Rockingham County Public Schools
In the Heart of the Beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Following are answers to frequently asked questions about PowerSchool.
Q: I now have Firefox or a new version of Internet Explorer. How can I open a second tab with PowerSchool information without having to re-type the URL (web address) into the second tab?
A: In your main PowerSchool window, right-click on the PowerSchool logo in the top left corner (the link to your Start Page) and select to open the link in a new tab. This will bring up a second tab with PowerSchool already open.
Q: How can I add a bookmark for PowerSchool to my Bookmark Toolbar?
A: Both Internet Explorer and Firefox have a special toolbar you can use to have your bookmarks always visible without having to go to the Bookmarks menu. You can either drag the icon to the left of the URL to that toolbar or select the "Bookmarks Toolbar" (in Firefox) when you add the bookmark to the PowerSchool page. Go to the PowerSchool website, click on the Bookmarks menu item, select "Bookmark This Page", and then click the "Folder" drop-down menu to select the "Bookmarks Toolbar" . Click "Done" and you should see the bookmark in your toolbar. (Thanks to Matt Kinman for this reminder).
Q: How can I find inactive students in PowerSchool?
A: Use the forward slash as the first character of your search.
Q: How can I find students based on the value in a demographic field?
A: Use the "View Field List" link to find the names of the PowerSchool demographic fields. You can then type the field names (or click on them in the field list) to search for students. For example, to find all students who live in Broadway, you may type "City = Broadway" into the search field.
Q: Where do we enter discipline entries in PowerSchool?
A: Find the student you need to enter a discipline entry for and then click on the "Log Entries" link in the "Administration" section. Click on the "New" button and then select "Discipline" from the "Log Type" drop-down menu.
Q: Do we need to enter an "Incident Number" manually for each discipline incident?
A: PowerSchool does not automatically generate a state incident number. However, if the incident you are entering involves a single student, you do not need to enter an incident number. This number will be auto-generated at reporting time. If an incident involves more than one student, all students involved must have the same incident number entered. Incident numbers must be unique for the year so we suggest that you use the month and date and a unique number for the day. Example: 0126005 for an incident that occurred on January 26th (the 5th multi-student entry for this day).
Q: Why are there multiple fields in the discipline entry screen for the offense code and the santion?
A: The "Subtype" and "Consequence" fields include RCPS-specific entries while the "Primary Offense Code" and "Final Division / Sanction Code" are used for the Crime and Violence report to DOE. The "Subtype" and "Consequence" entries are optional, while the state fields are mandatory.
Q: I have a lot of saved SASI queries. How can I get them into PowerSchool?
A: We are gradually adding "Stored Searches" into PowerSchool. Many queries are easy to accomplish in PowerSchool and may not require a stored search. For example, you can simply enter "EntryDate >= 1/1/09" to get a list of all students who entered your school after January 1st, 2009. If you do need a query saved that you run frequently, e-mail us and we will add it to the list of stored searches.
Q: When I print my screens that show a report, the blue color of the linked fields does not print well. What can I do to fix that?
A: You can change the color scheme of your web page as a short-term fix and also let us know that you need a particular report in a format that uses regular black lines. To change the color of links in Firefox, you can select "Options" from the "Tools" menu, click on the "Content" button, and then on the "Colors" button. In Internet Explorer, select "Internet Options" from the "Tools" menu, click on the "General" tab, and then click on the "Colors" button in the "Appearance" section.
