SIS System Upgrade to Version 20.11.3.0

A SIS system upgrade will begin this Friday, August 6 at 5 p.m. and end on or before Monday, August 9 at 6 a.m. The upgrade will move the SIS platform to version 20.11.3.0 and implement several enhancements covered in the Home Base Meet Ups, including but not limited to:

• New Experience enhanced look and feel that provides powerful capabilities
• Upgraded Start Page 
• New Search Features
• Students
• Staff
• User Menu
• Ability to track changes (Change History)
• Check-in/check-out attendance (Admit Slips)
• Incidents 
  • Attendance
  • Teacher Referral
• Resolve several issues users may currently be experiencing

To review the July Home Base Meet Up SIS upgrade resources and training, please see the links below:

• Home Base Meet Up PowerSchool Slides
• Home Base Meet Up PowerSchool Recording

Details of what this upgrade entails are available in the release notes for PowerSchool SIS 20.4.0.0 through 20.11.3.0.

Please share this information with the appropriate staff.

Final GDV Update - Deadline Extended - Scheduled Webinar

The Home Base Team has been working with PowerSchool Development to resolve the GDV issues with Post-EOY Graduates that PSUs have reported. We are aware that students who graduated after June 30, 2021, are not displaying on the Final Graduate Data Verification. 

We are pleased to share that these issues have been resolved in beta. However, the code updates can’t be applied to production until our next maintenance window. While the next scheduled maintenance is August 20-23, we are looking to move this to the night of August 10 or 11. A simple State Compliance upgrade typically requires 5-7 hours of downtime, so weeknight maintenance should have little impact on PSUs. In addition, by conducting maintenance early next week, we will not have to take PowerSchool down during the weekend of August 20. 

DEADLINE EXTENDED

Since we aren’t expecting a resolution until early next week, the GDV2 deadline will be extended. All public school units must run and approve the Final Graduate Data Verification by August 16, 2021.

Please be aware that PSUs may still review the current GDV reports to ensure the accuracy of students with a graduation date before July 1, 2021. After the State Compliance upgrade is released, the Final GDV will include all 20-21 regular and summer graduates between July 16, 2020, and June 30, 2021, AND Post-EOY Summer School Graduates between July 1, 2021, and August 6, 2021. Students who graduate after August 6, 2021, will be listed as Summer Graduates on the 21-22 Preliminary and Final GDV reports.

DPI is requesting PSUs to please refrain from making any manual changes and wait until the resolution is applied to production. Making manual changes will cause students to report incorrectly after the fix is implemented. If you currently have discrepancies for students who graduated before July 1, 2021, please submit a PowerSchool case immediately. Once the upgrade is released next week, PSUs will be asked to run the Final GDV as soon as possible to report any discrepancies for students who graduated between July 16, 2020, and August 6, 2021.

Please refer to this Post-EOY Summer School Graduates QRD for assistance with properly graduating students. It is essential to follow all of the steps in the QRD precisely as explained. The logic of the GDV reporting is based on the steps in the QRD; if one step is missed, the student will not report correctly.

Important: Post-EOY Summer School Graduates should report on the GDV as “2021 Summer School Graduate” not as “12th Grade Regular Program”.

SCHEDULED WEBINAR

There will be a support Q&A webinar on Thursday, August 12 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss GDV expectations and answer any questions from the field. Please register for this webinar and make plans to attend. 

Reminder:  Coming Soon - Surveys for Desktop Support and General Incident/Request Tickets in ServiceNow

To help us provide better service, Technology Services will be implementing surveys for all Desktop Support and General Incident/Request tickets in ServiceNow starting Aug 16, 2021.
Once a ticket is closed, a survey will be emailed to internal and external customers.  Respondents will have the ability to rate the service and provide comments.   An option exists for the customer to request to be contacted if they wish to discuss their ticket with management.  

Reminder:  OCR/CRDC - Office of Civil Rights Coordinator Contacts in EDDIE - Due Friday, September 24, 2021

Please read and inform other staff as appropriate.

Dear Coordinators,

The Office of Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) window for the 2020-2021 school year data will begin in early 2022.  Note:  PSUs that were not open in the school year 2020-2021 are not required to participate in this collection. 

• The first step in preparing for the collection is ensuring the NCDPI has the most recent staff contact information.  
• PSUs must verify or update the EDDIE system with two Staff who have been identified as the 'Office of Civil Rights Coordinator'. 
• Delete any records in EDDIE for OCR contacts that are no longer with your PSU. 
• These staff personnel are the technical contacts for the CRDC and will be responsible for running the PowerSchool CRDC Preview Report, verifying data, correcting and adding data to the Federal CRDC tool, and certifying in the Federal CRDC tool when the collection is complete.
• PSUs are also strongly advised to verify or update the Student Information Coordinator contact as well.  Updates must be completed by the close of business, Friday, September 24, 2021. 
• If you are unsure who your EDDIE administrator is, please visit the Subscribed User List located at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/financial-and-business-services/demographics-and-finances/eddie#help-using-eddie

More information about the CRDC is located at https://crdc.grads360.org/#program.  Notice on the homepage that there is a timeline of the CRDC phases.  

It is important to keep in mind that the NCDPI assists all PSUs with the CRDC by facilitating the transfer of data to the federal submission tool.  No action other than to update your contacts in EDDIE is required at this time.  

For questions, please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov. 

Welcome to Home Base - A Quick Video of Who We Are

Each year, PSUs experience an influx of new staff.  The Home Base Team is aware of these changes and has created a short video to help acquaint and reacquaint users with Home Base. 

Please checkout the  "Welcome to Home Base" video which gives a quick overview of what Home Base is and how all its components work together. Feel free to share it with your peers and use it in your trainings. 

Follow Us on Social Media!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and begin receiving "Did You Know" tips featuring each Home Base product. 

These messages will include upcoming changes, tips, and even hidden treasures within each product to make your job easier.  If you are not following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, click on the links below and begin today!  Make sure you share this information with other staff within your school.

Instagram:  @nchomebase         Facebook:  @nchomebase       Twitter:  @nchomebase

NCDPI Technology Support Center

NCDPI's Technology Support Center continues to meet your support needs for:

• Schoolnet 
• NCEES/Unified Talent 
• Staff & Student UID (eScholar)

Support availability:

Web (NEW URL):  https://ncgov.servicenowservices.com/sp_dpi   -  24/7

Phone:  919-716-1840, Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (excluding state holidays)

Technical support for SIS needs is handled directly by PowerSchool support using chat, phone, or by opening a case ticket.