register for alerts via text or email to be sent when a grade falls below a certain average, assignments are missing, or they are absent or late to class. Students can also access PS Connect to check on their grades and upcoming assignments.
“I find it very helpful,” said parent Gabriela Villegas, whose son is a junior at Lamar HS. “The key is to catch any problems before they develop. When my son needs help, I use PS Connect to check on his performance in that particular class and then get him the support he needs.”
“My wife and I have alerts set up,” said parent Aaron Casares, who has a tenth-grader at Reagan HS. “If he gets a grade lower than 80, we are notified, and we go online to see what’s going on. If we have any questions, we email his teacher.”
To get started with PS Connect, go to the HISD home page and click on the “Students and Parents” tab. Once on the Students and Parents page, you will see “Parent Student Connect” in the upper left-hand corner. Click on “Register” or “First Time User” and follow the prompts on the screen to fill out the necessary information.
You will need your child’s name, HISD student ID (located on report cards and other official HISD documents), date of birth, and the last five digits of their social security number. If your child does not have a social security number, use the last five digits of their “S” number. If you do not know your child’s S or ID number, contact your child’s school office. They can also help you with the login and setup process.
If you have more than one child, you must register each child individually. After the first time you register, all of your children’s separate profiles will be listed under your login ID and password.
Once inside PS Connect, you can access your child’s grades by clicking on the “Launch Grade Book” button or their standardized test results by clicking on the “Launch Test Results” button. You can see your child’s assignments, what they have turned in, what grades they have received, and upcoming due dates. You can also view past progress reports and report cards, contact your child’s teachers, access parent and student resources, and view your child’s school calendar.
In addition, PS Connect helps at-risk high school students with online credit-recovery courses. Students must be enrolled in a credit-recovery program to have access to tutoring and other academic support.
If you have any trouble with PS Connect, contact your child’s school office or call the HISD Help Desk at 713-892-7378 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or e-mail them at helpdesk@houstonisd.org.
If you used “The Source,” the system in use prior to PS Connect coming online in Sept. 2009, you can use the same user ID and password.