Fresno Unified's ATLAS is online

The door to access student information is no longer closed off to parents.

That portal is ATLAS, which stands for achievement, technology learning and assessment system. It's been a year and a half since the project was initially rolled out, teachers and parents have complained about problems with the software or that it didn't work at all.

Over the past 6 weeks Fresno Unified has revised the $1.8 million software program nearly a dozen times to make it work for parents. ATLAS project manager Lindsay Sanders says now parents can do more than simply check grades.

Old passwords won't work on the new system, and before parents can log on, district officials say school sites have to go through training first.

Schools will issue nearly 50 to 70 thousand new parent ID's and passwords. Parents should be notified in person, by mail or teleparent.

So far 13 out of 28 middle and high schools have gone through that process. The remaining 15 schools are expected to go through training in the next two weeks.