Parent Portal – Frequently asked questions

How do I access the Parent Portal?

Follow the directions received from the school office. The information on that sheet includes specific information for your child. With that sheet, you can create your own account and link your own children to it yourself with the codes provided on page two of that sheet.

What do I do if I cannot connect to my child when I’m entering the information on the sheet sent home from school?

The most common reason that parents have difficulty connecting to their child in PowerSchool after creating an accounting is because they have not entered part of the Access ID or the Access Password correctly. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell the difference between the number 1 (one), the capital letter I (i), and the lowercase letter l (L). Likewise, the difference between the number 0 and the capital letter O can be hard to decipher. We recommend trying each of these combinations if you are having difficulty connecting to your child through the Parent Portal.

Do I need a separate account for each of my children?

No. Once you have created an account, you can add additional children to that account with the codes that are provided for those children on the sheets received from the school office.

How do I add additional children to my account once I have already created it with the first child?

Once you have created an account, you can add additional children to that account with the codes that are provided for those children on the sheets received from the school office. Directions are provided here.

Simply follow these self-service directions.

How often can I expect the teachers to update the grade information?

Teachers will typically update grades at least once every two weeks. Many teachers and teams update their gradebooks more frequently, but the nature of the student work that is being assessed will also influence how frequently teachers and teams update their Gradebooks. Teachers not only need to time to score student assessments and to enter those results in to their Gradebooks, but teachers also need to spend time planning specific learning opportunities for students based on those assessment results.

What do the column headers T1, T2, and T3 mean?

In School District 21 schools, the school year is broken up in to trimesters. First trimester, T1, runs from the start of the school year until Thanksgiving weekend. Trimester 2, T2, is from Thanksgiving weekend until early March, and Trimester 3, T3, is from early March until the end of the school year. Academic and Learner Quality grades are stored at the end of each trimester. Power Standard marks are recorded at the end of the entire school year, which is referred to in PowerSchool as Y1.

When am I able to access PowerSchool?

Typically, PowerSchool can be accessed day or night, any day during the school year, with the potential exception of Friday nights and early Saturday mornings, when scheduled maintenance is performed on the PowerSchool servers.

What kind of computer and/or web browser do I need?

PowerSchool does require a connection to the Internet. With that, PowerSchool can be used on virtually any modern computer, tablet, or smartphone. Supported PowerSchool browsers include, but may not be limited to:

• Windows: Edge, Firefox, and Chrome
• macOS: Safari, Firefox, and Chrome
• Android: Chrome
• iOS: Safari and Chrome
• ChromeOS
• Linux: Firefox and Chrome

Can students access their information in PowerSchool?

Middle School students have access to the PowerSchool Student Portal, which provides students with access to similar information, such as grades and attendance information, as that which is available to parents.

What other data can I view in the Parent Portal?

Attendance data can also be viewed. Attendance is updated daily in PowerSchool during the mornings by the school’s Health Office. Additionally, parents can control their account settings and email notifications in the Parent Portal.