A Message from the Home Base Manager

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year!  The smell of new school supplies is in the air no doubt!  There is no other profession that gives people fresh starts like education each year, and I know that you have worked hard this summer preparing for the opening of another great school year. 

Over the past few years, many PSUs have worked towards a  blended learning environment.  Personalized learning has become more important as learning shifts from the traditional classroom. Home Base is an excellent hub of resources available to assist you as you educate NC’s students and as we continue to move forward together in 21st Century Learning.

Canvas continues to grow as the LMS in most PSUs!  Having a statewide learning management system benefits students, families, caretakers, and teachers to have a familiar system. It also easily allows the sharing of courses for students and professional development.

Additionally, #GoOpenNC, the state’s open education repository, continues to grow. #GoOpenNC provides high-quality resources, which are shareable, adaptable, and created by North Carolina teachers. Hundreds of new lessons, videos, and activities have been added to #GoOpenNC in the past few months. 

Schoolnet, the state’s instructional improvement system, supports personalized learning through its resource bank with materials that are appropriately aligned. Schoolnet was upgraded during the summer and many new features were added with this upgrade. 

Another digital resource to support personalized, blended learning is Imagine Math. Imagine Math is a program that allows teachers to assess and monitor student math progress and provides a live ondemand math tutor. This real-time math tutor is available for immediate help during all hours of the day. 

Learning .com provides digital literacy that helps students develop 21st-century skills. It is easy to implement and includes easy to follow and engaging lessons..

PowerSchool’s Parent Portal is key to ensuring parents can view their student’s academic progress and attendance. Parents can also download the parent portal app. 

NCEES provides educators across the state a place to find quality professional development that enhances teacher’s skills in the classroom through online modules. The online modules provide teachers flexibility as they continue to grow professionally. The online evaluation and professional development plans are designed to promote effective leadership, quality teaching, and student learning while enhancing professional practice and leading to improved instruction.

As you gear up for the new year, I want you to know that our Home Base team is here for you. We are here to serve you in any capacity we can. 

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication!  We look forward to another successful year working together to provide a high quality education for all students, everyday!

Sincerely, 

Matthew Mayo

Home Base Manager

Tonight's Home Base Maintenance 

Tonight's Home Base maintenance window includes maintenance on PowerSchool and the Schoolnet application.  All other Home Base applications will remain available to users.

PowerSchool maintenance will include State Reporting release updates applied to production this weekend.  The following release notes can be found online:

• https://docs.powerschool.com/USANC/release-notes/state-reporting-22-7-3-0-release-notes
• https://docs.powerschool.com/USANC/release-notes/state-reporting-22-8-1-0-release-notes

The PowerSchool application will be brought down for one night only, Friday, August 19 at 7 p.m. and returned to service by 7 a.m., Saturday morning, August 20.  The application will be made accessible to all users once maintenance is complete.  Please share this message with other staff as appropriate.

Schoolnet maintenance will begin tonight at 8 p.m.  Further details and more updates pertaining to Schoolnet are below in the Schoolnet Updates article.  

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 2022-2023 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.

Updated School Attendance Reporting Information

Please see the attached excerpt from the SASA Manual (Student Accounting and Student Attendance).  This is a draft until it is approved by the SBE in October; however, please use this guidance as you begin school this year. 

Of special note is the appropriate use of the 1-R code related to remote instruction vs. your normal attendance codes for schools. Please also see the section related to the use of the 1-D code.

Attendance Guidance - 2022-23 Draft

SIS Conference Call for Proposals

SIS Coordinators, Data Managers, and Technology Directors,

Are you ready for another information packed, network sharing event?  The SIS Conference is back! 

The NCDPI Digital Teaching and Learning Home Base Team will host the Student Information Systems (SIS) Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center on October 27-28, 2022. SIS focused training, including hands-on workshops will be offered, so MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

Ready to show what you know?  We are calling for proposals to those who would like to share their knowledge and best practices with peers.  If you are interested, please complete the form located at bit.ly/sisproposals. 

Schoolnet Updates

Regular Monthly Maintenance 

Please be advised that Pearson will be conducting regular monthly maintenance on the Schoolnet application tonight, August 19 at 8 p.m.  The application will be returned to service as soon as maintenance is completed.

2022-2023 Schoolnet Features Survey

The 2022-2023 Schoolnet Features Survey has been sent out to the listed Lead and Backup contact for Schoolnet.  If you did not receive the survey, please contact Rebecca Stokes at Rebecca.Stokes@dpi.nc.gov.  The survey will need to be submitted by August 31, 2022.

Training Site Update

The Schoolnet Training Site has been updated to version 24.0, new logins have been created and posted on the Schoolnet Splash Page.  Please email Rebecca Stokes at Rebecca.Stokes@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions about the training site or logins.

Duplicate Periods in Bell Schedule

NCDPI has identified an issue with duplicate periods in an active bell schedule in the PowerSchool SIS application. This has been reported to PowerSchool as a bug and will be fixed in a future PowerSchool SIS release. However, PSUs should be aware of the negative impact this can have on downstream systems.

The PowerSchool SIS application allows for the creation of duplicate period numbers in a bell schedule. Having duplicate period numbers in an active bell schedule causes issues with downstream systems, state reporting, and attendance calculations. 

PSUs are advised to check their bell schedules and ensure no duplicate period numbers exist. Click here to see if your PSU is impacted.

Fall 2022 ACT WorkKeys Testing: How to Identify CTE Concentrators

It is time to identify students who qualify to participate in ACT WorkKeys testing for the 2022-2023 school year. The following steps will ensure that eligible students are identified for testing.

• Note that the first date-sensitive action is to Run the CTE Concentrator Calculation Report on September 1, 2022 and validate concentrators.
• The next date-sensitive action is that DPI Office of Accountability and Testing will pull the concentrator data on September 7, 2022 to build the student enrollment file to load for WorkKeys fall testing.

           1.  Secure a current CTE Concentrator Calculation Report (CCR).

                a.  Log into PowerSchool

                        i.  Select School

                       ii.  Select 2022-2023 school year

               b. PowerSchool > State Reports > CTE Concentrator Calculation

                       i.  Select Run to get current calculation (First Run should happen on September 1, 2022).

                      ii.  Select Review to view report

                     iii.  Select CTE Views and Concentrator Calculation

                      iv.  Export File to produce a spreadsheet for analysis

          2.  Validate Concentrators

                a.  Compare student concentrator status with the courses they have completed based on a current transcript.

                b.  To be a concentrator, the student must have the

                      i.  Foundational Prerequisite (if required),

                     ii.  the Prerequisite, and

                    iii.  the Concentrator courses as defined by CTE and displayed in How Things Count which is located in the NC CTE Admin portal.

         3.  Identify students for ACT WorkKeys testing using the 2022-2023 validated CTE Concentrator file created in steps 1 and 2,

               a.  Include students in grade 12 or 13 and any student in grade 11 who is on track to be an early graduate.

               b.  Include Concentrator = Y and Potential Concentrators (Pathway with +) students

               c.  Exclude OCS/ECS = Y (unless the student is an override-in)

For additional questions regarding identification of CTE concentrators, contact Nancy.Cross@dpi.nc.gov or Misty.Wolfe@dpi.nc.gov.

Read to Achieve Update

Please read and share with the appropriate staff the latest Read-to-Achieve update.

Read-to-Achieve Update - 08/19/2022

Reminder:  Using the Tab Key in PowerSchool

When entering data into PowerSchool text fields, please avoid using the “tab” key as a way to proceed to the next field.  When used, tab spaces are placed in the data which creates issues for downstream systems that retrieve and use the data.

Reminder:  Discipline, ALP and Dropout Contact Updates

Discipline Data

With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, NCDPI would like to make sure that we have the most accurate contact information for your PSU’s discipline data coordinator.  Please forward the link below to your PSU’s Discipline data coordinator.

Please update your Discipline Data Coordinator Contact Information by filling out the Qualtrics Survey found here:https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1FVZftpuoO7Ul14 

Alternative Learning Programs & Schools (ALPS)

With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, NCDPI would like to make sure that we have the most accurate contact information for your PSU’s ALPS data coordinator.  Please forward the link below to your PSU’s ALPS data coordinator.

To update the ALPS Data Coordinator Contact List, click the link to the update form provided below:

https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3RgXSJfQuv2zyse 

Dropout Data

With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, NCDPI would like to make sure that we have the most accurate contact information for your PSU’s dropout data coordinator.  Please forward the link below to your PSU’s Dropout data coordinator.

To update the Dropout Data Coordinator Contact List, click the link to the update form provided below:

https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0DGJvrcKiQI16tM

Reminder:  Cross PSU Enrollment Pilot Participation

The Home Base SIS team is seeking PSUs willing to participate in a PowerSchool Cross PSU Pilot. The Cross PSU function will involve enrolling students from one PSU into courses at another PSU within PowerSchool and will not include NCVPS.  The projected target date for the pilot is the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year.

A functional demonstration of the product will occur before volunteers for the program make their final commitment.  The PSUs who choose to continue will be expected to:

• Actively participate in the pilot program
• Submit support tickets to report issues
• Participate in product training
• Attend 30 minutes to 1-hour online monitoring sessions of the pilot program weekly to discuss the positive and or negative aspects of the product and its usage.

Note: The frequency of the meetings will be expected to decrease as those piloting the product become more adept with their use of the product.

Please reach out to Russell Dixon via email if you are interested in being part of the PowerSchool Cross PSU Pilot.

Reminder: Coding Read-to-Achieve Reading Retained Students

Students who are still non-proficient after summer reading camp need to be coded as Reading Retained in PowerSchool.   It is imperative that this is completed ASAP. 

Students who transfer between districts and remain non-proficient after summer reading camp will not get the label from the previous district in the Transfer Student Record process.   Students must have this label to access the Amplify platform.  Therefore, this data entry should be completed no later than August 29, 2022.

DPI will notify you when the archival process and the pulling of twice retained students will take place later.  DPI will also run a script to remove labels from students in grades 5 and higher one last time prior to archiving the data. Labels entered for the current year should not be removed by PSUs until notification has been sent that this data has been properly archived. 

The Home Base Team has created a QRD, "Coding Read-to-Achieve Reading Retained Students", to assist PSUs with properly coding the "Read Retain" label in PowerSchool for students under Read-to-Achieve. This document also contains links to additional resources that provide background legislative information and FAQs. 

If you have questions pertaining to this process, please contact your Early Literacy Consultant.

Reminder:  Legal Names in PowerSchool

It has been brought to the NCDPI Home Base Team’s attention that some PSUs are entering the suffix of a student’s legal name (e.g., Jr., III, etc.) in the last name field of PowerSchool.  This causes errors in third party systems that pull this information from PowerSchool (e.g., ECATS, etc.). 

To avoid downstream errors, please use the appropriate fields when entering a student's name in PowerSchool.  For more information on how to enter legal names and preferred names, visit the quick reference document, PS Guidance: About Legal and Preferred Name.

Attendance Reminders

The NCDPI Home Base Team is looking forward to a brand new year, and with that, please remember that taking accurate daily attendance for students is essential.  Attendance guidelines can be found in the NC SASA Manual. 

As policies change and new codes are added to meet those changes, it is imperative to review attendance data on a regular basis to ensure proper attendance coding.  Financial Service and Business states that 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 more information, questions or concerns, please contact Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov.

Homebound/Hospital Attendance Code

A new H/H Attendance Code is now live in PowerSchool as of July 1, 2022. The attached technical assistance guide is intended to illustrate appropriate use cases for this code, provide responses to the FAQs submitted since announcing the upcoming release of the code, and an explanation of the documentation necessary to support a homebound/hospital placement through medical necessity or IEP Team decisions. Please be aware that this information is also being shared concurrently with other appropriate district personnel.

For detailed information, please visit the Homebount/Hospital Attendance Code Technical Assistance Guide. 

Reading Camp Attendance

Please see and share the instructions below on how to take attendance during Reading Camp.

In PowerSchool:

Start Page > Student Selection > Special Programs

NC-Summer School - RTA

1. Enter in the beginning date of Reading Camp and enter in the ending date of Reading Camp.  2. Enter in the total number of days students attended in the days present field. 
   
   

Here is the QRD for enrolling students into a Special Program.  Please work with your PS Data Manager/Coordinator in your PSU for assistance or complete a work ticket with PowerSchool.

Transcend Training

We want to take this opportunity to welcome those who opted in to the Transcend Assessment System. 

As you may have seen in one of the Transcend demos hosted by John Mairs, the Transcend assessment sits within the Home Base Schoolnet platform. We would like to assist your schools with the implementation process and provide opportunities for training and support.

PSU training opportunities will consist of two parts: test set-up and administration and reporting. The initial training for Transcend will consist of 2 live sessions (that will be recorded) focusing on the initial assessment set-up. Participants will walk through selecting standards using the intelligent test blueprint (ITB) based on their district's scope and sequence. The training will also focus on test session management.​ This session is designed for PSU assessment managers. Part two of the training opportunities will include 2 live sessions (that will be recorded) on the navigation and interpretation of the Transcend reports. ​

We ask that you register for these sessions here.

District support ​will be available before, during and after the assessment administration​s. Consistent with NCDPI support, ServiceNow cases​ should be submitted to request troubleshooting, questions, and support.

To assist us with your implementation of Transcend, we are asking each PSU to complete a brief questionnaire:   https://forms.gle/xkt2yTxS7zZU8FTf7.

Thank you for opting in to the Transcend Assessment system. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Home Base Admin Course 

Feedback from PSUs identified a need for resource hubs for the Home Base products. The product managers have created Admin Resource Courses for each area. These resource courses are located in the NCDPI Canvas instance.

Please visit these courses.  Below are the steps to enroll:

How to access these resources:

• Sign in to the Blue Canvas icon within NCEdCloud
• Using the Global Navigation (on the left), click the Home Base Resources button
• On the menu that opens, select the course(s) you would like to enroll into
• After enrolling, the course will appear on your Canvas Dashboard

Access for PSU PowerSchool SIS Admins

Any PSU PowerSchool SIS admin who does not have access to the NCDPI “Blue” Canvas located in the NCEdCloud portal and would like to have access or grant access to data managers within their PSU, please complete the form below.  In this form, you can enter up to 5 accounts manually or upload a CSV/Excel file if you have more than 5 account requests.

 If you have any questions, please get in touch with Corey McNeill.  

Link to Form

Other Information:

• Feel free to provide feedback on these courses. They all contain a feedback button on their homepage.
• We will continue to update these courses as more product information becomes available

NC PSU Staff Self-Paced PD Courses 

For any NC PSU Staff who need CEU credits, DTL now has a database of all current asynchronous NCEES PD opportunities for staff. Find the PD that you need: NC PSU Staff Self-Paced PD Courses.

The listing includes free DPI courses published in NCEES and a resource for retired or on-leave staff currently not active in NCEES.
 

Looking for DLCs? Courses are also sorted by credit type.

Note: The acquiring of CEUs and contact hours is subject to LEA/Charter approval. Staff should follow local guidelines on pre-approvals, completed course approvals or requests to apply for approval of a different credit type on completed PD.

Math Teacher Guides for 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Now on GoOpenNC

New Resource Alert! Math Teacher Guides for 6th, 7th and 8th grade are now live on GoOpenNC. These guides support the use of Rethink Education's courses available on Canvas Commons or GoOpenNC with tips and curricular resources to meet the needs of all students.

View the new middle school grades' math guides and more resources #GoOpen Rethink Ed - Blended Learning Hub.

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