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.

Over the break, we will be installing updates to PowerSchool. Your server will be offline during this update. Currently, this update is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8th from 9:00 AM - Noon.

• When updating an address for a student, make sure to use the Validation tool to make sure the student's residency has not changed. If it has changed, make sure to update the Membership value under Compliance > Membership.
• 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've installed a plugin that enables Admin Portal users to save and recall Custom Student/Staff List settings so you no longer need to record your settings outside of PowerSchool to use later! Normally, the page just remembers the settings from the last time you used it. But, when you make changes to run a new list, you've lost your previous settings.

This new plugin adds a "Save/Edit List Set" button at the bottom of the page, as well as a "Load List" dropdown in the upper-right corner to recall your saved Lists.

Certain district staff can be assigned the ability to save Lists for use by other staff. Please submit an MAISD PS Support Ticket and let us know if your security group should have this access granted.

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

• Added Sections tab to Course pages
• Added alert to Student Attendance pages regarding CTC attendance syncing
• Added labels for individual portions of the Name fields on staff pages
• Added column to Student Request Management screen to show source of the request
• (student or admin)
• Added Course Recommendations tab to PowerScheduler Teacher pages
• Added Teacher Course Recommendations Report to PowerScheduler
• Added "Export to CSV" button to majority of PowerScheduler Reports
• Added year-based color banding to Students' Course Registrations page

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, 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