Next Home Base Maintenance Window Begins Tonight @ 7 p.m.

The next Home Base maintenance window is scheduled to begin tonight at 7 p.m. and end by 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, September 18.  PowerSchool is the only Home Base application that will be brought down for one night only.  All other Home Base applications will remain available throughout the maintenance window. Please share this message with other staff as appropriate.

Note:  Each year, a list of scheduled maintenance windows are published by NCDPI.  This is published in advance to help teachers and administrators better prepare for temporary outages and loss of access.  Please review the 2021-2022 maintenance schedule and put these dates on your calendar. In most cases, the entire window is not necessary and we can return systems to service earlier than listed. If emergency maintenance is required in addition to these scheduled dates, all users will be notified in advance.

GPA and Grade Scale Automation (GPAA)

Per the North Carolina State Board of Education Policy GRAD-009, all public school courses taken for high school credit must be graded using the NC 10 Point Grade Scale.

To assist PSUs with proper grade entry, DPI and PowerSchool have implemented GPA and Grade Scale Automation (GPAA) functionality on the Historical Grade entry screen.  Automated functionality for course codes, grade entry, GPA, and credit hours are now in effect on the Single and Multi historical grade entry screens in PowerSchool.  GPAA functionality will also be present when manually updating a stored grade that receives high school credit. 

Please refer to the GPAA memo regarding changes with the automation of GPA and Grade-Scale.  Reference the Adding Historical Grades QRD for instructions and information on adding or updating a grade manually with GPAA.

Please note: The NC 10 Point Grade Scale MUST be named "NC 10-Point Scale" exactly to ensure proper functionality.  A grade scale with a name other than “NC 10-Point Scale” will cause the grade drop-down to not appear on the historical grade entry screen.  A QRD for proper setup of the NC 10-Point Scale will be provided soon.   

If you experience any technical issues, please submit a case to PowerSchool.

PowerSchool Data Requirements for ECATS Spanish Language Translation 

The ECATS team recently announced the launch of a new feature to automatically translate documentation into Spanish and give users the option to view and/or print this documentation. The ECATS system will automatically translate documents based on a student's "Home Language" field in PowerSchool. ​Communication about the new translation feature in ECATS can be found in the September 13th Monday Message and the ECATS Translation Quick Reference Guide. The "Home Language" field in PowerSchool is updated as part of the English Learner (EL) screening process and cannot be modified outside of that process. Please see the English Learner (EL) User Guide for additional information. 

The authoritative source of Home Language is the EL screen in PowerSchool, which follows a specific process utilizing the state board approved W-APT screener. Additionally, while Pre-K students are not screened using the W-APT, these students may be considered EL following a local screening process. Please work with EL stakeholders in your PSU to ensure the EL screen is filled out accurately and according to the established process as this screen also has an impact on Title III funding. 

For questions about ECATS, please log a Zendesk ticket within the system. For questions about the English Learner screening process, please email susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov. For questions about PowerSchool, please log a PowerSchool Support ticket. And for any other related questions or concerns, please email home_base@dpi.nc.gov.

Read to Achieve Weekly Update

Please see the memo that was sent to Chief Academic Officers and Read to Achieve Contacts from Amy Rhyne, Ed.S., Office of Early Learning Director.

09/17/21 RtA Weekly Update

Known Issue with Schoolnet Classroom Assessment Monitor Widget

We are aware there is currently an issue affecting the Classroom Assessment Monitor widget. The first three test tabs have been timing out and giving an error message (at the top of the screen). Teachers can access results via the Reporting Dashboard as a work around for these tabs. A fix for this issue is in process and will be applied with v23.1. The Test Management Tab is functioning properly.

Thank you for your patience as the fix is developed!

TeacherMatch Upgrade/New Applicant Tracking System

NCDPI has partnered with PowerSchool to upgrade the TeacherMatch application to the latest product offering – an updated, unified Applicant Tracking and Employee Onboarding System called PowerSchool Unified Talent. While this system is an upgrade for current TeacherMatch users, additional PSUs are welcome to evaluate this product offering and determine if this recruiting/onboarding solution is right for you! 

Join us for the informative webinar to learn all the details for how your district can upgrade or opt-in.

Webinar Details

We have two opportunities for you to find out more information.  You can join whichever works with your schedule.  You will need to register for your webinar preference. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  

See you at the webinar!

• Wednesday, September 22 @ 10:00 a.m. – click here to register
• Thursday, September 23 @ 3:00 p.m. – click here to register

Reminder:  Guidance for Attendance

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

Reminder:  OCR/CRDC - EDDIE Contacts 

Please read and inform other staff as appropriate.

Dear Coordinators,

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

PSUs  must verify and 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 valid for your PSU.  These staff 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 to the EDDIE system for the OCR Collection must be completed by the end 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.

Please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov with any questions you may have.

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. 

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

2021-22 NCEES Webinars

NCEES Webinars are held most Tuesdays from 4-5 PM.

Click on the Titles to Register. Navigate to Webinars 2021-22 to view webinar descriptions.

• Manage Local PD-CEUs in NCEES  Tues. Sept. 14, Recording to be posted by Friday
• CEUs - My PD, My Transcript Tues. Sept. 21, 4-5 PM
• NCEES Do you know tips  Tues. Oct. 12, 4-5 PM
• Utilizing Staff Groups and PD Playlists  Tues. Oct. 26, 4-5 PM
• Middle of Year Processes for Principals Tues. Nov. 30, 4-5 PM
• Middle of Year Teachers/Support Staff  Tues. Dec. 7, 4-5 PM
• Admin Reporting in NCEES  Tues. Dec. 14, 4-5 PM
• Understanding the Teacher Rubric - 2 hours  

RECORDING - PRESENTATION - FAQs

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.