1. Data Connect District Staff PS Basics Part 1

2. Objectives By the end of this session, 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
Consult a student records both current and historical

3. DataConnect Project Site
All Student Information System users will connect to their Log In Page using links on the Data Connect Project Site
Support documentation and digital PD resources will be housed on this site.

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

6. 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

7. 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.
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

8. Step 1: Log on to Administrator Training Server
Choose the Administrator Log in
Enter your training username and
password separated by a semi-colon
with no spaces
Username;password
Username = 2aghs1
Password = aghs1
Example: 2aghs1;aghs1 – all in one line
Participants Log in here- hand out training account information
PRACTICE SITE: After the 2 day training session please log on to Apple Grove High School 3 with usernames 51-90aghs1;aghs1

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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Practice Navigation Activity
Can you identify how many teachers and students there are in Apple Grove High, Cherry Hill Middle and Washington Elementary Schools?
Can find out the oldest archived Term and Year that at Apple Grove High School?
Can you identify the five section headings on the Main Menu.
Can you find at least 3 different ways you can search for students in a school.

13. Let’s Get Started - Morning Tasks

14. 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.

15. 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.

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

17. Check your work
You have been contacted by the school about providing supplementary assistance to AGHS student Kelsey Langness when she takes Swimming this semester. You need to confirm her schedule. Start typing the student’s last name Langess in the search box. Smart Search will start listing students, teachers, and fields corresponding to the letters you are typing.
Choose Kelsey Langness’ name

18. Because you personalized and chose Schedule as the Initial Student Screen, Kelsey’s Bell Schedule appears.
To complete the task, confirm what days and period she has Swimming

19. TIP: 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.

20. Task 2: View Enrollment Summary
Next on your list: For your meeting this morning you need to get the latest enrollment numbers at a Apple Grove High School.
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.

21. 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.

22. Task 3: Check a teacher’s schedule
You planned on debriefing with Elizabeth Carruthers today. Your next task is to check her schedule and see when she is free to meet. .
Click on  Start Page in the Breadcrumbs.
There are two ways to view schedules:
Master Schedule or
Teacher Schedules

23. Using Master Schedule
Step 1 of 4 In the Functions section click on Master Schedule. Step 2 of 4 If you have used Master Schedule before you will have scroll down to Show Preferences to select a new teacher.

24. Setting Preferences Step 3 of 4 For Periods choose All periods.
For Days choose All Days.
Step 4 of 4
Under teachers select Carruthers, Elizabeth and click Submit
to generate her schedule.
Note: With Master Schedule you have the option of choosing multiple teachers by holding the <ctrl> key

25. Review Teacher Schedule
To complete your task make a note of when Elizabeth is free.

26. Same Task: Using Teacher Schedules
Step 1 of 3 Click on PowerSchool to return to Start Page. Step 2 of 3 Click on Teacher Schedules in the Functions section.

27. Select Carruthers, Elizabeth from left hand side.
Step 3 of 3
Select Carruthers, Elizabeth from left hand side.
NOTE: This approach works when you need to select only one teacher.
Review her schedule to see what period she does not teach.

28. Attendance Procedures
PowerSchool allows recording of both Period (meeting/class) and Daily attendance. Your high schools take Meeting attendance for all classes and a home room period.
Teachers are normally responsible for taking the class attendance for their students. This attendance is available in PowerSchool, Power Teacher and PS Parent Portal as soon as it is submitted by the teacher.

29. Reporting on Student Attendance
Scenario:
Your district is focused on improving student attendance at the high school level.
You have implemented standardized attendance codes across the district so that accurate reporting is possible.
You working with high school principals to assure schools have established procedures in their schools

30. Establish Attendance Procedures
All schools should be asked to establish attendance procedures.
Principals will communicate expectations to teachers.
Reports will only be valid if attendance is taken.

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

32. Teacher Attendance Submission Status
! Partial Attendance
!! No Attendance
Attendance Complete

33. Power Teacher Attendance
Indicates by period teachers who have not taken attendance.
Click on the hyperlinked period 4(A) to view class detail.

34. Task : 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
Take a moment to explore both pages to see the many attendance reports.

35. 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.

36. 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

37. 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

38. Absentee Report
The Absentee report lists 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.
Check Your Understanding – Following the same steps, run the Absentee Report again for students who are tardy or absent in second period.

39. Task : Check Enrollment in a Special Program
Districts are responsible for generating the list of possible Special Programs . Special Programs have both entry and exit dates.

40. Return to the Start Page to check enrollment in the Gifted and Talented Program Step 1 of 5 You'll access another set of functions by clicking Special Functions. Step 2 of 5 Scroll to the bottom of the list to Special Program Enrollment.

41. 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 in the special program currently. To print the list, you can click the Printer icon (in the 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.

42. Task: Consult a Student’s Records
Scenario: You are preparing for a meeting with a student’s parents. You want to familiarize yourself with that student’s performance. Return to the Start Page and Pick a student in grade 12.

43. Consult the Quick Lookup Screen.
You can check attendance for semester, or last two weeks.
You can access the student’s results by quarters and semesters for each course
Blue hyperlinked attendance and mark can be selected for more detail

45. Consult your students Historical Grades
Consult your students Historical Grades. Is the achievement similar as in previous years?

46. Check your students results on the required provincial assessment Test Results
Click on test name to see detailed results
NOTE: this will be customized for NB

47. Check on the students graduation progress
Check on the students graduation progress. If your student does not have a graduation plan choose Graduation Plan Selection
Choose High School Diploma and Submit

48. Check your students progress towards meeting the high school diploma requirements.
Are their academic departments in which they are required courses ?

49. Check if your student has any emergency/medical issues or plans
Medical Alerts can be added to a student that are viewable by administration and teaching staff.

50. Other Alert Medical Alert Balance Alert
View warnings about a student’s health, such as dietary restrictions, medication schedules, and allergy information.
Guardian Alert
View information about the student’s parents or guardians, such as whether an estranged parent is allowed to pick up the student from school.
Discipline Alert
View important information regarding behavior at school, such as that the student is not to use library computers without supervision.
Balance Alert
View the amount of student fees owed and the balance in the student’s lunch account.
Birthday Alert
View a reminder of a student’s birthday within one week of the date.
Other Alert
View reminders regarding the student’s status, as when the student should go to study hall.

51. Check Student Behaviour
For an individual student, in the Main Menu - Administration section, select Incidents. All of a school Incidents can also be viewed. Start Page > Functions> Special Functions In the list of special functions choose Incident Management

52. Incident List for an Individual Student

53. Task Completed
You are ready to meet with your students parents. You have checked their attendance, their academic performance this year by course, term and semester. You have looked at their historical grades and their results on provincial assessments. You have looked at their progress towards graduation and know what they need to graduate. You have checked for Alerts and behaviour issues.

54. Conclusion
You have completed the list of tasks. You’ve learned how to smart search, view schedules, run reports, find enrollment information, check student records, 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 Administrator s Quick Reference Card
Managing Meeting Attendance Quick Reference Card

55. The images used in this document included:
References
The images used in this document included:
The copyright free mouse character from
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 55