MAISD PowerSchool

The MAISD PowerSchool Support Team has created this email newsletter to keep our district contacts and stakeholders updated on current needs, future updates, and tips and tricks to make using PowerSchool more convenient and effective.

Please let us know if someone else should receive this newsletter by emailing Joel Selby at jselby@muskegonisd.org.

Happy Holidays and Have a Wonderful New ear

We will be performing maintenance on network infrastructure and pushing an updated version of PowerSchool over the break. Please expect short periods of downtime on the following days:

Tuesday, December 23rd
Tuesday, December 30th

The following sessions are available for staff responsible for Secondary Scheduling to drop-in and work on PowerScheduler setup with support from our team!

All sessions are open 1:00-4:00 pm and will take place at MAISD North, 630 Harvey St, in the Dunes room.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Tuesday, May 19, 2026

For questions on secondary scheduling work sessions, please contact Joel Selby.

Additions to our Helpful Text Plugin

We're working on adding more helpful reminders and tools throughout PowerSchool. Here are a few recent additions:

Adds list of 10 most recently used sqlReports for quick access
Added auto-fill button for Avery 5160 label dimensions on the mailing labels setup page
Improved labels for line colors on report setup pages
Adds warning for outdated Data Export Manager Scheduled System Exports
Adds display of security group statistics for administrators

A table near the top of the sqlReports page shows the ten most recently used reports with the category, name, and last run date.

Recently Used sqlReports

Avery 5160 Dimensions

Training

New Staff

Be sure to notify the PowerSchool Team when new staff members are hired. New staff will be given a PowerSchool Training account and assigned the appropriate learning path. Learning paths include online courses relevant to the job the staff member will be performing. This will provide a foundation of PowerSchool knowledge. Once the online training has been completed, we suggest scheduling a one-on-one in person or virtual training with a PowerSchool team member to answer any questions and provide further instruction.

Ongoing Training

The PowerSchool Team is available to provide training to staff on an as needed basis. Please contact us to schedule training.

Throughout the School Year

The PowerSchool Team holds annual training sessions throughout the school year for elementary scheduling, beginning of the year, end of the year, and PowerSchool 101. Please contact the PowerSchool Team for dates and times. Training dates are also published in this newsletter.

Custom Modules Developed by the MAISD PowerSchool Team

Asset Tracking - Allows admin staff/technology departments to track ownership of Chromebooks and/or other devices, as well as keep repair logs.
Community Service - Allows staff to log community service hours for students, the total required, and keep track of the cumulative total. Information is also displayed in the Parent/Student portal.
Positive Behavior Acknowledgments - Allows teachers and admin staff to acknowledge students' positive behaviors, track data over time, and automatically notify parents and students.
SWIS Integration - Allows log entries in PowerSchool to be sent to SWIS.
Enrollment Queue (Registration)/Demographic Update - Online enrollment, yearly forms and demographic info update within the Parent Portal.
Chronic Absenteeism - Allows districts to quickly view students who have met attendance thresholds, generate attendance letters en masse, track parent meetings, and generate reports as needed.
Accommodation Log - Allows teachers to enter accommodations offered (accepted and refused) for students with an IEP or 504 plan. The data is stored, reportable, and accessible to parents.
Other - 31a Reporting, Online Report Cards, among others.

Data Integration

The PowerSchool Team can create automated jobs that integrate the flow of data between PowerSchool and third party software applications, removing the need to compile data and upload it manually.

Report Writing

The PowerSchool Team can write a variety of reports, including data reports, detail reports, analytical reports, and student performance reports (report cards, progress reports, transcripts).