PowerSchool Upgrade - October Maintenance Weekend

PowerSchool will be upgraded to version 23.8.0 the weekend of Oct. 20, 2023.

The PowerSchool Release notes for versions 22.12.x -  23.8 can be found by going into your PowerSchool instance and then:

• clicking the ? icon in the upper right corner of the page
• expanding the release notes for 22.x and 23.x

Disregard any release notes that reference the new PowerSchool UI (User Interface) as NC will not be enabling it at this point because of the testing and modifications that will need to be made to NC customizations.

Key Points for PSUs:

• Review remote connections to ensure they are authorized (a script will be run for this) If you choose to manually re-validate the SFTP connection you can do this by using the TEST Connection option of  the Remote Connection Manager setup screen. However, this should not be necessary after the upgrade due to the script.
• The Reporting Term Setup page has been improved to provide a table view of the reporting term setup.  If you installed the Show Reporting Term Setup Dates customization created by Jason Springel, disable it, and then delete it.  This step should be taken AFTER the scheduled PS upgrade is complete.
• The DDE and DDA pages have been updated to prevent the use of the Search within the current # records only button when all records in a table are selected.
• Users will no longer be logged out when accessing different portals from different browsers. For example, a user who is an Administrator and a Teacher can be logged in to the Administrator portal in one browser and in the Teacher portal using a different browser.
• A new Security Group setting called Student Email has been added under Accessible Student Screens. This will be enabled for all groups by default. The Student Email screen was previously controlled by the Parents option under Accessible Student Screens.
• Administrators can now control which Attendance Code should not be editable by a Teacher after an Administrator has taken attendance for a student by enabling the Lock Attendance Record when Administrator Entered value. 

This information and more were shared during the September SIS Digital Leader Exchange session. You can review the slide deck here: http://bit.ly/SIS_Sept2023

SIS Conference - Thank you!

SIS Conference 2023 was a success!

A special thanks to our presenters, attendees, and staff for making this event a success!  We hope that you found the conference informative and worthwhile.  It was a great time for collaborating, learning from each other, and growing; your enthusiasm and positive spirit helped make our time together both productive and fun.

• Session presentations can be accessed at sis23.sched.com.  
• Closing session information 

*Presenters - directions to upload your presentations can be found at: bit.ly/ncsisupload

The conference evaluation form can be found HERE.  We look forward to hearing your feedback!

As always, our goal is continuous improvement and support for your PSU.  Please let us know if you need anything. 

Thank you,

Matthew & The HB Team

SparkNC Module Course Coding

Public School Units (PSUs) who are using SparkNC modules are to use the course code for local elective credit (96102X0) and title it locally with High-Tech Learning Accelerator.

• It is up to the PSU to determine how and when to schedule the course. 
• When a student successfully completes enough modules to earn an elective credit, it is to be entered into the SIS as a “Pass” and will not count in a student’s GPA.
• It is up to the PSU to determine when the student has passed enough modules with sufficient rigor, breadth, and depth to earn a course credit.  This may occur across grade-levels.

2024-25 Course Code Request

The window for requesting new 2024-25 Course Codes is open and will remain open until Thursday, October 19, 2023. If you have any specific course code requests for the 2024-25 school year or have general ideas for how we can improve the statewide course code system, please be sure to submit a response by the deadline. If you have any questions or concerns related to the survey, please contact Reenada Perez at reenada.perez@dpi.nc.gov.

Invitation for 2024 - 2025 Course Requests

Remote Instruction Plans

PSUs who plan to exercise remote instruction due to emergency closures must annually submit a Remote Instruction Plan to NC DPI.  §S.L. 2022-74/HB 103 authorized the use of Remote Instruction for emergency closures from §S. L. 115C-84.3 (b).   Please take one of the following actions by October 15, 2023  to ensure your 2023-2024 Remote Instruction Plan is submitted and/or updated if needed:

• Utilize, with no revisions, the 2022-2023 RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
• Revise the 2022-2023 RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
• Create a new RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
• Not complete an RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.

Visit bit.ly/NCDPIRIPlans for additional details and to submit a plan.

SY2021-2022 CRDC Partner Support Announcement

Dear Coordinators,

Please inform other staff as appropriate.

Note: PSUs that were not open in the school year 2021-2022 are not required to participate in this collection.

The CRDC Partner Support Center (PSC) has announced the release of SY2021-2022 collection documentation.  Specifically, the LEA and School forms (links contained in this email).  All required  federal documentation is located at the Civil Rights Data Collection Resource Center.  PSC is still making updates to other supporting documents for the collection. The PSC message is attached and will be published on the NCDPI CRDC website.

OCR expects to announce the submission open date in Winter 2023.  NCDPI will notify PSUs with dates when the Federal Submission Tool is open when the information is available.   PSUs are encouraged to become familiar with the federal site prior to the opening of the Federal Submission Tool.

1.      Verify the PSU CRDC contact records in EDDIE by November 1, 2023. 

Staff documented in EDDIE for the CRDC as of November 1, 2023, will receive accounts to the Federal Submission and can provision accounts to others at the local level at the time of the collection.

 2.      Download and begin reviewing the updated required documents for CRDC Coordinators, which include:

·        LEA Form

·        School Form

These forms contain the complete set of survey questions that the LEA must complete for itself and its school(s).  

 3.      Begin gathering data not collected by NCDPI

More detailed information will be provided for data PSUs will be required to ­­collect on their own.

Examples include but are not limited to:

·        STAF-1: Teachers – FTE Count and Certification

·        STAF-6: School Counselors Number FTE

·        STAF-7: Support Services Staff Number FTE

·        SECR-1: Security Staff

·        OFFN-6: Offenses -Allegations Against School Staff (Resignation or Retirement) 

·        OFFN-7: Offenses -Allegations Against School Staff (Determined Responsible) 

·        OFFN-8: Offenses -Allegations Against School Staff (Determined Not Responsible) 

·        OFFN-9: Offenses -Allegations Against School Staff (Determination Pending) 

·        OFFN-10: Offenses -Allegations Against School Staff (Duty Reassignment) 

More information will be provided on the collection as it is made available. 

Want information about the CRDC, but are not the CRDC Coordinator contact?  Add your information here:  2122 CRDC – Info Only Contacts List 

Please email nc.ocr.crdc@dpi.nc.gov with any questions you may have. 

Has your PSU Opted into Home Base?

The NC Department of Public Instruction is pleased to announce that the Home Base Opt-in Process is now open.  Finance officers and charter school directors/principals may begin opting into Home Base for their PSU. Click on the following link to see the full announcement and share with the appropriate staff: hb_pricing_memo 2023-24.

Note:  Only finance officers and charter directors/principals should opt-in for their PSU.

This year, PSUs have the option of opting into Navvy, a Pearson computer-adaptive interim assessment add-on for Schoolnet.  Navvy both formatively assesses and tracks standard-by-standard learning to provide immediate, actionable results to correctly inform personalized instruction. Navvy is made available to grades 3 – 8 for Reading and Math at an additional cost of $8 per ADM. If you have any questions about Navvy, please contact Rebecca Stokes.

Please visit the NCDPI Home Base Opt-in Website for detailed information concerning the Home Base Opt-in Process.  Questions may be directed to home_base@dpi.nc.gov or Jennifer Causey

New Self-Paced PD Courses for Canvas

Digital Teaching and Learning is excited to share two new self-paced professional development courses on the LMS, Canvas.

• Growing with Canvas - The Growing with Canvas course is a “Level 1” introduction to all things Canvas.
• Diving Deeper with Canvas - Educators more familiar with the LMS can utilize the Diving Deeper with Canvas course for specific training on personalized learning, feedback, and course design.

If you are interested in these PD opportunities, enrollment information can be found in the NCEES Self-Paced PD Guide.

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
• **Click on the new SIS Conference icon on the home page to access the SIS Conference 2022 Presentations.

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