1. Data Connect System Administrators PS Basics Part 3 1

2. Objectives By the end of this session you will know how to: Perform basic field-level searches Work with group functions Perform compound searches Use a variety of search methods to select students. Run a variety of reports Document student behavior 2

3. Review Browse Search Screen Click on a letter, this will return all the students that start with that letter. Click on a specific grade level to view all the students in that grade. Select M(male) or F(female). To view all students in the school, click All or the magnify glass. Start typing the student’s last name, with smart search on, the auto completion will start listing students, teachers, fields, and stored searches corresponding to the letters you are typing. 3

4. Using Search Commands Behind PowerSchool is a powerful database. Knowing the language PowerSchool uses to talk to that database is the key to helping you select the right students for each task. A Search command is made up of three parts 4

5. Search Comparators A comparator is a keyword or math symbol that describes how the search argument is to be used. You can use comparators on their own or in combination. **See Quick Reference Card for Examples of all 5

6. On the Start Page, click View Field List Field names like last- name, street, or gender, help identify and store information, or values, about each student. 6

7. Check you understanding Identify the field name for the following student information Student Information 1.Last Name 2.Home Phone Number 3.Mother’s Name 4.Mailing Address 5.Enrollment Status 6.Street Address 7.Locker Number 8.Last Name, First Name 9.Student Number 10.Entry Date Field Name 7

8. Check you understanding Identify the field name for the following student information Student Information 1.Last Name 2.Home Phone Number 3.Mother’s Name 4.Mailing Address 5.Enrollment Status 6.Street Address 7.Locker Number 8.Last Name, First Name 9.Student Number 10.Entry Date Field Name Last_Name Home_Phone Mother Mailing_Street Enroll_Status Mailing_Street Locker_Number LastFirst Student_Number EntryDate 8

9. Let’s Get Started- Task 1 Prepare Invoices Miss Lura has asked for your help in preparing invoices for student fees for her homeroom class. Like with individual student functions, the group process is performed in two steps. 1.Search for Students 2.Perform Function 9

10. Task 1: Create your Search Command Goal: To locate Miss Lura’s home room class and print student fee invoices Step 1 of 5 From the PowerSchool Field List Page locate the field for Home Room. You can use Filter to narrow your search. 10

11. Step 2 of 5 Complete the search command for Field Name = Teachers Last Name OR Press Enter or the Magnifying Glass 11

12. Step 3 of 5 This selects Miss Lura’s home room, a group of eight students. From this screen click the down arrow and select “Print Report” 12

13. Step 4 of 5 Run the Report In the “Which report would you like to Print?” Select Sample Student Fee Report (Invoice) 13 You can set preferences for a report but in this case we want all student and default preferences Submit your report

14. Step 5 of 5 On the Report Queue page, click View. If the report is not completed and is still running, click on Refresh and then View. Task Complete You generated the Invoices for all of Miss Lura’s home room students by searching for the students and then using the selection to perform the function for printing reports. 14

15. Task 2: Print Mailing Labels Your next task is to print mailing labels for 9 th and 12 th graders. With what you’ve learned so far, you could print the labels twice, once for each grade level, but want to get this done faster. But how? You need a search command that includes both grade levels, but you aren’t sure what comparator to use, so click How to Search next to the View Fields List 15

16. Search Tips When using the symbols =,#,>,< do not use spaces in the Search. If using words – or, contains, in etc.. then spaces are required. When you need to search on more than one field you can use compound searches. Enter multiple searches separated by a semicolon (;) which means ‘and’ 16

17. Step 1 of 3 Search grade_level in 9,12 Click Search (magnifying glass) You will need to select a function for this group. 17 Select Print Mailing Labels

18. Step 2 of 3 On the Print Mailing Labels page, choose the mailing label layout Parent/Guardian Mailing Label (Avery 5160). You can choose to print one or all pages. You can also choose to sort by last names or the postal codes of the mailing or home address. Use the default settings for now, and click Submit. 18

19. Step 3 of 3 On the Report Queue page, you see your mailing labels listed at the top of the queue. REMEMBER: If your report status shows as Running, click Refresh to update the status and then click View to display the labels. 19 Task complete From here, you can use the Print command to print the labels. CRTL or Right Click Print.

20. Task 3: Create a Team Roster for 10 th Grade Boys Soccer Three different commands could help: 1.Using the field grade_level=10, finds all the 10 th graders. 2.Using the field name gender=M finds all the males. 3.Using field name soccer=1, where 1 means active will find all the soccer players 20 But how do we combine them?

21. Building a Compound Search To combine the three to get only male 10 th graders in soccer will require a compound search. Step 1 of 5 You need to enter all three searches at once in the Search Students field and separate them with a semicolon. 21 The semicolon operates like the word “and.” It’s like telling PowerSchool that you want to find students who are in grade 10 and are male and in soccer.

22. Step 2 of 5 You can now work with the selected students that meet the search criterion. Click the select function for this group of students and choose List Students. 22

23. TIP:The List Students group function is a great way to make quick rosters, emergency contact lists, or other lists that you use infrequently. Step 3 of 5 Start by entering a title in the Report Title field that will describe the list. Enter Grade 10 Boys Soccer and press Tab when you are finished. 23

24. Step 4 of 5 For each column of the list, you can enter a field name and a title. For example, you might enter Last_Name for the field but enter Last as the title name. Click Fields on the same row and choose the field you want to display. Then enter a title for the column. 24

25. Step 5 of 5 Scroll down to find the options beneath the series of fields to change the style of the list. Enter 5 in the “Padding In Each Cell” field and in other options select Gridlines to make the list of student names easier to read. Then press Submit. 25

26. Task 4: Create a Field Trip List Step 1 of 4 Find Mr. Abram’s 1 st period class to make a class list for his field trip To select the students first find Mr. Abram’s schedule on the Teacher Schedule page. 26

27. Step 2 of 4 Locate Mr. Abram’s first period class and select the students enrolled in his first period. 27 Make them your current selection

28. Step 3 of 4 Now it’s time to perform the group function with the selected students. The Group Functions page has the same links as the group functions pull-down menu you’ve seen while performing other tasks. Select List Students to create a class list 28

29. Step 4 of 4 The Student List page retains the text you entered previously, you will have to re-title it and Mr. Abrams wants to include the Medical Alert field. 29 Add another Field Alert_Medical

30. The students no longer attend your school are inactive and their student records are hidden from view. A field in PowerSchool named enroll_status contains a value that represents whether a student is active or inactive at your school. To search for inactive students, you also need to tell PowerSchool to search more than your current school population. Task 5: Working with Inactive Students 30

31. PowerSchool Enroll Status Enroll status is a system function set on the district server by the provincial SIS Administrator. New Brunswick will use the following Enrollment Status codes: - 1 = Pre-registered 0 = Active 1 = Inactive 2 = Transferred Out 3 = Graduated 31

32. Use the How to Search help again and scroll down to Search Prefixes. There are three search prefixes and you will need to use the Forward Slash / which will Include non-active students. Tip: / It looks like it is falling forward 32

33. Step 1 of 5 Select Students by Hand Your search /Enroll_Status#0 found all the inactive students in your school 33 Sometimes you need to perform a function for a selection of students who cannot be grouped together by any search Three of these students need transcripts.

34. Select Maranda, Annie and Jillian by holding the Control Key. Step 2 of 5 For situations like this, use the Select Students By Hand group function. Scroll down and open the group functions menu now. Then choose Select Students By Hand. 34

35. Step 3 of 5 Next, use the default option Keep selected students and click Functions, to access the Group Functions Page Notice the number 3 in your current student selection at the top of the page. That confirms that the three student records have been selected. 35

36. Step 4 of 5 Choose Your Report Choose Print Reports Choose Sample High School Transcript as the report you want to print. All other preference can stay same. 36 Submit the report

37. Step 5 of 5 View Your Report If your report is still Running, click Refresh and then View Task Complete You generated three Official Transcripts for the selected students. 37

38. Task 6: Create an At-Risk Report An important decision making tool in the management of students is the At Risk report. You determine which situations define “at risk” … Attendance problems Failing grades Attendance problems Behavior issues

39. Let’s Narrow Our Next Search From the PowerSchool Start Page in the search window start type Last_Name. The smart enabled search will complete the field name and you can pull- down and select it. Complete your search command Last_Name<C to select all the students whose last names begin with A and B which should be 70 students 39

40. Task 7: At- Risk Report We will do an At-Risk Report for your 70 selected students. In the Main Menu Click on System Reports In the Student Listings select At-Risk

41. Step 1: Work with Current Selection Choose Meeting (Period) Attendance for High Schools Choose the Radio Button for current selection 41

42. Step 2 At-Risk Report Level of Absenteeism Select the attendance codes: Using Crtl and Click, select A (Absent), T(Tardy), U(Unexcused)

43. Step 3 At-Risk Report Select Begin Date and Ending Date Range Radio Button Select a start and end date Note: A few smaller reports for shorter periods of time will generate faster.

44. Step 4 At-Risk Report Use Attendance Report Query 1.Enter minimum number of occurrences 2.On the far right click to save parameters for future At-Risk Reports

45. Step 5 At-Risk Report Use Grades Report Query 1.Current or Stored Grades 2.Set minimum number of classes with failing grade 3.Set failing Letter Grade values

46. Step 6 At-Risk Report Use Discipline Report Query 1.Indicate minimum number of discipline actions 2.Indicate All Sub-Types or which Sub-Types to query.

47. Step 7 At-Risk Report Click on Submit to run the report. If necessary, click Refresh When View displays, click to see finished At- Risk Report

48. 48

49. Task 8: Incident Reporting 49 Scenario: Teacher, Colleen Lura has come to the office to report that she just witnessed and had to intervene in a fight that occurred in the cafeteria during her lunch duty. She has reported that Brandon Adair punched Cole Baker in the face and pushed Michael Steckevicz too. Ms. Lura has also said that Trevor Anderson and Ryan Briggs witnessed the fight. Create an incident and issue Brandon a 5 day out of school suspension.

50. Creating an Incident Step 1 of 7 On the Start Page select your student Step 2 of 7 In the Main Menu in the Administration section, select Incidents 50

51. Incident List for an Individual Student 51

52. Incidents can also be started from the Start Page. In the Functions list choose Incident Management NOTE: This also provides the list of all incidents for the school instead of an individual student. 52

53. Step 3 of 7 From either School or Student page, click on Create New Incident. Step 4 of 7 Complete the incident description including; Type, Date, Time Frame, Title, Location, Description, Prepared By, and Financial Impact 53 NOTE: All pull-downs will be customized to reflect NB Behaviour Reporting Standards

54. Build Your Incident Step 5 of 7 Add the incident participants by clicking on the plus symbol + This opens a search window where you can do a filtered search for students, staff or other participants. 54

55. 55 Step 6 of 7 1.Enter the Search Filters parameters – last name Baker and student 2.Click on Search 3.Click on the students name and then click “Add”

56. 56 Repeat the same procedures to adding the remaining people involved in the incident. Recap: Teacher, Colleen Lura and had to intervene in a fight in the cafeteria during her lunch duty. She has reported that Brandon Adair punched Cole Baker in the face and also pushed Michael Steckevicz. She also said that Trevor Anderson and Ryan Briggs witnessed the fight.

57. 57 Step 7 of 7 In the Incident Elements section, choose Add Action. Complete the Action content to insert the Suspension for 5 days. Then Add Action to complete your task

58. Conclusion You have completed your tasks and have successfully done basic field-level searches and compound searches. You now know there is a variety of ways to select a group of students. You have worked with group functions and generated reports which can be saved or printed. Recommended Reference Cards: PowerSchool Basics for Administrators Quick Reference Card PowerSchool Basics with Search Codes 58

59. 59 References The images used in this document included: The copyright free mouse character from http://www.bidulz.com 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