1. Welcome to (enter school name)’s
Welcome Parents.
Make sure LCD & presentation are ready
Possibly have index cards for parents to ask questions
Make sure you have a procedure for distributing parent letters tonight
SchoolMax Family Portal
Information Session

2. Please make sure: You have signed in
You have taken one handout per family
You select all cell phones to silence/vibrate
You hold all questions until the end
Please have sign in sheet readily available ( should have a place for student name and parent name(s) printed)
Perhaps you should have index cards for parents to write down questions

3. Tonight’s Agenda Family Portal System Access Logging in
Main system navigation
Main system tabs
Attendance
Schedule
Gradebook
Progress Reports
Discipline
My Profile
Updating Account Information
Requesting access
Verbalize what will be covered
Remind parents to hold questions until the end

4. SchoolMax Family Portal
System Access

5. Accessible from PGCPS Home Page (top)
Hover your mouse over the “Parents” tab.
When “SchoolMAX” Family Portal appears, click on that link.
Let Parents know there are two places to access SchoolMAX
Hover over the Parents Tab
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen (advance to next slide)

6. Accessible from PGCPS Home Page (bottom)
Point out to parents where to log in at the bottom of the screen

7. SchoolMax Family Portal
Logging In

8. Currently two options: English Spanish
Enter username and password here
Main account assistance
Let parents know that this is the screen they will see when they log in
Point out the “Choose Language for Display” option (comes in on a click)
Point out where parents will enter their Username and Password and click “Log in” (comes in on a click)
Point out where parents can go for main account assistance like registering (after tonight’s meeting) and If they forgot they password (comes in on a click)

9. “I need to register” links here:1 2
Enter Parent Access Key from letter given in the dialogue box.
Click on Submit.
Let parents know this is the screen they will see when they register to set up and access their account.
They should enter the Access Key given them through their letter (to be received tonight)
Click on Submit

10. Create a Username and Password.
Choose three security questions and their appropriate answers.
Click Create Account.
This next screen will require caretakers to
create a username
create a password (please note the restrictions)
choose & answer three security questions
** Please note that these should be remembered and kept in a safe place **

11. “I forgot my password” links here:
Let parents know this is the screen they will see if they need to reset their password
Parents will need to:
Enter the District Number: 16
Enter their username (established when they registered)
Click Continue
Click on “I forgot my password” link
Enter District Number: “16”
Enter username established when you registered
Click Continue

12. You must answer the three secret questions set up when you registered for your account.
Click Reset Password. 1 2
Verbalize to parents that they will need to answer the security questions in order to reset their password

13. SchoolMAX Main Screen User Name School of Student’s enrollment
Home Link
Logout and Auto Logout Feature
School of Student’s enrollment
Main system navigation: tab based
Student name
General account information
Let parents know this is the screen they will see once they have logged in
Point out the following features on the screen (each comes in on a click):
School of Student’s Enrollment
User Name, Home Like (takes you back to this main screen), Logout and Auto logout Feature
Main system navigation (this is how parents will navigate through the different sections of SchoolMax)
General account information (this is specific to the student you are looking at)

14. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Attendance Tab

15. Attendance Tab Information (top)
Verbalize to parents this is the screen they will see at the top of the screen when they click on the Attendance tab
Discuss each of the following (each comes in on a click)
Today’s Attendance
Elementary Schools report daily attendance
Middle & High Schools report class period attendance
Teachers are responsible for putting in attendance information (except reason code – done in the office)
Today’s Hourly Attendance
Not used by PGCPS
Will not be displayed
Summary Attendance for the Year
Displays the number of absences & tardies by course
Information can be sorted by Term Code, Course Name, Period or Educator
This information can be sorted.

16. Attendance Tab Information (bottom)
This information can be sorted.
PGCPS does not use nor display this information.
Verbalize to parents this is the screen they will see at the bottom of the screen when they click on the Attendance tab
Discuss each of the following (each comes in on a click)
Absences This Year & Tardies This Year
Displays a singular look at absences & tardies
Can be sorted by Date, Course Name, Term code, Period, Educator, or Reason Code
Hourly Absences This Year & Hourly Tardies This Year
PGCPS does not use this information
Will not be displayed

17. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Schedule Tab

18. This is what will been seen after clicking on the Schedule Tab.
This is a Middle School Schedule.
(MS & HS)
To see all of your student’s classes, click on the drop down arrow and choose “All”.
Then click “Go”
Verbalize to parents this is what they will see when they click on the Schedule Tab.
For Elementary School Students their entire schedule will show.
For Middle & High School Students, their schedule will show based on which “day” it is (comes in on a click)

19. Middle School/High School Schedule
Verbalize to MS & HS parents, when they click on “All” by Term Code, they will see their student’s complete schedule for both “days”
A Day
B Day

20. What’s shown for each class: Educator’s email address
Course number
Course name
Location of class
Primary educator
Educator’s address
Verbalize to parents, this is the information listed for each course on the schedule screen
** In this example, the educator’s address doesn’t show, but when parents log in they will see it **

21. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Gradebook Tab

22. This is what is seen on the Gradebook Tab
Two ways to view student’s grades
Verbalize to parents this is what is seen when you click on the Gradebook tab.
Parents will be able to view their student’s teacher’s gradebook (grades and assignments) – (comes in on a click)
Point out there are two ways to view a student’s grades (comes in on a click)

23. Verbalize to parents this is what is seen when you click on the link “Grades”
(comes in on click) Point out the message at the top and the necessity of understanding that the Progress Report and Report Cards are the official grades: This status report does not represent the student's official grades. The information presented here is subject to corrections and revisions. Final grades will be published on the student's official report card.
Point out the Current Grade Weighted Average for the course (comes in on a click)
Point out the next section, Period and Term Grade (comes in on a click) – advance the slide

24. Additional Course Grade InformationB C D E
A – Category & Assignments
B – Due Date of Assignments
C – Whether the assignment has been graded
D – Scoring information (maximum, student’s score, percentage)
E – Any notes on the assignment from the teacher
Verbalize to parents the various columns and what information is included in each

25. Two ways to view student’s grades
Remember, there are two ways to view grades. Let’s explore the Assignment’s link.
Two ways to view student’s grades

26. All assignments for the course appear in chronological order.
This information can be sorted by Assignment, Due Date, Max Points or Comments
Verbalize to parents this is what is seen when they click on Assignments
Indicate the same information seen on the Grades link can be seen here (comes in on a click)
Verbalize this information can be sorted by Assignment, Due Date, Max Points or Comments (comes in on a click)
Same information displayed as Grades link (Due Date, Maximum Points, Score, Comments)

27. Clicking on an individual assignment link gives you more information about that particular assignment
Verbalize to parents click on the individual assignment link gives you more information about that particular assignment.
The information on this screen is inputted by the teacher. Indicate that at this time the information is not mandatory and more information can be requested by contacting your student’s teacher.
Required materials are any materials needed for the assignment listed by the teacher. Recommended reading list are any reading materials needed for the assignment listed by the teacher.

28. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Progress Report Tab

29. Provides information from the last published grade
Verbalize to parents the information shown on this page are grades published by your child’s teacher.
Remind parents that grades are published twice a quarter: progress repots (4 weeks in the quarter) and quarter grades (8 weeks)

30. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Discipline Tab

31. Displays all Discipline Referrals entered by an Administrator
Verbalize to parents any discipline referrals entered into SchoolMax will appear on this tab.
Briefly identify each column
Incident date
Incident time
Event
Referred by ID
Response – indicates what was selected as a response to the student’s involvement in the incident by the administrator
Response From Date & Response To Date – dates for which the response will be enforced

32. SchoolMAX Family Portal
My Profile Tab

33. This tab allows you to view and request an update on account information
Verbalize to parents the My Profile tab allows them to do three things to their account access (click)
Change their password
Submit a request to change their Phone Number and Address
Edit their current profile

34. Please note there are restrictions on creating your password.
Clicking on Change Password Link will allow you to change your pass to your account.
Please note there are restrictions on creating your password.
Verbalize to parents clicking on the Change Password Link will bring them to this page where they can change their password according to the restrictions set by the system.

35. Enter corrected information Click on Update Phone/Address button
Clicking on Edit Phone/Address button will allow you to submit a request to change your address pending verification. 1 2
To request:
Enter corrected information
Click on Update Phone/Address button
Verbalize to parents when the click on the Edit Phone/Address button it will bring them to this screen where they can submit a request to their student’s school to change their address and/or phone number.
Remind parents that all address requests have to be verified by the proper documentation and point out the message at the top of the screen (click)
The page allows you to submit the change in address and phone number request form to administrator. The administrator once approves, the changes in information is found in Parent Access My Profile.
Make parents aware how to change the information (click)
Inform parents they will be notified via a system message when they log in once the school has processed the request.

36. Clicking on Change Profile button will allow you to change your email address.
Verbalize to parents clicking on the Change Profile link will also allow them to change their password and insert any address information.

37. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Frequently Asked Questions

38. Family Portal FAQs How do I receive my letter with my access key?
What do I do if I forget my password?
Who can I call for assistance?
(Enter your school’s procedures here)
Use the “I forgot my password” link
(Enter the names of your Parent Liaisons or other staff members assisting with the Portal)

39. SchoolMAX Family Portal
Where to find information

40. PGCPS Home Page > www1.pgcps.org/sis
Verbalize to parents the accessibility of information on line.
Point out the link for Caretaker Support

41. Shows information regarding report cards
Point out two major links for information (each comes in on a click)
Will take you to a link for the manual on how to navigate the Family Portal

42. SchoolMax Family Portal
Any questions?

43. Thank you for coming!