PowerSchool Parent Portal Guide Student Information System Train the Trainer Workshop 8/22/2013 Topeka Public Schools Table of Contents Getting Started... 3
Creating An Account... 3 PowerSchool Link Icon... 6 Last Login, Printer Icon, Help, Sign Out... 6 Main Menu Icons... 8 Grades and Attendance... 9 Grades and Attendance for Elementary... 12 Grade History... 13 Attendance History... 13 Email Notifications... 14 Teacher Comments... 14 School Bulletins... 15 Class Registration... 16 My Calendars... 16 School Information... 16 Account Preferences... 16 Most Frequently Asked Questions about PowerSchool... 17 Login Questions... 17 Access Questions... 18 Questions regarding Expectations on Grades and Attendance... 19 POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL ACCESS Getting Started PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 2
To use the PowerSchool Parent Portal, you must first log in to the Parent Portal, using your username and password. These will be provided to you from your student s school. If you have misplaced the information, have forgotten your username and/or password, or never received the information, contact the school where your student attends. Enter the following URL in your browser to access PowerSchool Parent Portal: powerschool.topekapublicschools.net/public OR Go to the Topeka Public Schools website at: topekapublicschools.net At the Topeka Public School site, under the POPULAR TOOLS heading, click on POWERSCHOOL. Click on the button that says Click Here to Login to PowerSchool. The login screen appears: NOTE: If you have NOT created an account, you must do this first. If you created an account last year, your user name and password will remain the same and you may enter them on this screen now. Click on Create Account to set up Single Sign On and/or set up the parent account. Creating an account Before you can access your student(s) information, you MUST create your account which ties you to your student(s). To create your own user account, you will need to have the user name and password assigned to the parent and your student(s) name(s) as they appear in PowerSchool. This information is supplied to your from the school which your student(s) attend. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 3
Enter YOUR First name, YOUR Last name, YOUR email (email address where you want to be contacted from teachers, administrators, etc), YOUR desired user name, this should NOT be the same as the Access ID s that you were given to you to set up your account. Following these instructions will help maintain secure credentials when there is more than one parent/guardian who will be maintaining separate accounts. Next, enter and verify the password you will use for your account. Passwords must be at least 4 characters long. MAKE A NOTE OF THE DESIRED USERNAME AND PASSWORD AS THIS WILL BECOME YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO LOG INTO POWERSCHOOL FROM NOW ON. To associate student(s) to YOUR ACCOUNT, enter your Student(s) name under the Student Name Column along with the unique Parent ACCESS ID and Parent ACCESS PASSWORD that you received from your student(s) school. Press enter when finished. See following example: PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 4
NOTE: The PARENT ACCESS ID and PARENT ACCESS PASSWORD should match the values given to you by the school; they are UNIQUE for each student and they are NOT what your student(s) uses to login to PowerSchool. After successfully creating your account in PowerSchool you should get this message: After you press enter, you will be returned to the log in page, where you will enter the Username and Password that you just set up for yourself. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 5
Each student can be selected from the links across the top of the page. Click on the student name to view their information. PowerSchool Link Icon Clicking this link will always return your to the Parent Portal Start/Home Page. Click on the PowerSchool name link rather than clicking on the back button of your browser. Last Login, Printer Icon, Help, Sign-Out Information The name of the parent appears here. First Middle Last Name When you are finished, click on Sign Out. Click the printer icon to print the page you are viewing. By clicking on the Exclamation Mark you will find out when you were last logged into PowerSchool. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 6
The Notification window opens, click on the X to close the window. By clicking on the Help link an additional window will open and allow you to view data about that page, search for more information, and other items of interest. This window opens after clicking on the Help link. Click on the Search Tab to find areas you want help with. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 7
Main Menu Icons Grades and Attendance Display s This Week and Last Week attendance. Also displays grades by term by course, total Absences and Tardies. See Grades and Attendance for more detail. Grade History Display s all grades that have been stored for your student. See Grade History for more detail. Attendance History Display s daily attendance for the current term or quarter. See Attendance History for more detail. Email Notification This page allows you to request various email notifications and determine the frequency. See Email Notification for more detail. Teacher Comments Display s all current teacher comments. See Teacher Comments for more detail. School Bulletin Display s school bulletin items/announcements. See School Bulletin for more detail. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 8
Class Registration This icon appears active during pre-enrollment for secondary schools. See Class Registration for more detail. My Calendars Topeka Public School District is NOT using the My Calendars feature at this time. School Information This icon lists your schools Name, Address, Phone number, Fax number if available and Map if available. Account Preferences Allows you to change your user name and/or password and update students to your account. Grades and Attendance The Grades and Attendance page displays comprehensive information about a student s grades and attendance for the current school year. The legend at the bottom of the page displays the attendance and their meaning. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 9
On the main menu, click GRADES and ATTENDANCE. This panel opens up. To send email to a teacher, click the name of the teacher. To view attendance data for dropped classes, click Show dropped classes also. Note: To use this function, your web browser MUST be properly configured to automatically open an email application. Attendance By Day, Attendance Totals and Attendance By Program are listed here. To view grade details, click a grade in the term column. The Class Score Detail page appears. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 10
Course, Teacher, Expression and Final Grade are listed on this page. Below this information is the Due Date, Category, Assignment, Codes-if any, Score, Percent and Grade. If the Assignment Name is highlighted in BLUE, clicking on it will reveal more detail about the assignment. Most of the time the assignment name is NOT highlighted in blue. Note: Icons indicate the status of the assignment. For more information view the icon legend at the bottom of the page. To view absences or tardies for the selected class during this term, click a number in the Absences or Tardies column. The Dates of Attendance page displays all absences or tardies for that class. To view absences or tardies for ALL classes during this term, click a number in the Attendance Totals row. All absences for each class are listed along with the legend at the bottom describing the Attendance Codes, click on the PowerSchool icon to get back to the main menu. To view total absences or tardies for the semester or for the year-to-date, click a number in the Absences or Tardies column in the Attendance By Day section. Depending on your selection, the Dates of Attendance page displays the total absences or tardies for the semester or for the year-to-date attendance. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 11
Click on the Score Link to view Score Comment. Grades and Attendance Standards Grades ONLY FOR GRADES K-5 The standards Grades page displays information about a student s standards grades and comments for the current term. By default, only classes currently in progress appear. On the main menu, click Grades and Attendance. Click the Standards Grades tab. Click Show Completed Classes to view standards grades for all completed classes. Click Hide Completed Classes to view only the classes for the current term. Click the name of the standard to view these details: Teacher Course Standard Name Description Gradescale Gradescale Description Gradescale Details PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 12
If comments are available, there will be a blue dot, click on the dot to reveal the comments of any given section. Grade History Use this page to view progress, quarter, and semester grades for the student for the current term. On the main menu, click Grade History. The Grade History page appears (see below). Click on the grade in the % column. The Class Score Detail page appears (see below). Attendance History Use this page to view the attendance record for the student in the current classes for the current term. The legend at the bottom of the page displays the attendance codes and their meanings. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 13
Email Notifications If you want to receive information about your student s grades, attendance and assignment scores, use this page to set up your email preferences. You can specify which information you would like to receive and how often you would like to receive the information via email. From the main menu, click on Email Notification. Use the following information to help you enter data in the fields: o o o o o What information would you like to receive? Summary of current grades and attendance Detailed reports showing all assignment scores for each class Detailed report of attendance School announcements Balance Alert (lunch funds) THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE. How Often do you want to receive the information selected above? Never Daily Once a week Once every two weeks Once a month Send now? Select this checkbox to immediately send the email messages which you have selected above. Email Address(es)? Enter the email addresses to which you want the system to send the email messages selected above. Separate multiple email addresses with commas. Keep in mind, if you student has 8 classes and you check ALL boxes, you will receive an email for each of the 8 classes times the number of boxes you have checked in the What information would you like to receive? area. Example: 8 classes time 4 boxes checked = 32 email to each of the email addresses that you have supplied if you selected daily in the How often do you want to receive the information selected above? section you will receive 32 email daily. Teacher Comments Use this page to view any comments that teachers entered regarding items such as the student s achievement or behavior. On the main menu, click Teacher Comments. The Teacher Comments page appears. To open an email message to send to that teacher, click the teacher s name. Note: to use this email function, your web browser must be properly configured to automatically open an email application, and the email application must be properly configured to send email messages. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 14
If you do not have your web browser configured, you can right-click on the teacher s name, select Copy EMail Address (Firefox browser) or Copy Shortcut (Internet Explorer) and paste the email address into your email program. You may select the term by clicking on the drop-down box by Reporting Term. Select DROPPED classes by clicking on Show dropped classes also. School Bulletins Use this page to view daily school announcements. 1. On the main menu, to view the School Bulletin for that day, click School Bulletin. 2. To view another day s bulletin, click a date link at the bottom of the page. Class Registration Use the following procedure to request classes for the next year Class Registration is only on for a short period of time. Contact your students school for Registration dates and instructions for entering course requests at your students school. Some courses are pre-registered. DO NOT CHANGE AND/OR SELECT CLASSES WITHOUT CONSENT FROM YOUR STUDENTS SCHOOL. On the main menu, click Class Registration. The Class Registration page appears. A ROAD icon appears, if the teacher has recommended the course, click to view. A NOTE icon appears, if the course contains prerequisite notes, click to view. Click the PENCIL icon to select courses from each area as instructed. The Course Request pop-up window appears. Use the following information to enter data in the fields: Course Select the checkbox for each course you want to request, after selecting, click the heading to see a list of classes you selected in order. Course Name The name of the course. Number The number used to identify the course. Credits The amount of credit you receive for taking the course. Prerequisite Notes Descriptive text regarding academic requirements or authorizations that must be fulfilled prior to an enrollment in a course. Alerts Alert to indicate prerequisites have not been met, if any. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 15
Click Okay. The Course Request pop-up window closes. A green checkmark appears in the area for which you selected courses IF there was a limit set for that course group. A red exclamation mark appears if courses need to be selected for an area. The total number required to be selected and the number you have selected appear at the bottom of the screen. Repeat these steps for each course group request. Click Submit. The (Scheduling Year) Course Requests page appears. Class Registration When clicking on Class Registration, you will be able to view the classes your student(s) selected for the next school year. After the scheduling process begins this page will be turned off so that no changes can be made. If you find it necessary to make changes, contact your school principal and/or counselor to help facilitate the changes. My Calendars Note: Topeka Public School District is NOT using the My Calendars feature at this time. Currently we are using My Big Campus. School Information This page displays the School Name, Address, Phone Number, Fax if available and Map if available. Account Preferences Account Preferences (Profile Tab) will allow you to change your name, email address, user name and/or password. Currently the only language available to select is English. Account Preference (Students Tab) will allow you to tie students to your Parent Portal Account by clicking on the ADD button. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 16
Login Most Frequently asked Questions about PowerSchool Q. Who do I contact for PowerSchool access? A. Contact the school your student is attending for assistance in getting access. Q. How many times can I log in incorrectly? A. Three times, then you will need to contact the school where your student attends to get your password reset. Q. What is the web address (URL) for PowerSchool Parent Portal? A. powerschool.topekapublicschools.net/public Q. Can I change my password? A. Yes. If you just want to change your password, follow these steps: Click on Account Preferences, Profile tab, then click the pencil next to CURRENT PASSWORD. Enter the Current Password, the New Password and Confirm Password, press SAVE, when finished. After making the change, please record it and keep it in a safe and private place so you have it when you need it. Q. I have multiple children in the district. Can I have access to all their accounts under just one username and password? A. Yes, as of summer 2012. To set up your single sign on, follow the instructions on Creating an Account in this document. Q. I can t login to the parent portal. I put in my username and password and click submit. After clicking submit, the page reloads to a blank username and password line and does not login Help? A. PowerSchool uses cookies and this means your internet security is set too high, probably to the highest level of security, which blocks cookies. Depending on your browser, you will need to find the Internet Security area and turn it down a level or two so cookies are accepted. You can find out more information about this by going to your web browser s help menu and doing a search for cookies or internet security. Q. When I go to the log on page, the password fills in with dots all the way across. Why? A. What is happening is that the computer is remembering the password but not giving clues to how long it is. Apparently, someone clicked "yes" to remember password and PowerSchool Parent Portal does not like it. So now you will need to clear the password. Follow the steps below to clear the password for the browser you are currently using. Internet Explorer for PC Open Internet Explorer. 1. Pull down the Tools Menu. 2. Scroll down to Internet Options. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 17
3. Under the Content tab, by AutoComplete, click on Settings. 4. Click on Delete AutoComplete History and then OK. 5. You may want to uncheck user names and passwords on forms to prevent this from happening again. Mozilla Firefox Open Firefox, 1. Open Firefox. 2. Click on Tools. 3. Click Options. 4. Click Security. 5. Click Saved Passwords. 6. Find the PowerSchool password and click on it. 7. Click Remove. Safari Open Safari, 1. Open Safari. 2. Click on Safari. 3. Click on Reset Safari. 4. Put a checkmark next to Remove Saved Names and Passwords. 5. Click on Reset. Access Q. When will the PowerSchool Parent Portal be accessible? A. The PowerSchool Parent Portal is accessible now, if you used the Parent Portal last year, then you will continue with your username and password as it was at the end of the school year. If you need help with your user name and/or password, contact the school where your student attends or will be attending. Q. My husband/wife and I are separated/divorced; can we get another parent username and password for our student(s) account? A. Yes, as of 2012 PowerSchool created single sign on accounts for parents, which allows each parent to have their own user name and password. Follow the instructions on how to Create an Account in this document. Q. Can other people see my student s grades and information? Is this system secure? A. As long as you protect your password, others will not be able to see your student(s) information. Each student/parent is issued a unique identification log in and password. The PowerSchool server has SSL encryption. Q. Where are the directions for PowerSchool Parent access? A. Information is included in this document. Q. I replied to the PowerSchool auto email with a question, but have not received a response. Why? PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 18
A. The PowerSchool auto generated email is created and sent by the PowerSchool server, not by an individual. The server will not reply to your email sent to that address. If you have questions about your student(s) progress, please direct those questions directly to the faculty member. Q. When I click on the teacher s name to email the teacher, my email program doesn t work correctly or does not open. A. Unfortunately, this is not a problem we can help you with since everyone s email program is different. Your email program needs to be setup correctly on your computer. You may want to view the HELP area or menu for your email program. You can also copy the teacher link and paste into your email if you cannot get your email to open when you click on the teacher s name. Q. Whom should I call if I have a question? A. Please use the table below to help you decide whom to contact for various types of questions. Question/Topic Grades for class assignments during the current semester. Attendance in a specific class on a specific day, or any other attendance questions. Grades on transcripts, GPA, class rank. Course schedules, graduation progress, college, and/or careers. Person to Contact Your students teachers. Teacher email contact information is available on Parent PowerSchool. Your students school/attendance secretary. Your Students school/counselor. Your Students school/counselor. Q. Do Students and parents see the same screens/comments? A. When students and parents access the PowerSchool server, they see the same information with one exception; parents have the ability to enter information for email notifications. Q. Do I need a new username and password each year if my child is returning? A. No, all login information will remain active as long as your child is a student in the Topeka Public Schools you have filled out the Acceptable Use Form and have not violated the agreement. Q. I am not getting e mails from PowerSchool Parent Portal. Why? A. There could be multiple reasons for this: Did you sign up for E mail Notifications on the E mail Notifications page? Please double check the e mail address you entered because if one character (letter/number/space) is off, you won t receive e mails. Did you check your email's BULK or SPAM folder? Check to see if the messages are going there and choose to mark them as NOT SPAM. You will have to consult your email's help menu or manual to learn how to do this as it is different for every email program. Expectations for Grades and Attendance Q. Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool Parent Portal server? A. Yes, grades will be posted by teachers. Remember, the teacher's grade book is a "snapshot in time" and not necessarily an accurate reflection of the student's overall progress or performance. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 19
Similarly, the student's grade average may change depending on the weight or value of graded work. Some teachers may choose to simply post an updated current average every couple of weeks while others will be posting individual assignments with due dates and descriptions. Q. How often can we expect grades to be updated? A. Teachers need time to grade projects, assignments and tests. Each day teachers are expected to have new material and lesson plans ready for class. Many teachers are also involved in extra curricular activities that will take time to plan and attend. With that in mind, teachers do need time to get the assignments graded. Please be patient because there are many factors that determine how soon a teacher can assess and return assignments. Essays and research papers take longer to grade than a quiz. Elementary teachers, Grade 3 5 will enter a grade in Language Arts and/or Math Once per week, Grades 1 2 will enter a grade in Language Arts and/or Math Twice per month and Grade K will enter a grade in Reading Once per month. Q. I know that teachers sometimes weight different categories of grades. How does this affect how a grade is calculated? A. Each teacher has his or her own grading system. Some teachers calculate grades by total points while others weight the grades according to assignment categories (homework, quizzes, tests, etc.). Teachers inform all of their students at the beginning of the course what their expectations and grading policy will be. To understand a specific grade calculation, please contact the teacher. Q. How often can we expect attendance to be updated? A. Attendance is updated daily. Unexcused absences may take a few extra days to be updated (changed to "excused") depending on the number of absences, promptness of the parent excuse note and/or day of the week. Q. Why are the grades changing dramatically in the beginning of a term? A. At the beginning of each term, you may see zeros or wild shifts in the class average of your student. When there are only one or two assignments in the GradeBook, a low or high score can make a dramatic change in the overall grade average. The GradeBook instantly recalculates the overall grade as every assignment is entered. Q. Can I access the PowerSchool Parent Portal from anywhere? A. Yes, you can access the PowerSchool Parent Portal from any computer or mobile device that connects to Internet access. Q. What if I do not have a computer at home or do not have access to the Internet? A. The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library has computers that you can use to access the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Check with your students school to see if there are computers available for you to use there. Q. What kind of computer equipment do I need to view PowerSchool Parent Portal? A. Almost any computer with an Internet connection can access PowerSchool Parent Portal. It is recommended that you use a newer Internet browser. New in summer of 2012 parents can access PowerSchool with an iphone, ipad, and ipod touch. Free PowerSchool Apps are available. PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Page 20