NC SIS Fall 2021 Conference

Call for Session Proposals 

The Home Base team is excited to announce the North Carolina Student Information System (NCSIS) Fall 2021 Conference!  We look forward to spending three days of networking and learning together with you, the SIS Coordinators of North Carolina.  

The conference will be held November 8-10, 2021, at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington. We are currently working on the conference schedule, and we hope you'll consider submitting a proposal for a session of your own!  PowerSchool is a team sport, and we're grateful to be part of this team with you.

Stay tuned for additional details including cost, registration, lodging, and sessions!

Click here to submit a session proposal.

Home Base Maintenance for August 2021- Canceled

The Home Base maintenance period scheduled for this weekend, August 20-23, has been canceled.  This decision was made to give PSUs more time to prepare for the opening of schools. 

The next Home Base maintenance is scheduled for September 17-20.  Please visit our 2021-2022 Home Base Maintenance Calendar for all scheduled maintenance periods.  

Guidance for Attendance - August 2021

Use of the 1R present off-site attendance code will continue to follow the guidelines as shown below from SASA manual.

Initial Enrollment of Student

A student may not be enrolled in membership unless they are present on their initial date of enrollment.

• If a student is on-site on their initial date of enrollment and is present at least one-half of the instructional day, the student is “present on-site.
• If a student is scheduled for remote instruction on their initial date of enrollment, a positive two-way communication is required between the student/parent/family and a school official designated by the school. For instance, a documented phone call or electronic communication or meeting. If an email is used to communicate, the date of the response from the student is considered the date of the initial enrollment. The student is “present off-site.” An evidence of work is not sufficient for the initial date of enrollment.

Attendance

Attendance must be taken each day of the school year in PowerSchool for on-site and remote instruction days.

A student is considered present for the purposes of daily attendance during a remote instruction day and with the exception of the initial enrollment day as described above:

• If a student completes their assignments for each remote instruction day, either online or offline; and/or
• If a student has a daily check-in, a two-way communication, with the appropriate teacher(s):
  • In grade K-5, homeroom teacher
  • All other grade levels, each course teacher as scheduled

Public school units shall communicate the attendance procedures to students and parents/families before the first day of remote instruction begins. It is a local decision as to the method of this communication.

In order to be considered in attendance, a student must be present on-site for the school day or at a place other than on-site with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity.

State Reporting Reminder 

Start-Time and End-Time Collection

The Fall School Start-Time and End-Time Collection is due September 15, 2021, and should be approved at the school and district level in PowerSchool. Prior to running this report, remember to enter the school start-time and end-time in PowerSchool. Contact studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov for further questions. 

Please review the QRD for assistance:

https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/school_info/PS_QRD_SET.pdf

Now Available: Keeping It Simple in Schoolnet 23 Self-Paced Course

The first self-paced Schoolnet course for the 2021-2022 school year is now available via NCEES, Canvas, and Home Base! This course is designed to be completed in about an hour and will award 0.1 Digital Learning Competency (DLC) CEUs. During this course, you will learn:

• What is Schoolnet?
• How do teachers and students access Schoolnet?
• How do teachers create Schoolnet assessments using readily available questions, including a look at the redesigned Test Details page?
• How do students take their tests?
• How do teachers analyze the results of Schoolnet assessments?

Complete the Canvas Studio video quiz as you watch, click Submit at the end of the video, and the credit will appear on your NCEES transcript automatically with a score of 80% or higher.

Register for this course: https://bit.ly/kisSN23reg

Schoolnet Options for 2021-22

As discussed in the July Home Base Meet-Up for Schoolnet, a form has been developed for PSUs to select their preferences for a few features this school year:

1. Whether released EOGs, EOCs, and NCFEs will be recommended to teachers (default) or just to the district.
2. Whether NCDPI Math Sets and Certica Testlets will be recommended just to the district (default) or directly to teachers.
3. Whether Schoolnet should utilize the term end dates from PowerSchool (default) or custom extended dates.

This form was sent only to the identified Schoolnet lead for each PSU that opted-in to Home Base this year. If a Schoolnet lead was not identified, this form was sent to the PowerSchool lead. If a PowerSchool lead was not identified, this form was sent to the charter school director identified in EDDIE. Form links are generated individually for each PSU to ensure form security and validity.

The form must be submitted by August 31, 2021, if your PSU wishes to utilize these options. PSUs who do not submit the form will use the default options specified above. If your PSU did not receive the form or has any questions regarding these options, please reach out to me at john.mairs@dpi.nc.gov.

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.