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.

We've implemented new categories in HelpSpot when submitting a PowerSchool Support ticket. These categories will assist us with ticket routing and reporting. Please choose the category that most closely matches your request when you submit a ticket. If none of them fit, please use the "Other/Miscellaneous" category.

Here is the list of categories:

• Clear Attendance
• Course Registrations (Drop, Move, Un-Drop)
• DataHub
• Demographic Update
• Enrollment Queue
• Gradebook Issues
• Integrations (Third-Party Data Connections)
• Log Entry Deletion
• Mass Data Update
• Other/Miscellaneous
• Parent/Student Portals and Accounts
• Printable Reports (Issues or Updates)
• Scheduling Assistance
• SQL Reports (Issues/New Report Request)
• Staff Accounts (Issues or Deactivation)
• Student Enrollments (Delete, Merge, Move)
• Term Date Changes
• Training Request
• Transcript Request

• If you missed the End of Year (EOY) meeting, check out the agenda and related documentation here.
• A district must be "rolled over" into the new year with all buildings as one. This process typically takes place after final TSDL reporting and any summer school activities have taken place. Your PowerSchool Functional Leader will submit a ticket to the MAISD PowerSchool HelpDesk when the district is ready.
• Please note that it is standard procedure for the Parent & Student Portals to be disabled during the EOY process. Exceptions should be noted in the ticket requesting EOY rollover.
• The MAISD PowerSchool Support Team will reach out to Jennifer Carlson, MAISD Student Data Reporting Specialist, to ensure all TSDL reporting is complete and certified before starting the EOY process.

PowerSchool has an optional, paid add-on districts can subscribe to that allows teachers to chat with parents and students via the Parent & Student Portals. If interested, check out this video demonstration of MyPowerHub.

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

• Optional building-level option for the admin portal to display a header "Day # in Session"
• Organization improvements to report management in the admin portal.

Administrators and teachers will now see an icon (pictured in the screenshot below) when a student has exited Limited English Proficiency (LEP) services, but is still within the three-year monitoring window.

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.

• 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.

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.

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).

Day to day support, secondary scheduling, standards support, and all things related to PowerSchool!

Submit a PowerSchool Helpdesk Ticket

Bill Smith, SIS Support Specialist

Joel Selby, SIS Support Specialist

Heidi Strong, SIS Helpdesk

Website: https://www.muskegonisd.org/techservices/ps/
Location: 630 Harvey Street, Muskegon, MI, USA
Phone: (231) 767-0414