Pomperaug Regional School District 15

1. What is PowerSchool?
2. Do I need a separate login for each of my children?
3. Is this system secure?
4. How do I get more help?
5. What can I see on PowerSchool site?
6. Whom should I contact if I have a question?
7. Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool server?
8. Why do scores for a course that were previously showing up on the Grades and Attendance Page suddenly disappear for a particular subject?
9. How often can we expect grades to be updated?
10. What can I see on the PowerSchool site?
11. Can other people see my son’s/daughter’s grades?
12. What do I do if forgot my login information or I feel my account has been compromised?
13. Are PowerSchool logins and passwords case sensitive?
14. How does one get a PowerSchool login and password?
15.  I know that teachers sometimes weight different categories of grades.  How does this affect how a grade is calculated?
16. How often can we expect attendance to be updated?
17. Can I change my password?
18. I have multiple children in the district.  Can I have access to all their accounts under just one username and password?
19. My husband/wife and I are separated/divorced; can we get another parent username and password for our child’s account?
20. I am not getting emails from PowerSchool.  Why?
21. What may I reasonably expect from the PowerSchool Parent Portal as a parent?
22. Can I print what I see?
23. Do I need to logout of PowerSchool?

Answers

1.      PowerSchool is the student information system that Region 15 uses to manage information such as grades, attendance, demographics, courses, etc. Since PowerSchool is web-based, some of this information can easily, but safely be shared with parents and students.

2.      Do I need a separate login for each of my children?  Yes, you will receive a unique login for each child.

3.      Is this system secure?  Yes, the system requires an individual login and password for each child and as long as the login and password are kept confidential.

4.      How do I get more help?  Aside from the resources found on the Region 15 website, you should contact the school office with questions regarding the Parent Portal.

5.      What can I see on PowerSchool site?  Parents can access the following information: grades for current classes, attendance for the past two weeks or the whole term, teachers comments, email access to teachers, various reports via email, and the school bulletin (not all schools use this yet).

6.      Whom should I contact if I have a question? Grades for class assignments during the current semester: Talk with your child first. If you still have questions, you may call your child’s teacher or email him/her. General attendance questions should be directed to your school office. If you wish to disable your access to PowerSchool, contact the school office and they can disable your account.

7.      Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool server?  Yes. Grades will be posted by the teacher. 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. 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.

8.      Why do scores for a course that were previously showing up on the Grades and Attendance Page suddenly disappear for a particular subject? The Grade and Attendance page only shows your student’s currently enrolled courses by section. Although the course name and teacher may be same if your child was transferred to another section for scheduling purposes then the Grade and Attendance portion of PowerSchool has no previous information for that section. If you go to the Historical Grades Page you will see all your student’s scores for the year. Once scores are posted in your student’s new section they will show up on the Grades and Attendance screen.

9.   How often can we expect grades to be updated? 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. Coaching, club sponsorships, and family commitments can also affect turnaround time, as well as a teacher's student load. We encourage staff to post grades every 2 weeks, and we urge students and parents to be patient as teachers do their best to return assignments and post grades as promptly as their schedule allows. (See answer #8 for additional information).

10.   What can I see on the PowerSchool site? Grades for current classes, as well as the assignments that make up those grades; Attendance Summary; Teacher comments. (The comment is always the “current comment” which remains until a new comment is made or the teacher clears current comments. You may wish to check with your student’s teachers to see how often he or she updates comments. Teachers are only required to make comments at Progress note time. Comments at the end of the marking period are optional.)

11.   Can other people see my son’s/daughter’s grades? No. As long as you protect your id and password, others will not be able to see your student’s information.

12.   What do I do if I forgot my login information or I feel my account has been compromised? Contact the school to make arrangements to pick up the new login information at the school office. Please bring a photo identification at this time.  If you are unable to go to the school in person, you may mail a written request to your school office and provide to your staff a self addressed, stamped envelope for the password reset return mailing.  Once the written request has been received, office staff will verify the current mailing address found in the student record in PowerSchool with the address provided on the return envelope. 
  This protocol is established for the safety/security of the student records.

13.   Are PowerSchool logins and passwords case sensitive?  No. You may use upper or lower case letters.

14.   How does one get a PowerSchool login and password? Please contact your school office.

15.   I know that teachers sometimes weight different categories of grades.  How does this affect how a grade is calculated? Some teachers calculate grades by total points, and others use categories such as tests, quizzes, daily work to organize and give different weights to grades; how teachers weight grades is an individual decision. To understand a specific grade calculation, please contact the teacher. (See answer #8 for more information.)

16.   How often can we expect attendance to be updated? 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.

17.   Can I change my password?  No, PowerSchool does not allow for the ability to change your password. Please record it and keep it somewhere safe so you have it when you need it (wallet, purse, day planner). If you lose your password, see question #13.

18.   I have multiple children in the district.  Can I have access to all their accounts under just one username and password?  PowerSchool does not allow for this (yet).  Each child’s account information is housed under a separate account so you will have a different parent login for each child.

19.   My husband/wife and I are separated/divorced; can we get another parent username and password for our child’s account?   No.  Unfortunately, the PowerSchool program only allows one parent account to be created per child.  Therefore, both parents will have to use the same username and password that was assigned by the district.

20.   I am not getting emails from PowerSchool.  Why? There could be multiple reasons for this:
a. Did you sign-up for Email Notifications on the Email Notifications page?  Please double check the email address you entered because if one character (letter/number/space) is off, you won’t receive emails.
b.  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.

21.   What may I reasonably expect from the PowerSchool Parent Portal as a parent?   Attendance is taken at the Middle Schools every day during the homeroom period only. You are able to monitor your child's attendance on a daily basis. Parents can view attendance by class at the high school level. You are able to view your child's assignments and grades as soon as the teacher enters the data into his/her electronic gradebook. Although teachers attempt to record grades in a timely manner, the time needed to accomplish this task will vary from teacher to teacher. Please keep in mind that teachers have various methods of grading and the number of assignments given varies based on the course content and individual teaching style.  Each teacher will post his or her individual grading policy into the system so that parents and students know what to expect. The information made available to you through the system should not be considered a substitute for a dialog with your child's teacher.

22.   Can I print what I see? Yes you can. Use the print icon at the bottom of most pages.

23.   Do I need to logout of PowerSchool? Yes, when you are finished, please logout or shutdown your computer. This way no one will be able to access your child's private information.