ParentPortalGuide: How-toforParents
2014-15
KeepingYou Connected
Weknowyouarepassionateaboutyourstudent’sfuturesandareresponsibleforprovidingthedirectiontohelp themsucceedinschool.HomeBaseisasuiteoftechnologytoolsavailableinallNorthCarolinapublicschools. There’sonecomponentwe hopeparentsacrossthestateareasexcitedaboutasweare–theParentPortal.
We’vedesignedthisGuidetowalkyouthroughthewhat, whenandhowoftheHomeBaseParentPortal, butactually,manyofitsfeaturesarequiteintuitiveforbasiccomputerusers.Readontodiscover:
– AseriesofQ+Asbasedonearlyusersandprogramdesigners
– Tipsfromschoolsandschooldistrictsregularlyusingthe portal
– Whatyoucanexpecttofindinthe portal.
NOWYOU
KNOW
FollowusonTwitter@NCHomeBaseandsubscribetotheNCDepartment ofPublicInstruction’sYouTubechanneldedicatedtoHomeBasevideo clipsandnews:
SM
Student Information System
ParentPortal
PowerSchool
Educator Effectiveness System
Instructional Improvement System
Learning Management System
truenorthlogic
SchoolnetOpenClass
Educator Evaluation System
Professional Development Management System
• Findandcontributetosharedstate bankofresources(lessonplans,unit plans,etc)
• Build/Create/Deliver/Score
• Createcollaborativespacesfor classes
• Createthreadeddiscussionsand multi-mediaassignments
• Recordandorganize NCEducator EvaluationSystemobservationand evaluation data
• Findprofessional development resourcesalignedwitheducator needsandmanageprofessional development
classroomandbenchmark assessmentsfromstatebanks(or locally createdbanks)
• Accessreportsanddashboardson studentperformance
• Organize andstorestudentwork
Q1:WhatisHomeBaseandwhatisPowerSchoolandwheredoesthisportalfitin?
Huh?
Data
Input
A1:HomeBaseishometoasuiteofweb-basedtechnologytools.It housesseveralmajor components,includingPowerSchool,Truenorthlogic,SchoolnetandOpenClass.
TheParentPortalisactuallyaccessedthroughPowerSchoolandgivesparentsand studentsaccess toreal-timeinformationincludingattendance,grades andforstudents, detailedassignmentdescriptionsandevenpersonalmessagesfromtheteacher.
Justsoyou’rein-the-know,herearethe maincomponentsofHomeBase:
PowerSchoolisastudentinformationsystem,whichenablesNCeducatorstomaketimely decisionsthatimpactstudentperformancewhilecreatingacollaborativeenvironmentfor parents,teachersandstudents.
PowerSchoolalsowillauto-populatestudents’informationtotherestofthesuitebelow:
Truenorthlogicofferstoolsdesignedtosupporttheongoingprofessionalgrowthof
K-12educationalleadersandteachers.ThesetoolsrunourEducatorEffectivenesssystem, whichincludesbotheducatorevaluationandprofessionaldevelopment.
Schoolnetisasuiteofdata-driveneducationtoolsforinstructionalimprovementthatalignswiththeNCStandardCourseofStudy;guidescollaborativediscussionandenablestargeted instructionforeverystudent.Asparents,youmightbeimpressedtoknowteachershaveattheir fingertipsrightnow35,000+ assessmentitems andmorethan10,000 aligned,instructional resources,allapprovedbytheDepartmentofPublicInstruction.
OpenClassisadynamiclearningmanagementsystem thathelpseducatorsbringsociallearning andcollaborationtotheirstudents.Parentsmightnoticetheirchildrendoingjointprojectsonline withtheirclassmates,forinstance,orengagedinalivechatwithateacher.
NOWYOU
KNOW
Somedistrictshave includedanintroductiontotheParentPortalaspartof theirPTAOpenHousesorface-to-faceteachermeetings.Don’tbeshytoask if anysuchhands-on,usereventisplannedatyourschoolin thenearfuture.
Q2:HowdoI getstartedintheParentPortal?
A2:Checkyour schoolorschooldistrict’swebsiteforalinkfor “Parents”or
“HomeBase.”Also,downloadourQuickTrainingGuideonlinewitheasy-to-follow instructionsandscreenshots.
– TheHomeBaseURLis specifictoyourdistrict. ( )
– AHomeBaseParentPortal Accountallowsyouaccessto viewtheinformationforone ormorestudentswithasingle signon,ifenabled.
– Youcanalsomanageyour personalaccountpreferences.
Q3: Whydon’tallschoolshavethesamelevelofaccesstoparentportal?
A3: Student accessandparentaccesstoHomeBasecanbeactivatedatany time,butit’s uptothedistricttodecide.
BeforestudentscansignintotheStudentPortal,theywillneed:
– accessthathasbeenenabledbyyourdistrictorschool(systemonandready),
– theirschool’sPowerSchoolpublicportalURL,
– aninitialaccessusername(studentwebID,issuedbyyourschool),and
– aninitialaccesspassword(studentwebpassword,issuedbyyourschool).
Beforeparentscansign intotheParentPortal,they willneed:
– accessthathasbeenenabledbyyourdistrictorschool(systemonandready),
– theirschool’sPowerSchoolpublicportalURL,
– theirusername(parentwebID,issuedbyyourschool),and
– theirpassword(parentwebpassword,issuedbyyourschool).
NOWYOU
KNOW
It’snotuncommonforschoolstogiveparentsofmiddleand/or highschoolstudentsaccesstotheParentPortalfirst.Parentsofelementary-agestudentsgenerallyhavemorefrequentcontactwithasingle classroomteacher;whereasmiddleandhighschoolstudentsandtheirparentsinteractwithmultipleteachers.The HomeBaseParentPortalisperfectforthat.
Q4: Myfriendcanseemuchmoreaboutherstudent’sgradesandassignments thanIcan.Why?
ParentPortalScreenshots(asof08.06.2014)
A4: Themajorityoftheparentportalinformationispopulatedwhenteachers entertestscores,homeworkassignmentsandmore.Someschooldistrictsor schoolshavesetarecommendedfrequencyforupdates;othershavenot.
Q5: Whycan’tIgetintotheParentPortal whenmyfriendisableto?
A5: Therearemanyvariablesthatcould affectyouronlineexperiencewiththe ParentPortal.
– WhenHomeBaseisdownformaintenance, forinstance,itisinaccessibleforusers, includingparents.Plannedmaintenance weekendsareknownandannounced
inadvance.Ifthisinformationisnot availablelocally,pleasecheckourTwitter feed@NCHomeBaseornavigateto Home_Base_Maintenance_Sched.pdf
– InourfirstyearofHomeBase,wefound thatsomeschooldistrictsoptedtoturnoff PowerSchoolastheytransitionedfromoneschoolyeartothenext.Pleasereadall communicationsfromyourschooltocheckforotherpossibletimes ofinaccessibility.
NOWYOU
KNOW
Downloadthe mobileappforboth IOSandAndroid online.It’sfree.
Q6: HowcanImakesureI’mgettingallthatIcaninmyParentPortal?
A6: Youcansetupthetypeofnotificationsyougetandhowoften.
Thetypesofinformationyoucanseeinclude:
– Attendancedetail:absences,tardiesandotherattendancecodes.Students arelistedaspresentbydefaultunlessotherwiseindicated
– Assignmentsandgradesarepopulatedwhentheteacherpublishes
Gradebookinformation.
– Teacherscanbeemailedbyusingtheteachernamelink.
Q7:WillmychildstillhaveaccessifIdonotcreateanaccount?
A7: Yes,studentswillbeprovidedinformationtoaccesstheirdataevenifparents donotrequestaccess.
Q8: HowcanI findoutifmyschoolhasParentPortalon?
A8: Contactyour schoolortheschooldistrictoffice.
Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisguide,pleasecontactthe communications directorattheNCDepartmentofPublicInstruction |919-807-3450