Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool server?

What is PowerSchool?

How often can we expect grades to be updated?

How often can we expect attendance to be updated?

Do all teachers use the same grading scales?

What is required to connect to the PowerSchool server?

What can I see on the PowerSchool site?

Can other people see my son’s/daughter’s grades?

What do I do if I forget my PowerSchool password?

Are PowerSchool logins and passwords case sensitive?

How does one get a PowerSchool login and password?

I know that teachers sometimes weight different categories of grades. How does this affect how a grade is calculated?

Do students and parents see the same screens/comments?

Question: Do all teachers post grade and attendance information to the PowerSchool server?

Answer: Posting information to the PowerSchool server requires a number of technical skills that teachers have been working to acquire. We ask for your patience as we continue to train and support our staff in these technical areas that enhance their ability to train our youth in their chosen academic area of expertise. 

Question: What is PowerSchool?

 Answer: PowerSchool is a typical student information system in that it allows us to manage a wide range of information, including the following: grades, attendance, tests, demographics, activities, courses, and photos. Because the program has been designed using modern software tools, it also allows us to connect parents and students to information. We hope the powerful communications features of the program are helpful to parents and to students who are striving to learn and exceed their dreams.

Question: How often can we expect grades to be updated?

Answer: 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, which may be as high as 140 students for teachers with overloads. 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.

Question: How often can we expect attendance to be updated?

Answer:. Except for teachers who instruct in multiple classrooms, in gyms, or outdoors, faculty do their best to record attendance in the first 10 minutes of every period. Faculty enter present, tardy, or absent.

The main office also enters a wide range of attendance codes, as they receive information from parents, the library, and other school locations where attendance is monitored. 

Question: Do all teachers use the same grading scales?

Answer: No. Grading scales vary among teachers and among classes. An average of 62%  might earn a grade of D- for some teachers or a grade of F for other teachers. All teachers share their grading scales as well as other class policy information with their students at the beginning of each course. Parents and students can contact teachers to get a copy of the class policies.

Question: What is required to connect to the PowerSchool server?

Answer: Users need the following to connect:

• A computer with a connection to the Internet

• Internet Explorer 5.01or Netscape 5.0 or more recent (i.e.,a browser capable of 128-bit encryption)

• A login and password, to be supplied by the school

Question: What can I see on the PowerSchool site?

Answer: Parents and students can access the following information on the PowerSchool public site: http://powerschool.tricountyschools.org

• Grades for current classes, as well as the assignments that make up those grades

• Attendance for the past two weeks or for the whole quarter, including a legend of attendance codes used by the school

• Teacher comments

• Reports via Email, which allow parents to request daily, weekly, or monthly reports to be sent via email

• Other features (currently not in use)—School Bulletin, Meal Balances, and Online Course Registration

View screen captures of the pages described above.

Question: Can other people see my son’s/daughter’s grades?

Answer: As long as you protect your password, others will not be able to see your information.

Question: What do I do if I forget my PowerSchool password?

 Answer: Contact the school. HS- 683-2015            Elementary- 683-4035

Question: Are PowerSchool logins and passwords case sensitive?

 Answer: It depends on the browser you are using and the platform and operating system of the computer you are using to access the site. If all lower case does not work, we recommend that you try the login and password with the case as shown in your letter. For some logins and passwords, it is hard to know whether to use 0 (zero) or O (capital o, the letter). We recommend that you try both. If you still can't log in, please call 683-2015 (HS) or 683-4035 (Elementary).

Question: How does one get a PowerSchool login and password?

 Answer: The school will provide this at registration or by mail, or you may contact the main office.

Question: I know that teachers sometimes weight different categories of grades. How does this affect how a grade is calculated?

 Answer: Many teachers use categories such as tests, quizzes, daily work to organize and give different weights to grades; how they weight them is an individual decision. To understand a specific grade calculation, please contact the individual teacher.

Question: Do students and parents see the same screens/comments?

 Answer: When students and parents access the PowerSchool server, they see the same information with one exception; parents have the ability to request automatic progress reports via email.

You may also want to view the screen shots of the PowerSchool site.

This page, last updated on 04/11/08.