Server Security Patching

In order to address some security concerns from the last vulnerability scan, PowerSchool will perform patching on all NC PSU instances beginning tonight at 7 p.m. and ending no later than Saturday, March 5 at 7 a.m. EST.  This maintenance will require some downtime; however, because security is considered a top priority, we deem it necessary to perform this maintenance at this time. 

We apologize in advance for the inconvenience and thank you for your support.

Scheduled Updates for PowerSchool Instances

Several changes are scheduled for production release this weekend in all PowerSchool instances.  These updates will not require any downtime.

• A new link to NC Reports will be added under the Reports category in the left navigation pane. This is intended to help users quickly access the NC Reports without having to navigate through other pages.
• Two new options are being added to the contact entries on the Contacts page. Neither of these options are required to be used by PSUs, but are being added by popular request.
• Deceased (not linked to the old parent deceased fields)
• Interpreter Needed
• The Country of Birth field will now be a required field for EL purposes. Users will not be able to submit changes or entries on the Demographics page without selecting a Country of Birth from the field list.
• The Pregnant or Parenting Teen field on the Demographics page will now be a view/edit only field for users who have been assigned the Management security role.
• The following FERPA-related fields on the Other Information screen will be removed. This data is collected from the Parent Portal and can be viewed/modified on the FERPA Opt-Out page in the admin portal.
• No College Recruitment
• No Military Recruitment

Please remember to submit a case to PowerSchool if you experience any problems.

Last Night's Student Data Files for 03/03/2022

Reports indicate that the PowerSchool ODS is back in sync statewide and that valid data flowed to downstream systems last night. DPI applications including the NCEdCloud IAM Service and Schoolnet are operating on current student enrollment data this morning.

Please double check your rosters. If your PSU still notes sync issues, please update your existing ticket or open a new ticket through the appropriate channel:

• NCEdCloud:  Identity Automation Support Portal
• Schoolnet:    NCDPI ServiceNow

Thank you for your patience! Please reach out if we can be of any assistance.

2022-2023 Instructional School Start and End Dates  

G.S. 115C-84.2(a2) specifies that a report on the start and end dates of the instructional calendar for students for the next academic year be provided to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of education by April 1 of each year.  To make this deadline, the start and end dates of the instructional calendar for students for each school must be in PowerSchool before April 1.

A report of the 2022-2023 school start and end dates will be shared with PSUs for verification and to identify the statutory exception authorizing an earlier start date for schools with a start date earlier than August 29, 2022.

Read-to-Achieve Update - 03/04/2022

Please read and share the latest Read-to-Achieve Update.  Links to the PRC 085 video and FAQs are included.

RtA Update - 03/04/22

Reminder:  PSUs Can Now Add New Grades in PowerSchool SIS

The EDDIE process has been modified to allow PSUs to begin adding new grade levels without the EDDIE feed being disabled. The new process temporarily pauses the feed to only the grade level fields located on the Schools/School Setup page. 

PSUs who need to add new grade levels for the 2022-23 school year may now do so in PowerSchool. Prior to adding these grade levels to PowerSchool, your EDDIE administrator must first ensure that the EDDIE “Approved” grade levels include the grades being added to the SIS. It is important that you remember to add these new grade levels to EDDIE “Current” grade levels after EOY. EDDIE “Current” grade level changes should not take place until then.

For assistance, please visit the PowerSchool SIS Administrator - School Information.

Reminder: PowerSchool Years and Terms at the LEA Office

At the LEA Office level in PowerSchool, the Years and Terms start and end dates MUST encompass the start date of the PSU’s earliest starting school and the end date of the PSU’s latest ending school. This also includes all Program Schools. The start date for Years and Terms at the LEA level should be 7/1 and the end date should be 6/30.

This information has been updated in the PS User Guide: End-of-Year Processing and can be found under Creating Years and Terms in the user guide.

Reminder:  Attendance During Exam Week(s)

To be considered in attendance, a student (except for hospital/homebound or staggered kindergarten) must be present in the school for the school day or at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity. Such activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals, or any similar approved activity.

Except as noted above, a student must be present at least one-half of the school's instructional day in order to be recorded present for that day.

NC General Statute 115C-378 states in part that no person shall encourage, entice, or counsel any child of compulsory school age to be unlawfully absent from school.

If a student is exempted from an exam and is not present in the school for the school day or not at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity, the student is absent.

For questions or concerns, contact Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov.

Learning.com Webinars

On February 22 and 23, Learning.com in collaboration with DPI held the webinar, “Supporting the North Carolina Digital Learning Standards with Learning.com’s  EasyTech Curriculum”.  To access the webinar slide presentation, navigate to: https://bit.ly/LCOMNCFeb2022.  To view the recording, navigate to: https://bit.ly/LCOMNCTier1Recording22. 

Soon, NC Tier 1 Public School Units (PSUs) will be receiving the NCDPI K-8 Digital Literacy (Learning.com) Interest/Intent Survey to be completed by your district contact. NCDPI will be inquiring as to your PSU’s interest in receiving funding for your K-8 students and access to the Learning.com curriculum for the 2022-2023 school year.  If you have questions regarding the survey or funding, please reach out to Audrey Long, audrey.long@dpi.nc.gov.  

If you have any questions regarding Learning.com or want to schedule a demo, please contact Tiffany Kinney, tkinney@learning.com. We appreciate your support and look forward to helping prepare your students for success in our digital world.   

Canvas Teacher Webinar

Our next Canvas Teacher Webinar will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2022 from 7-8 p.m. The topic of discussion will be about ways to assess within Canvas. Those who attend will receive 0.1 DLC CEU.

Please use this link to register for the webinar. If you have any questions, contact Corey McNeill

Transcend Webinar Recording

In case you missed the informational webinars for Transcend, the recording is now available on the NCDPI YouTube Channel.

Transcend is a computer-adaptive interim assessment add-on for Schoolnet that will be available as part of the Home Base opt-in process for the 2022-2023 school year. Transcend provides tests for grades 3-8 ELA and Math and will be priced at $4 per 3rd-8th grade ADM. 

If you have any questions about Transcend or would like to learn more prior to the Home Base opt-in period, please contact john.mairs@dpi.nc.gov or jeffrey.hauger@pearson.com.

NCEES Winter/Spring Webinars

Please click on the titles below to register for the upcoming NCEES Webinars which are held most Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m.  A certificate to turn into your PSU for approval of .1 -.15 CEUs will be provided to participants that complete the feedback survey at the end of each live session.

•  3/8/2022        
• End of Year Principal Evaluation Processes (1 hr)
• Target Audience: Superintendents/Directors (evaluators of Principals) Principals, APs, Evaluators
•  3/15/2022     
• End of Year Teacher/Support Staff Evaluation & PDP processes (1 hr)
• Target Audience: Teachers and Support Staff. Evaluators and Observers of Teachers/Support Staff.

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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.

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