October 2019

As the end of the quarter approaches, your teachers will need to go through the ReportCard input process.  This means an administrator will allow input, the teachers will enter grades into the ReportCards and then the administrator will close input.  From there, you can either print the ReportCards or permission them to be viewed by parents online.

Opening up teacher input for 1st Quarter ReportCards will require:

  • Changing input for 1st mid-quarter from ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Changing input for 1st quarter ReportCards from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Having teachers go through the 1st quarter ReportCard input process
  • Closing the input process by changing ‘allow input’ to ‘input complete’

If your school started in late August or early September, then you may be gearing up for mid-quarter reports.  FastDirect allows you to create mid-quarter reports in two different ways. Click here to read about the two different ways to create progress reports.  If your school has chosen the import process, then here are the functions that will need to be addressed:

  • Confirming the 1st mid-quarter dates in ‘Grades’ then ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Changing input for mid-quarter from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Having teachers go through the mid-quarter ReportCard input process
  • Closing the input process by changing ‘allow input’ to ‘input complete’

Previewing your report cards is a very important step and should be completed during these first few weeks of school. This step involves looking over each grade level’s report cards to make sure all courses, sub-categories, grade scale and layouts look correct. When you complete this step early in the school year, you help support your your teachers by making sure they have what they need and reduce last minute report card corrections at the end of the grading period. Please note that report card changes can take up to a week to process.

Here are the steps to view a report card:

  1. Go to ‘Grades’
  2. Choose a homeroom instructor in the ‘select instructor’ drop down then click the ‘view instructor’s grade book’ button
  3. Click the button ‘view report cards’
  4. When the homeroom roster appears, click ‘print’ next to any child’s name

Here are the components to review on a report card:

  • Course names
  • Course subcategories
  • Grade scales/marking codes
  • General formatting, for example school header, course list columns, layout

Click here to read the FAQ on how homeroom teachers can view their report cards!

Click here to read the FAQ on how administrators can view report cards!

If your school uses trimester scheduling, then you may be gearing up for mid-trimester reports.  FastDirect allows you to create mid-trimester reports in two different ways. Click here to read about the two different ways to create progress reports.  If your school has chosen the import process, then here are the functions that will need to be addressed:

  • Confirming the 1st mid-trimester dates in ‘Grades’ then ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Changing input for mid-trimester from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
  • Having teachers go through the mid-trimester ReportCard input process
  • Closing the input process by changing ‘allow input’ to ‘input complete’

Previewing your report cards is a very important step and should be completed during these first few weeks of school. This step involves looking over each grade level’s report cards to make sure all courses, sub-categories, grade scale and layouts look correct. When you complete this step early in the school year, you help support your your teachers by making sure they have what they need and reduce last minute report card corrections at the end of the grading period. Please note that report card changes can take up to a week to process.

Here are the steps to view a report card:

  1. Go to ‘Grades’
  2. Choose a homeroom instructor in the ‘select instructor’ drop down then click the ‘view instructor’s grade book’ button
  3. Click the button ‘view report cards’
  4. When the homeroom roster appears, click ‘print’ next to any child’s name

Here are the components to review on a report card:

  • Course names
  • Course subcategories
  • Grade scales/marking codes
  • General formatting, for example school header, course list columns, layout

Click here to read the FAQ on how homeroom teachers can view their report cards!

Click here to read the FAQ on how administrators can view report cards!

The Standards and Domains component in GradeBook has a new feature.  Now when creating an event, teachers can mark those events as either ‘Formative’ or ‘Independent’ or neither.

Here are the steps for how to mark a grade book event:

  1. Go to Grades
  2. Open a course grade book
  3. Click ‘Create event’
  4. In the top right corner of the event box is a drop down labeled ‘Type’.  If you would like to label the event, then select either ‘Formative’ or  ‘Independent’
  5. Continue entering in the rest of the event details
  6. Click ‘Create event’

Creating a staff directory with home phone numbers and addresses can be a helpful report for maintaining contact information. You will also be able to track additional information, such as
birthdays, emergency contacts, and spouses. Establishing a staff directory involves making parent accounts for every staff member. For some of your staff, they may already be parents at the school. The important step is linking the staff account with the parent account. Here are the steps to creating and linking parent accounts with staff accounts:

  • Click on ‘People’ then ‘Teachers’
  • One of the columns on the far right is labeled ‘Parent ID for lunch charges’ This is the column we will be establishing in the next few steps
  • On the first staff account, click ‘edit’ to the left of their name
  • In the middle of their information (above the ‘Change’ button) will be a line that reads ‘Parent ID for lunch charges’ with a drop down
  • If the staff member is also a parent at the school, then click on the drop down to select their parent account, then click ‘Change’
  • If this staff member is not a parent at the school, check the drop down to make sure that there isn’t already a parent account created for them
  • If this staff member is not a parent at the school and you were unable to find a previously created parent account in the drop down, then click the button below the ‘Change’ button that is labeled ‘Add to Parents Database’
  • This will prompt the system to quickly create a parent account for this staff member and link the two accounts together

Once all staff members have corresponding parent accounts, you can start to edit your staff directory. Here are the steps to locating and editing your staff directory:

  1. Click on ‘People’ then ‘Parents’
  2. Click ‘Display’ next to the third option labeled ‘Staff only’
  3. The first column in the list will be the Parent ID numbers for each parent/staff account. Click one of the ID numbers to edit that account
  4. Much like any other parent account, you are now able to edit any of their information. Make sure to click ‘Change’ when you are finished
  5. Note: On the top line of their information, in red, is a line that reads ‘Teacher/Staff’. When this option is set to ‘yes’, then the system will add this account to the staff directory
  6. When you are finished editing the parent account, you can scroll down to click ‘Display’ next to ‘Staff only’ and then repeat the steps

To track additional information on your staff, such as birthdays, awards/degrees or attendance, you will want to create WildCard fields. Reference the FAQ section for steps on how to create a WildCard.

Are you responsible for logging students in/out of before/after care or daycare? Our new component Timer can be given to any staff account which will allow you to track a student’s attendance with ease!  This free feature allows you to track attendance hours for preschool, daycare, before and after school care, and more!  When combined with Finance, you are able to bill a family’s account directly with just a click! Here are some of the amazing features of this robust component:

  • One click clocking in or clocking out of students
  • Multiple rate groups, as well as multiple student groups
  • Customizable rate settings to meet your school’s unique programs
  • Bill directly to a family’s finance account
  • Exportable reports are easily retrieved and detail all previous charges and times

To find out more about Timer and how it can help transform your school’s tracking of preschool or extended care hours, contact HelpDesk to schedule an appointment! If your school already uses Timer, talk to an administrator at your school to get started with extended care tracking.

Assignment Calendars are an essential tool for all parents and guardians! Not only does it provide helpful information but in turn it will strengthen communication between school and home. Did you know that the events a teacher creates in her GradeBook are automatically fed to a student’s assignment calendar?  If a teacher creates events before they occur, the students and parents can be better informed and prepared. The assignments calendar can be found on a parent’s Home screen underneath their FDmail messages.  There will be a black and white grid showing you all the viewing options available for the child’s grades.  One of the columns is labeled ‘Assignment Calendar’.  Click the ‘View’  button and a new window/tab will appear displaying a month’s worth of dates.  The month can be changed so that the parent or student can see a different range of dates.

Watch this video tutorial to find out how to unlock a locked course in Show Who Teaches What:

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