Information about a student’s grades has to be distributed somehow. Websites and portals can help to showcase all the information in one place and are widely used by schools. After years of using Q Student Connect, also known as Q, which functioned as Buena’s student portal, the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) has made the switch and opted to use Aeries instead. This can pose a huge issue for students, parents and teachers, therefore initially causing negative impacts. And although Aeries looks promising, the whole ordeal could have been dealt with differently to provide the most lasting positive impact.
Aeries is a new system that started being implemented in 2025-2026. Similarly to Q, it displays important data about each student, including their grades and classes. It also provides information like student ID number, assignment scores, medical and behavioral data and attendance.
Q used to function for this; however, Aeries has a larger variety of features and options, which can cause added confusion amid the transition. The data is displayed in a different format, unlike Q, which has a straightforward format that displays all of the features. Aeries’s format causes students to look through the 43 drop-down options it currently has which poses a large inconvenience for them.
Another factor that is irritating is that teachers and parents that have just gotten accustomed to the old system, now have to throw all of that knowledge out the window. Aeries claims to have benefits, which may be true, but teachers have to learn all the features that the system provides to accurately input grades into the all new grade book.
“I don’t mind Aeries now… I would have [said] Q before, but I’m starting to understand Aeries better,” Claire Hansen, Buena’s Culinary instructor said. “it was hard [to learn] at first, but now it definitely got better.”
Teachers are not the only ones affected, as parents also have to learn how to use all the options to view their child’s grades. They cannot benefit from Aeries’s features when the Ventura district isn’t providing the necessary resources and direction for their big change.
“[We value] promoting student success,” says the Aeries website on their main info about their goals and missions.
This is one of their values, but students cannot succeed when they are confused about the features and options. This isn’t the site’s fault but rather the district’s fault for the spontaneous change without giving much explanation or guide, forcing the community to learn on their own.
“We are currently transitioning from one student information system [Q Connect] to another [Aeries]. All families will receive an email from the director of communications as soon as Aeries is available,” says the VUSD website.
This email was sent out before school began; however, Aeries was only available starting the first days of school, making it difficult to practice using the site beforehand.
Some might argue that VUSD is just trying to become more updated and modern, to compete with the surrounding school districts, but despite this, they have caused the larger issues of confusion in schools. This change may be beneficial in the future, but in the meantime it has caused some uncertainty.
Comparing the two different websites, Student Q definitely has the upper hand because of how long it has been used amongst all. The variety of options that Q offers also makes it convenient for students who need more detailed information.
Although it can be said that the district is just trying to improve, it would be better for them to ease into the system. Rather than telling us all of a sudden at the beginning of the school year, it would have been great if we were warned about this change beforehand and given some training and instruction as to how to use Aeries.
Aeries can provide different features but is mostly confusing for families and teachers alike. As we progress in the school year, the community will have to get used to this website and will have to apply it in their school lives. Although there will be challenges, they will eventually master the site after some time and it has proven to have potential.
