The Group School feature allows multiple sister schools to be linked together like in a District, allowing (1) students to be transferred between schools, and (2) teachers access multiple schools.
Installation and Setup
The Group School module can only be installed upon subscription, and incurs a set-up cost. See Professional Services for pricing.
Centralized Modules
During the set-up process, schools will need to decide which modules should be centralized, and which modules should remain site-based. Here’s a list of modules that can be centralized at the district.
- Master Classes
- Code Sets (Dropdown Values)
- Document Numbers (Invoice Numbers, Student Numbers, Employee Numbers, etc)
- Attendance Codes
- Courses, Departments (for OMS / Courses & Sections)
- Grades, Institutions (for Chronos Transcripts)
- Standards (i.e. Standards-based Grading)
- Library
- Counselor Notes, Student Notes, Notes
- Community Service
- Interventions
- Discipline
When modules are centralized, records are stored centrally, and can be shared between schools more easily.
District-Wide Teachers
It’s important to note that each school still maintains its own separate database. This means that changing a teacher record in one school does not affect the teacher record in other schools. And the specific access of teachers within a school is also managed within each school.
In order to enable teachers to switch between schools, 2 criteria must be met:
- Employee Number must be streamlined
- Teacher records must be linked
The system uses the Employee Number to match teachers between schools. You must take precautions to ensure that this rule is observed across schools within the district.
If you have multiple records of the same teacher across multiple schools, you will be able to link them using the Employee Number. Alternatively, you can also copy or grant access for a teacher to another school, and this will copy over the Employee Number.
Managing Teacher Access
The “District-wide Teachers & Staff” screen allows administrators to manage access for teachers across all schools in the district. Any access changes made here will instantly be reflected in the specific school.
District-wide Teachers Synchronization
Use this module to link teachers across multiple schools.
District-Wide Students
Similar to teacher records, student records are also maintained / stored separately within each school. This means that changing a student record in one school does not affect the student record in other schools.
When transferring students between schools, the system will link the records using the Student Number. It’s important to streamline the Student Number, if you’d like to link students between schools.
Shared Student Data
When students are linked, certain data is shared between the schools, even if not specified during the set-up process. This includes the following:
- Report Cards: Published report cards from ALL schools in the district will appear under the “Reports” tab of the student record.
Any modules that have been centralized are automatically shared as well.
Transferring Student Record
You can transfer students between schools by enroll the student via the “District-wide Search” screen. In addition to Shared Student Data, certain data will be copied over. This includes the following:
- Student Profile: This includes the Profile Image as well as parent data
- Custom Fields: Only COMMON Custom Fields are copied over.
- Documents: Any uploaded documents are also transferred.
District-Wide Reporting
The Report Creator supports reporting across schools. Simply select the “Schools” module, and any of the related fields.
Beta Features
The following modules are still in early beta, and can be used as-is. We’d appreciate feedback on these modules, so that we can make further improvements.
Unified Parent Access
If parents have children in multiple schools (within the district), parents will need to access each school account separately. We have a beta feature that allows the school to link parents across multiple sites.
Manage Access Across Schools
This screen simply allows the administrator to manage access to modules centrally, instead of going to the Features page for each individual school.
Online Forms
The Online Forms module can be configured for a district, where submissions are collected centrally, and then redirected to specific schools for processing.