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.

• Make sure snow days and other closures are reflected on your Configure Calendar screen in PowerSchool. Please follow the directions at the top of the screen to mark MI Forgiven and Unforgiven Days. If you see a message indicating there are orphaned attendance records, please submit a helpdesk ticket for our team to clear it. Unfortunately, setting the attendance to blank does not delete the records.
• As we near spring break, make sure your school calendars are set up with holidays and vacations in advance to prevent the need to clear attendance later
• If you are planning any structural changes to your school's schedule for next year (i.e. changing term divisions, number of periods, switching to block scheduling or back) please notify our team so we can work with you to make the process as smooth as possible.

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

• Added display of in-boundary districts/buildings on the Address Validation popup without clicking on the Boundary Display dropdown (building boundaries will only show if they are configured in PS)
• Added column for Default Schools to the Traditional Grade Calculation Formulas page
• Added Period ID to the footer of the Period page
• Added Filtering & Highlighting tools to the Courses and Sections pages in PowerScheduler
• Added Course Recommendations tab to the Students page in PowerScheduler
• Added Course Recommendations tab to the Courses page
• Fixed Historical Grades tab on the Students page in PowerScheduler

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. Calendar invitations have been sent. If you would like to be added, please contact Joel Selby.

• Tuesday, March 24, 2026
• Tuesday, April 21, 2026
• Tuesday, May 19, 2026

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

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