A. General Questions

1. What is PowerSchool?  The Board has approved the implementation of an improved student information system called PowerSchool.  This web-based system will be used to store all our student information that was on SASI.  PowerSchool will greatly improve our ability to provide information to teachers, parents and administrators and to be able to provide mandated information to the Federal and State government.
2. When will the system be ready?  We will start using PowerSchool at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. We will deliver the new system in “phases” spread out over the next year or so. Timelines and training schedules will be posted.
3. When will parents use the system?  The parent portal will not open until we are all ready and have the system well in place.  We anticipate a 2007 – 2008 rollout of parent access, but it may happen before that.  We will have a group of pilot teachers/parents pilot the process before it is opened to all.
4. Is this system secure?  The biggest risk is when someone opens the system and then leaves it unattended.  If you currently provide students or  parents with your login and password, you will want to change that practice for 2006 – 2007.  We need to prevent unauthorized access to the system.  Do not allow others to have unattended access to your computer or logon information.
5. How do I get more help?  There are a number of ways to get help with this system:
   1. SCHOOL SITE: TRT, SCT, Office Manager, and Attendance Clerk (formerly called SASI Clerk) have all had various additional training.
   2. WEB PAGE: This FAQ page will answer commonly asked questions. There will handouts and movies available here.
   3. EMAIL: powerschoolhelp@eusd4kids.org
   4. PHONE: Ext.150

back to top

B. Teacher Questions

1. How does this system impact me as a classroom teacher? PowerSchool will empower you to look up student information, such as parent names, phone numbers, etc., on your classroom or home computer.  You will also be able to print reports or labels for your class.  Each morning, you will open a computer screen to take attendance on line.  The system also offers a gradebook application.
2. When will I take attendance?  Note: PowerSchool will automatically log out after 15 minutes of no activity. Initial attendance will be completed at the start of your instructional day, just as it is now.  That process should be completed within 15 minutes or so (check with your office if in doubt). Record “tardy” students in the classroom while you are in the process of taking attendance.  Once you have “submitted” your on-line attendance all other attendance processes will be handled by the office.  Do not allow students to enter without a tardy slip.
3. Do I have to take attendance if all my students are present and on time? Yes. California requires that teachers actively take attendance every day. By default, students are considered present. Therefore, teachers must click "Submit" on the attendance screen in order for attendance to be reported. Do NOT allow students or other helpers to take attendance for you.
4. What if a child is late?  If you still have PowerSchool available, you can simply mark the child as "Tardy".  If you have moved on to curriculum instruction, ask the child to report to the school office.
5. What will happen when a substitute visits my class?  Substitutes will be given a simple job aide to use when taking attendance.  They will use a substitute logon that provides very limited access to technology resources.  They will take attendance at the computer with the green PowerSchool sticker.  There is no need for you to provide any of your passwords.
6. What if my classroom computer is very old?  Principals will make sure that all classrooms have a computer capable of accessing the Internet and running the gradebook application. The computer was re-imaged this summer and set up for easy access.
7. How will I be trained?  For attendance training, we plan to do large group demonstrations, followed up by “just-in-time” coaching.  This will be handled by the TRT/SCT at your site. There will be handouts and movies and other classes available.
8. How will I take roll if my classroom computer isn't working?  In your emergency backpack you have a rollsheet. This sheet will be updated at least monthly.  If the sheet is not completely accurate, record changes.  Send the completed attendance to office.
9. In PowerSchool, after I leave a printing request, how can I just get back to the reports to print without requesting another series of reports? When you open PowerTeacher again, just to the left of the Logout button, there is a little rectangle (a paper w/ the right corner turned down). Click on that opens your Report Cue. Click on the "Completed" blue link and the report will either open up or download to your computer (depending on the browser you are using).

back to top

C. PowerGrade Questions

1. Can I use PowerGrade at home? You should not have PowerGrade loaded onto more than one computer. Otherwise grades can be lost or compromised. However, you can add assignments from home via PowerSchool by clicking on the grade book icon. [You must have at least one category set up in PowerGrade before you can do this.] Any grades posted from PowerSchool on the web will be pulled into PowerGrade the next time you launch it at school. At that point, those assignments will not be available on the web to edit.
2. How do I get PowerGrade on my computer at school? PowerGrade should only be installed on one computer for each teacher. See your SCT if you need to have PowerGrade installed.
3. Do I need to backup PowerGrade? If you have maintained the default PowerGrade preferences, PowerGrade will backup once a day so you have a backed up version of all your grades and your preferences too. The default preferences save grades automatically every 15 minutes.
4. Will PowerGrade help me complete my report cards? For middle school, if you use PowerGrade as your gradebook, PowerSchool will automatically pull grades for progress reports and report cards. You do nothing else. If you are keeping grades in another program or place, you will enter final grades into PowerGrade for progress reports and report cards instead of bubbling in final grades on a scantron sheet. PowerSchool will then pull your final grades automatically from PowerGrade. For elementary school, teachers will input their Standards grades on the web in PowerSchool. We are working on a report created for PowerSchool that will take that information and automatically complete the report card for you (including comments, tardies, absences, etc.).
5. Do I have to use PowerGrade? Middle Schools will have to use PowerGrade at least to enter final grades for report cards and progress reports (in lieu of the bubble sheets).  Some schools may require the exclusive use of PowerGrade for grading. See your principal. If you use PowerGrade, you and others can view student grades and other information from PowerSchool. (Eventually, parents will be able to see this information, too, when the Parent Portal is opened.)
6. Where can I get a PowerGrade Manual? You can order a manual from Print Shop. Or you can get a copy of the 176 page manual from the Teacher Resources server (see your TRT for details). There is also a Quick Reference sheet for PowerSchool and PowerGrade there. Click here for online PowerGrade help.
7. Can I post my grades to the Internet for parents to see? While we are getting used to PowerSchool and PG, staff has been advised not to open the Parent Portal. When all of the components are up and running smoothly, the Parent Portal will be opened to allow parents to see student grades and information (all on one page for all classes). Until the PowerSchool Parent Portal is opened, there is not a way within PowerSchool to post grades to the web.
8. Can I have an aide or volunteer log grades for me? You may not give access to PowerSchool or PG to others; it is a violation of the District Acceptable Use Policy. There is not a reduced-privileges login for an aide or student volunteer.
9. How can I add new students to my gradebook? New students are added automatically to your gradebook once the student is enrolled by the attendance clerk. You can choose whether the student is entered alphabetically or at the end of your list (in Preferences [File > Preferences]).
10. How does PowerGrade work with PowerSchool? The information (attendance, assignments, and grades) are saved on the teacher computer and also sent to the PowerSchool server. If the connection to the server is lost, the gradebook will still work. The next time the connection is established, the stored information is then sent to the PowerSchool server. Eventually, when parents and students log into PowerSchool, attendance and grades can be viewed.
11. How do I print a report for my class? This 1 page handout will show you how to make a simple report - one that has student names with blank columns beside. Here is another useful 16 page handout on report creation. We plan to have a bank of reports that you can add to PowerGrade.
12. Are there other report templates available for us to use? We have collected a set of ~ 20 Sample Reports and placed them in the Teachers Resources server (check w/ your TRT or SCT for help accessing this). They may need some tweaking to match your needs. If you have reports of your own that you would like added to this our collection to share, email the report, a pdf, and a description ot Brad or Frank.]
13. How do I add a report that someone else has created to my PowerGrade? You can have the person give it to you (email/flashdrive/put on server, etc.) and you then put the .pgr document in the Reports folder in your PowerGrade folder. If you want to share one of your reports to someone else, open your Reports folder, make a copy the report and give it to them. ----- [We plan to have a bank of reports that you can add to PowerGrade].
14. Can I use PowerGrade to take my attendance? Yes.
15. How do I change the number of assignments that gets printed out on my bi-weekly progress report? I am concerned that it will be 4-5 pages per student by the end of the trimester. One way to change that is to run this Individual Student PowerGrade Report that prints up to 50 assignments per page (after downloading, place report in the PowerGrade Reports folder: Mac HD > Applications > PowerGrade > Reports).
16. How can I change how many assignments are displayed on the spreadsheet? Preferences > Display > Show only assignments in this date range. Also Windows > Final Grade Setup > choose a FG name and deselect Show on Spreadsheet > Accept (repeat for others)
17. How can I set up PowerGrade for entering my final grades? This PDF will answer your questions.
18. PowerGrade is making errors in rounding. Why? What appears to be an error may, in fact, be accurate. Look at this PDF to see a couple of scenarios.
19. My grades don't calculate correctly. I think my gradescale may be wrong. This PDF will explain how to change your gradescale in PowerGrade to the district standards (if your school doesn't require using the district standard, you can follow the same directions for whatever values you desire).

back to top

D. PowerTeacher Gradebook Questions

1. How can I see dropped students? Go to the class from which they were dropped. Click on the Students tab; at the top look for the Filter by drop-down and choose Dropped to see your dropped students. Click on the Scoresheet tab to look at their grades.

back to top

E. Admin Questions

1. How do I enroll a new student, create mailing labels, print rosters etc.? See the PowerSchool 101 User Guide: PDF or .doc
2. How do I make a simple report? This two page handout shows how to make two relatively easy reports ("List Students" and "Class Roster") that are very flexible. PDF

back to top

F. PowerSchool QuickTime Movie Tutorials (Get Quicktime)

1. Logging on to PowerSchool/Changing Password
2. Taking Attendance online
3. PowerSchool Teacher movies by Don Truett:
   1. Entering Grades
   2. Entering Comments
   3. Saving and Printing Report Cards
4. Entering Comments with PowerTeacher Gradebook

G. Handouts

1. PowerTeacher Resource Guide —covers whole interface; includes some info on web based grade book
2. PowerTeacher Gradebook User Guide—covers the web gradebook only
3. PowerTeacher Quick Reference Card--2 pages-covers web gradebook also
4. PowerTeacher Web Based Grade Book Info
5. PowerTeacher Gradebook Missing Reports?
6. Elementary Report Cards - how to enter grades and comments - codes - running a report.
7. Report Card Keys - used to help decipher the codes at the top of the online report card Kinder | Grades 1-5
8. Kinder Comment Bank: PDF | .DOC
9. EUSD Comment Bank—Single page screen shot of them in order.
10. Additional Comment Bank (includes those listed in the online Comment Bank): PDF | .xls
11. Report Card Comment Limits— There is room for 700 characters. This document tells you how you can tell.
12. Printing Elementary Report Cards Efficiently
13. Using PowerSchool Teacher - printing reports, finding student info, etc. (updated 11-2-06)
14. Entering Grades - For Middle School - instructions on setting up grades, citizenship, and comments for progress reports and report cards. (update 11-28-06).
15. Individual Student PowerGrade Report that prints up to 50 assignments per page (place report in the PowerGrade Reports folder: Mac HD > Applications > PowerGrade > Reports).
16. Report Card Backs (English PDFs)
    K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th
17. Report Card Backs (Spanish PDFs)
    K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th
18. Report Cards - includes K-5 - print just the pages you need - English | Spanish

back to top

H. 2007-08 Grading Timelines

Elementary PowerSchool Report Card - Info

In 2006-07 the district asked for one primary and one intermediate teacher from each school to pilot the process of the new online report card. Some schools had more than two do the pilot. This year all elementary teachers are using the online report cards.
The TRT at each site is the contact person.
Grades entered in PowerGrade or PowerSchoolTeacher Web Gradebook to NOT transfer to the report card.

Elementary School - all teachers grades entered in PowerSchool Teacher
Tri 1 -

1. Sept 26 - grades and comments can be entered online any time - even before trimester ends. Report cards may be printed any time, but those printed before the notification on Nov 26 will not show comments.
2. Nov 1 - Special Programs stored by district (this allows ELM, SEI, TWP, SBP to be marked on report card. Changes to a student's Special Programs status will not show after this date).
3. Nov 8, 9 - Parent Conferences - give parents a copy of the standards
4. Nov 16 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - All Elementary Schools Enter Grades and comments in PowerSchool by end of work day (or at latest 5pm - due to the district moving - PowerSchool will be offline after that and might not be back online until Nov 26th). (NOTE: Comments should be no more than 700 characters per student)
5. Nov 26 - Grades and comments are stored. When schools are notified, report cards may be printed. Report cards printed before then will not have comments printed on them.
6. Nov 30 - Report Cards - ISSUED - Sent home with students.

Elementary School - all teachers grades entered in PowerSchool Teacher
Tri 2 -

1. Jan 10- grades and comments can be entered online any time - even before trimester ends. Report cards may be printed any time, but those printed before the notification on March 3 will not show comments.
2. Feb 29 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - All Elementary Schools Enter Grades and comments in PowerSchool by end of work day
3. Mar 3 - Grades and comments are stored. When schools are notified, report cards may be printed. Report cards printed before then will not have comments printed on them.
4. Mar 7 - Report Cards - ISSUED - Sent home with students.

Elementary School - all teachers grades entered in PowerSchool Teacher
Tri 3 -

1. Grades and comments can be entered online any time - even before trimester ends. Report cards may be printed any time, but those printed before the notification on June 16 will not show third trimester comments.
2. June 13 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - All Elementary Schools Enter Grades and comments in PowerSchool by end of work day
3. June 16 - Grades and comments are stored. When schools are notified, report cards may be printed. Report cards printed before then will not have comments printed on them.
4. June 18 - Report Cards - ISSUED - Sent home with students.

back to top

Middle School PowerSchool Report Card - Info

In 2006-07 teachers entered progress report grades and report card grades using PowerGrade. Some teachers kept all of their grades in PowerGrade.
This year, the Parent Portal is being opened. This will allow parents to see grades posted online. Only those grades kept in PowerGrade and PowerTeacher WebGradebook will show.
The TRT at each site is the contact person.

2007-08 Middle School Timeline
Tri 1 -

1. 1. Oct 5, 2007 - Progress Reports - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
2. Oct 12, 2007 - Progress Reports - ISSUE
3. Oct 18, 19 - Middle Schools Parent Conferences
4. Oct 29 - Nov 16 - Collegial Conversations
5. Nov 16, 2007 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
6. Nov 30, 2007 - Report Cards - ISSUED

2007-08 Middle School Timeline
Tri 2 -

1. January 18, 2008 - Progress Reports - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
2. January 25, 2008 - Progress Reports - ISSUED
3. Feb 11 - Mar 7 - Collegial Conversations
4. February 29, 2008 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
5. March 7, 2008 - Report Cards - ISSUED

2007-08 Middle School Timeline
Tri 3 -

1. May 2, 2008 - Progress Reports - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
2. May 9, 2008 - Progress Reports - ISSUED
3. May 27 - June 13- Collegial Conversations
4. June 13, 2008 - Report Cards - reporting PERIOD ENDS - Middle Schools Enter Grades in PowerGrade or PowerTeacher WebGradebook
5. June 20, 2008 - Report Cards - ISSUED

back to top