Data Connect System Administrators PS Basics Part 1

Objectives By the end of this module, you will know how to: Explain how different user groups sign in to PowerSchool Identify links and menus on the PowerSchool Start Page Perform common tasks in PowerSchool Identify reports and special functions in PowerSchool

PowerSchool User Groups Fours distinct groups use and access the PowerSchool Modules: Administrators Teachers Substitutes Parents (Guardians) and Students

PowerSchool Users PowerSchool Administrator is used by principals, vice principals, administrative assistants, guidance counsellors, and district office access View or edit student information Work with schedules Manage staff and student information Communicate with other PowerSchool users Run Reports PowerTeacher and PowerTeacher Gradebook are the classroom management tools used by teachers Take attendance Access information about their students Communicate to families and administrators Launch PowerTeacher Gradebook Enter assignment information, results and final grades

PowerSchool Student and Parent Portals View attendance data View assignments and assessment information Read comments from teachers View school announcements Make course selections PowerSchool Substitute Teachers Portal Managed by the school District generated password Limited to submitting attendance Long-term supplies will be granted teacher access Schools and Districts will determine when and how to grant and manage parent and student access. It’s my understanding that Substitute Teachers can login to PS, but they are limited to entering attendance data and seeing the daily announcements. ~C. Correct – generic supply password and then they choose their teacher- attendance only

Step 1: Log on to Training Server Enter your training username and password separated by a semi-colon with no spaces Username;password For the Administrator Sign In only, It is entered all on one line for the PRACTICE SITE: After the 2 day training session please connect to practice server from DataConnect website http://dataconnect.nbed.nb.ca Usernames and passwords will be sent to school administration. Participants Log in here- hand out training account information

PowerSchool Start Page Demonstrate the sections of the screen with brief explanations of purposes……..

Navigating PowerSchool TIP: The PowerSchool logo will return you to the start page. Use either this logo, or the Breadcrumbs to return to Start, rather than the browser’s back button. Using the back arrow in your browser is not recommended and may log you out of PowerSchool. Demonstrate how to navigate back to Start using the 2 methods above.

PowerSchool Help TIP: You can find a topic by browsing, looking through an alphabetical index, or searching. Help topics explain the purpose of the feature and where you can find the feature in PowerSchool. Allow time to explore Help.

Choose your school We will be starting our training in Washington Elementary Click on the School hyperlink and pull down to select the school.

Practice Navigation Activity Can you identify how many teachers and students there are in Washington Elementary? Can find out the oldest Term and Year that is archived? Name the five section headings on the Main Menu. Identify at least 3 different ways you can search for students.

Let’s Get Started - Morning Tasks

Task 1: Personalize PowerSchool – Enable Smart Search Step 1 of 4 On the Start Page; In the Main Menu scroll down to locate the Setup section. Step 2 of 4 Under the Setup section, click Personalize.

Step 3 of 4 On the Personalize page, you have several options Step 3 of 4 On the Personalize page, you have several options. Click Interface. Step 4 of 4 Click the checkbox to the right of Enable Smart Search. Click Submit.

PRACTICE: Repeat your steps to Personalize the Initial Student Screen.

Check your work Find Dusty Magee and check when she has Music. Start typing the student’s last name Magee in the search box. Smart Search will start listing students, teachers, and fields corresponding to the letters you are typing. Choose Dusty Magee’s name

Because you personalized and chose Schedule as the Initial Student Screen, Dusty’s Bell Schedule appears. To complete the task, make a note of when she has Music

Let’s Review Personalize the Initial Student Screen again. This time select the Quick Look Up Screen. Confirm your change by searching for any student and assuring the Quick Look Up is the initial screen.

Smart Search Menu The choices in the Smart Search menu are color coded and labeled with an icon. Search results for student and staff names are represented in Orange and labeled with an icon that looks like a person. Search results for Student/Staff field are Black and labeled with a database icon. Stored searches are Green and are labeled with a magnifying glass.

Task 2: View Enrollment Summary Next on your list, you’d like to get the latest enrollment numbers at your school for your meeting this morning. Step 1 of 3 On the Start Page; In the Main Menu scroll down to locate the Functions section. Step 2 of 3 Under the Functions section, click Enrollment Summary.

Enrollment Summary Step 3 of 3 To complete the second task make note of how many total males, total females and total students you have in the school. The enrollment summary shows, by grade level, the total number of students and totals for each gender. Check it out - they all link to additional information. The top number is the total number of students in a grade level. Under the total, the blue number is the number of males and the pink number is the number of females. Since you are looking for totals of all students, you make a note of how many total students you have in the school.

Task 3: Check a teacher’s schedule You planned on talking with Joanie Dutton today. Your next task is to check her schedule and see when she is free to meet. . Step 1 of 3 Choose  Start Page in the Breadcrumbs. Step 2 of 3 Click on Teacher Schedules in the Functions section.

Step 3 of 3 Select Dutton, Joanie from left hand side. Note: Washington Elementary has eight meeting times in the bell schedule Review her schedule to see what period she does not teach.

Schedule View Options On the Start Page choose the Staff tab in the Search Window. Start to type the last name Dutton and Smart Enabled search will generate the name. Select Dutton, Joanie L

Current Schedule is the default view which was also displayed when you selected Joanie Dutton with Teacher Schedules. From this view you can take attendance. Click on the chair to view the daily attendance screen.

Daily Attendance Screen – Admin Access From this screen you can submit attendance for the class. Changes will not be saved if you do not Submit

You can also select the “Schedule Matrix” view from the left menu You can also select the “Schedule Matrix” view from the left menu. Change “Only Display Current Sections” from No to Yes.

Let’s Review Select any teacher in Washington Elementary and view their current schedule. Click on the Attendance chair and submit attendance for their classes. Remember if you choose to just Submit, then all students will be recorded as Present. Change the codes for a few students in some of the classes and submit.

Attendance Procedures PowerSchool allows recording of both Period (meeting/class) and Daily (Can be both AM and PM) attendance. School administration will decide whether their school will take Daily, Meeting or both. Your teachers will be responsible for taking the meeting/class attendance for their students. This attendance is available in PowerSchool as soon as it is submitted by the teacher.

Establish Attendance Procedures School administration should establish attendance procedures and assure they are followed. Expectations should be communicated to teachers. Reports will only be valid if attendance is taken.

Prior to Running Reports – Assure Attendance has been taken There are different ways to access and check attendance submission: In Attendance select Teacher Attendance Submission Status or In System Reports select PowerTeacher Attendance Report.

Choose Teacher Attendance Submission Status Click on Attendance Choose Teacher Attendance Submission Status ! Partial Attendance !! No Attendance Attendance Complete Option to click on a teacher’s name for more detail.

Task 4: Run Student Absentee Reports Return to Start Page There are two locations for the Absentee report. In Functions section select Attendance  or In Reports section select System Reports Explore both to see the many attendance reports.

Task 4: Run Student Absentee Reports Step 1 of 4 Under Functions click on Attendance. Step 2 of 4 On the Attendance page click Absentee Report.

Add filters to customize the Absentee report before running it: Step 3 of 4 Add filters to customize the Absentee report before running it: Choose A (absent) from the list of attendance codes Today’s date is the default Select “1” for first period Select “Include Verification Line” Click Submit

Step 4 of 4 On the Report Queue page, your report is listed with a status of "Running.“ Click Refresh to update the report status. When the status changes to “Completed,” click View to open the Absentee report. TIP: For long reports you can set a refresh rate time

Practice Absentee Report Your Absentee report listed students who are marked absent in 1st period, along with their home phone numbers so you can contact their parents to find out why they are absent. Follow the same steps to run the Absentee Report again, this time for students who are tardy or absent in second period.

Explore: Attendance Reports Choose System Reports There are a variety of Attendance Reports. Take a few moments to explore them.

Task 5: View Master Schedule Switch to Cherry Hill Middle School You just got a call that the substitute for Wanda Bean slept in and will be 10 minutes late. You need to find a teacher who is available to cover the class!

Return to the Start Page Step 1 of 4 In the Functions section choose Master Schedule. NOTE: Because we have been here before, it now defaults to all teachers schedules.

Master Schedule Preference Step 2 of 4 To change the master schedule preferences, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Show Preferences.

Step 3 of 4 Set preferences for your search by selecting: 1st period All Day All Teachers Department Matrix Then submit

Step 4 of 4 Make note of a few teachers who are free first period. You’re in luck. Mrs. Crane is available and will cover the class until the substitute arrives.

Practice Return to Master Schedule and choose all periods. See what teachers are not teaching in 2nd period in case the supply teacher is later than expected. Remember Show Preferences is at the bottom of Master Schedules. You will have to reset the preferences.

Task 6: Check Enrollment in a Special Program and print a class list. One last thing before the meeting. Print a list of the students in the Gifted and Talented program. You’ve used a lot of functions in PowerSchool already. Special Programs is another Function.

Return to the Start Page Step 1 of 5 You'll access another set of functions by clicking Special Functions. Step 2 of 5 Gifted and Talented is a special program, so scroll to the bottom of the list to Special Program Enrollment.

Step 3 of 5 To find a list of the students who are enrolled in the Gifted and Talented program, click Display next to the program’s name. Step 4 of 5 The Enrolled Students page lists the students who are currently in the special program. To print the list, click the Printer icon (in the top corner). The Special Functions Page Now that you’ve learned about the Special Functions page, it’s time to do some exploring. Take a moment to explore some of the other PowerSchool special functions.

Explore: Special Functions Page Now that you’ve learned about the Special Functions page, it’s time to do some exploring. Take a few moment to view some of the other PowerSchool Special Functions.

Conclusion You have completed the list of tasks. You’ve learned how to smart search, view schedules, run reports, and find enrollment information, all while learning how to navigate PowerSchool. For extra help and information on these topics, check out the Quick Reference cards on the SIS website.  Recommended Reference Cards:   PowerSchool Basics for School Administrator Quick Reference Card Managing Meeting Attendance Quick Reference Card

The images used in this document included: References The images used in this document included: The copyright free mouse character from http://www.bidulz.com Teacher characters from licenced software Articulate Storyline Microsoft Office Clip Art Screen Captures of PowerSchool Training Environment This document was created under Creative Commons Licence 4.0 50