1. 6 th Annual Focus Users’ Conference 6 th Annual Focus Users’ Conference Scheduling Requests and Request Reports Presented by: Sara Sayasane Presented by: Sara Sayasane

2. Agenda What we are covering in this session Review Course Setup Adding Student Requests Students Entering Requests Deleting Student Requests Parenting Sections Request Reports 2

3. Review Course Setup 3

4. Scheduling Request and Request Reports Creating Subject Areas Secondary To begin, Select the Scheduling Menu go the Setup section for Courses & Sections 4

5. Scheduling Review Course Setup Courses & Sections - Organizational Tool Folder that contains courses Add subjects by clicking on the + at the bottom of the column Math – folder that contains all the math courses taught English – All English courses Science – All Science courses Create courses within each subject folder by clicking the + at the bottom of the column. 5

6. Creating Courses Secondary Course Catalog is enabled in System Preferences It assures that the course number follows the course code directory It only allows for courses that are in the DOE directory or added by the districts Graduation subjects are pulled from the course catalog Core for Class size and other fields are pulled from the catalog 6

7. Creating Courses Add Courses + To add a course located at the bottom of courses column. Start typing Course Number suggestions appear Course Title Course Catalog  Generates the correct DOE course number Scheduling Request and Request Reports 7

8. Creating Courses Secondary Graduation Requirement Subjects need to be set up. This can be set up in the “Course Catalog” or on the “Courses & Sections” for each individual course setup. Once Course Offerings are confirmed for the school, student requests can be added. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 8

9. Parent Sections 9

10. Scheduling This session will briefly discuss parent/child sections Parent Child Sections should be setup before entering requests and scheduling students For sections parent/child linked the student only needs a request for the parent section. If the student has a request for the child section it will be ignored if scheduled into the course as a result of the parent course request 10

11. Scheduling Parenting Sections Parent-Child Section Linking Focus SIS provides functionality that allows parent-child sections linking. This feature allows you to link sections together where one section is the ‘parent’ and all sections linked to it are the ‘children.’ When a student is scheduled into a parent section he/she is automatically scheduled into the child section as well. 1.To use this feature you must first set up your sections. 1.Once your sections are set up you must then determine which section will be your parent section and which section(s) will be your child section(s). 1.To link a child section to a parent you must first click on Scheduling and then Courses and Sections. 11

12. 4. Next Navigate to the subject, course, and section you want to be the child in your new link. Click on “choose” above Parent Section. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 12

13. 5. A box will pop up allowing you to search for the sections that can be the parent of the section you are working with. 13

14. 6. Select the section you wish to be the parent. Once you have made your selection you will return to the section details screen. You will now see that the section you chose to be a parent is now listed on the section. Make sure you press “SAVE” to confirm changes. 7. Once a section is a parent of another section, it can no longer be a child. If you select a parent section, it will list all the child sections attached to it on the section details screen. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 14

15. Adding Student Requests 15

16. ADDING STUDENT REQUESTS Focus enables guidance counselors and advising staff to enter course requests for students by marking term or school year. The requests can be completed through meeting with students individually or mass adding requests based on a certain group of students. Individual: Add a Request Quick List Enables the Guidance Counselor or advising staff to sit along side the student and complete the student request based on the student’s graduation requirements and/or progression plan. To access the Student Requests screen, navigate to: Scheduling Menu  Student Requests Use the search screen to find the individual student. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 16

17. Selecting a Course Request to Add To add requests, scroll down to Add Request: Quick List There are several ways to select a course to add: Enter with Pull-down Menus: Select a course from the pull-down menu Enter Course Numbers: Type the number of the course in the open text box Courses for All Grade Levels: Allows you to add a course from a different grade level. This option can be selected when using the Course Pull-down option or the Course Number option. 17

18. For Electives, you can set the priority of choice. “1” ensures that this elective is scheduled at the same level as the courses without a number. “2” or higher will only be scheduled if the first choice is not available. Leaving the priority blank indicates the course is a core or non-elective course. Once request selections have been made, click the SAVE button located in the upper right of the screen. NOTE: If you accidentally request a course the student has already taken, you will receive a warning box stating that there is a conflict with the courses chosen. Click “cancel” unless you wish the student to repeat the course requested. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 18

19. Scheduling Teacher and Period Restrictions Now that you have saved your requests, the various courses will be listed above the request section. If the student has a particular request for a specific teacher or time of day to take the course, you can set that here once the sections for the courses have been built. It is advised to place as few restrictions on requests. 19

20. Requests Mass requests – More search options – Scheduling – Scheduled into Course “Choose” Select Current Year or Last Year – Search for students and select – From the Blue Box Choose course to add request (may add more than one course) – Option to save the Mass Request Search for later scheduling use. These can be rolled from year to year as well as shared with other schools. – Add Request to selected students – Green check indicating requests have been added to the selected students Scheduling Request and Request Reports 20

21. Group: Mass Adding Requests Mass Requests enables you to search for students who meet certain criteria – by grade level, schedule, grades, test scores, special programs, or any other data collected on a student and add a course request to those students. You can, for example, schedule mass requests for students in a specific demographic group or current course by specifying the search criteria and then adding the course request. Student search can also be based on course history, test scores or other demographic data Multiple course requests can be added at the same time Scheduling Request and Request Reports 21

22. Users can add requests to the selected students Search criteria and course requests to mass can be saved for later use Saved mass requests can be shared between schools and can be rolled to the new year Scheduling Request and Request Reports 22

23. To access Saved Mass Request: Select Mass Requests from the Scheduling Menu Click Search Click Saved Mass Request Select the Saved Request Search The search will run and return students matching the criteria along with the course requests to be added Scheduling Request and Request Reports 23

24. Students Entering Requests 24

25. Students can enter requests through the Student Portal Students can add requests in subject areas not already requested. Students can only delete requests they have entered 25

26. Deleting Student Requests 26

27. Scheduling Deleting Requests You can delete the request from this screen by clicking the “ - “ next to the course. To mass delete requests, select the check boxes before the course title and then click Delete Scheduled Requests 27

28. Deleting Course Requests: Individual Focus allows users to delete course requests once they have been added. The deletion process can be carried out for an individual student or for a group of students. Examples of why you might use this feature: A student’s FCAT scores came in after the request was placed and now needs to be placed in a remedial course A course is no longer going to be offered and a group of students need to have their request changed NOTE: If students add requests, then any user can delete the request. However, if Guidance Counselors, Advisors, or Administrators add the request, students cannot delete them (only the Guidance Counselors, Advisors, and Administrators can delete them by selecting Approved by Counselor and Locked for Students). 28

29. Deleting Course Requests: Group Mass Delete To delete a select group of students’ requests, you will follow the same directions provided for Mass Adding a request. Once you have selected the course to delete, the student to include, you will click the Drop Request(s) to Selected Students. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 29

30. Requests Reports 30

31. Request Reports offers tools useful for planning sections of courses and monitoring student requests. There are five reports provided. To access the Request Reports tabs, navigate to: Scheduling Menu  Request Reports Request by Course Allows the user to see the course title, course number, total seats, number of requests, additional filled seats, and extra seats for each course offered. This report can be filtered by any of the columns displayed. It also breaks down the number of requests by grade level. You can click on the request number links to see specific requests and modify them if needed. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 31

32. Print Requests Enables the user to print student request sheets either individually or by group. You can also add a letterhead to the printout or check the box to print multiple copies. This report is exported to a PDF file. Duplicate Requests Displays students that have more than one request for the same course. You can click on the student’s name to view and edit their requests. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 32

33. Students with Too Many or Too Few Requests Displays a list of student with more requests than allowed based on the number of semesters and periods scheduled in a school day (this value is set at the top of the report). Requests of priority 2 or higher are not included in the totals here since they are alternative requests. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 33

34. Run the Scheduler 34

35. Run Scheduler Once you are satisfied with the sections created and assigned to the teaching staff and all requests are entered you are now ready to Run the Scheduler. Run Scheduler uses the master schedule you have created and combined it with the student requests to generate the highest percentage of filled requests resulting in complete schedules. Select the Run Scheduler from the Scheduling Menu. A box will appear with multiple options to choose from. Only select the options that apply to your school scheduling needs. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 35

36. Delete Current Schedules This option will override existing student schedules and will allow you to utilize the scheduling reports to view your results. Override Period Links between Semesters This option will allow students to be scheduled in different periods but still have the same teacher from semester one to semester two. Override Period and Teacher Links Between Semesters This option will allow students to be scheduled into different periods and teachers from semester one to semester two. Override Team If the school uses teaming for scheduling, this option will override, allowing students to be scheduled into courses outside the team. Only Schedule students not completely scheduled This option allows you to run the scheduler for only students who were not completely scheduled. Gradelevel This option allows you to select a particular grade level to run the scheduler for. 36 Scheduling

37. Schedule into sections… This option will allow you to schedule only a single semester or an entire school year in one run. Each time you use the Run Scheduler, you’ll see a progress bar, percentage of total requests filled, percentage of students completely scheduled, and elapsed time for the run. A list of courses with unfilled requests will also be displayed. The scheduler uses the master schedule you have created and combined it with the student requests to generate the highest percentage of filled requests resulting in complete schedules. Scheduling Request and Request Reports 37

38. 6 th Annual Focus Users’ Conference 6 th Annual Focus Users’ Conference 38 Any Questions Contact Information Sara Sayasane Project Coordinator 727-388-1599 saras@focusschoolsoftware.com

39. Thank You Please be sure to complete the comment card for this session and enjoy the rest of the Users’ Conference! 39