SIS Conference Call for Proposals

SIS Coordinators 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. 

2022-2023 PMR Update – Coming Soon

PMR Certification Statement

This is a new addition to the PMR approval process in PowerSchool. Before approval PMRs are to be reviewed and signed by the school principal. The new certification will serve as acknowledgement and certification by the school principal or the principal’s designee. The update is expected to be in PowerSchool by the close of the Month 1 PMR.

Click on the following link to read more about the new addition to the PMR approval process in PowerSchool.  Please contact Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov for questions.

PMR Certification Statement

ECATS Beginning-of-Year (BOY) including Graduation Data

ECATS has returned to its normal file schedule and is importing 2022-2023 school data. Please remember that a higher volume of transfers due to BOY is occurring, and record transfers in ECATS could take longer than usual.

The process to update graduation data in ECATS has been completed. Students who have graduated have been exited in ECATS. Districts may now select the Modified Exit Reason for the 2021-2022 Exit Count and these students will no longer appear active in ECATS. If you find a student has not been exited, please have your ECATS Designee submit a Zendesk ticket.

Read to Achieve Update

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

Read-to-Achieve Update - 08/26/2022

Schoolnet Reminders

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.

Reminder:  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.

Reminder:  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 in to 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.

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: 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.

NCEES Premium Library

You're Invited to the NCEES Premium Library / Educational Impact Webinar!

When:  Wed., Aug. 31 from 1:30-2:30 PM EST

Is your district searching to purchase Professional Development to grow impactful educators?

Join NCDPI & PowerSchool on Wed., Aug. 31, 2022, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST as we demonstrate Premium Library in NCEES with a focus on Educational Impact courses. EI has over 300 courses to choose from and they will be working with districts on reduced pricing for bundled purchases.

Join to learn more and ask any question!

• Registration: https://powerschool.zoom.us/j/99619245474

• Flyer: PowerSchool and Educational Impact – Premium Content to help Develop and Retain

NCEES Premium Library allows you to easily search, purchase, assign, and track PD within the NC Educator Effectiveness System.  Below are tips to help you get access and a link to the Premium Library 1-pager FAQ.

• Requires NCEES District Administrator to view Premium Library in System Administration > Premium Library.
• Requires DTL/Home Base Opt-In to manage courses/rosters in your district NCEES PD Office.
• Premium Library 1-pager FAQ

Premium Library within NCEES currently has 785 professional learning opportunities available including Educational Impact, Trauma Informed Online Academy, ISTE, Edstar Analytics, CypherWorx and K12 Compliance.  Don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of these resources.

The webinar presenters are Sean Vair, PS Sr. Educational Impact Consultant; Cami Narron, NCDPI NCEES Product Manager, and Educational Impact representatives.  The webinar will be recorded for future viewing and sharing.

Please share this with your Professional Development leads. Email any questions to Home_Base@dpi.nc.gov.

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

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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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