Portal Messages: Messages that display on users' Portal pages can now be created from the Announcements tab.

Messenger: Messages can be created and sent from the Compose tab. Messages can be received from the Inbox tab. Batch messages can also be sent to applicable students and/or staff from the Compose tab. Messages can be flagged from the Inbox and Sent tabs.

Phone Communication:

Drafts tab: Message drafts can now be generated from the Compose tab. From here, messages can be scheduled, set as recurring, and saved as a draft. Once saved as a draft, messages can be viewed and continued from the Drafts tab. Once scheduled, messages can be reviewed and edited, as needed, from the Scheduled tab.

Edit Message button: Adding phone calls and SMS can now be completed from the Compose tab, Drafts tab, or Scheduled tab depending on the message that needs attachments. To add phone calls and SMS, you will click the corresponding tabs.

Attach Recipients button: Recipients are added from the Students and Staff pull-down where you can also conduct a student or user search from the Compose tab, Drafts tab, and Scheduled tab. In addition, recipients can also be imported from a CSV file, as needed.

Test button: The Test button now displays as Test Call on the Call tab of the Compose, Drafts, and Scheduled tabs where calls can be attached to messages.

Send button: Messages can be sent from the following tabs depending on the type of message you'd like to send: Compose, Inbox, Sent, Scheduled, and Drafts tab.

Scheduled button: Messages can be scheduled to be sent out on a specific date during a specified time from the following tabs: Compose, Inbox, Sent, Scheduled, and Drafts tab.

Request History tab: To review a report of sent messages, you can view the Communication Reports, which contains a log of all sent messages including the Type of message, Date, Sender, Recipient(s), Total, Errors, Message sent, Emergency flagged messages, Flagged messages, and more. All your sent messages also display on the Sent tab. To view messages scheduled to be sent out, click the Scheduled tab.

Templates tab: Templates can be created from the Templates tab and applied from the following tabs: Compose, Templates, Scheduled, and Drafts.

Attendance tab: Attendance-based messages can be created from the Settings tab in the Attendance section. The Attendance section allows users to enter a Title, compose a message/email (including applicable attachments, such as files, phone calls, and SMS), select the Type (Daily/Period), Schools, Attendance Codes, Letterhead, and. the Hour and Minute of scheduled time to be sent.

Attendance messages are sent when the scheduled job Communication Queue is run, which replaces the Phone Communication Processing scheduled job.

Phone Numbers tab: Caller ID is set up from the Settings tab in the Caller ID Phone Numbers section where the Title, Phone Number, and Schools can be set. From here, you can also determine if the phone number is Public, the School Default, and/or the District Default.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Compose tab.

In addition to composing a message, there are various other options available from this screen. To create an Announcement, create a Template, or Use Template, click the corresponding buttons.

3. Select the student recipient type from the provided pull-down. This option allows you to choose how the Student and/or Family will be receiving the message. Options include:

• Students sends the message to the student's primary email address and/or phone number as identified in the address block of Address & Contacts via Student Info.
• Student Personal sends the message to the student's Personal Email address as identified in Student Info.
• Primary Contacts limits to the contacts marked as custody.
• All Contacts includes all users and/or persons in a student’s addresses and contacts.
• Once Per Family sends the message to the student's custodial contacts and/or contact with a Sort Order priority of 1. The Linked Students section in Student Info > Addresses & Contacts is also used to determine which students are in the same family. Within a sibling group, one student within the group who has at least one contact is selected randomly and all of their custodial contacts are messaged. If that student has two contacts with the same linked user, those two contacts are deduped into one, and the user can see the message when logging in, or through any attached notifications.
• Teacher Of sends the message to all the students' current teachers.
• Students & All Contacts sends the message to the student's primary email address and/or phone number as identified in the address block of Address & Contacts via Student Info, and all users and/or persons in a student’s addresses and contacts.
• Students & Primary Contacts sends the message to the student's primary email address recorded in Student Info, as well as all logged custodial contacts for the selected student. If the student's custodial contacts reside at different addresses or have different recorded email addresses, the message will be sent to all addresses.

4. Select the Student Recipients from the provided pull-down. Select which Students should receive the message.

If you have access to multiple schools, the Student recipient pull-down allow you to filter by school, such as Focus High School, as displayed in the image below. The schools displayed are dependent on the schools to which you have access and schools that contain active students. Schools that fall outside any specified minimum or maximum school years are excluded from the options presented in these pull-downs.

The number of selected recipients displays in the right corner to ensure you have the correct number of recipients selected out of the number possible; in this case, 3 / 1,345.

a. Click the Student Groups icon to select a student group as the student recipients from the pull-down.

i. Upon clicking the Student Groups icon, the pull-down displayed all available student groups. Select the applicable student group from the pull-down.

Click the Students icon to switch back to a Students pull-down.

b. Click the More Search Options icon (magnifying glass) to conduct a student search and utilize More Search Options.

i. Perform a student search. For more information on how to conduct a student search, see Searching for Students.

ii. Using the check boxes displayed next to the students, select the students to whom you'd like to send the message. The selections here populate the original student pull-down. Select the check box in the header to select all displayed students at once.

iii. Click Done.

5. Select the Letterhead template that you'd like applied to your message from the pull-down, if applicable.

6. Select the Staff Recipients from the provided pull-down. Select which users should receive the message.

If you have access to multiple schools, the Staff recipient pull-down allow you to filter by school, such as Focus High School, as displayed in the image below. The schools displayed are dependent on the schools to which you have access and schools that contain active users. Schools that fall outside any specified minimum or maximum school years are excluded from the options presented in these pull-downs.

The number of selected recipients displays in the right corner to ensure you have the correct number of recipients selected out of the number of staff possible; in this case 4 / 921.

a. Click the User Groups icon to select a user group as the user recipients from the pull-down.

i. Upon clicking the User Groups icon, the pull-down displayed all available user groups. Select the applicable user group from the pull-down.

Click the Users icon to switch back to a Users pull-down.

b. Click the magnifying glass to conduct a user search and utilize More Search Options.

c. Perform a user search. For more information on how to conduct a user search, see User Info.

d. Using the check boxes displayed next to the users, select the users to whom you'd like to send the message. The selections here populate the original staff pull-down. Select the check box in the header to select all displayed users at once.

e. Click Done.

7. Select the applicable Academic Record category from the pull-down to determine how the message is stored in the students' cumulative folder.

8.  Select the Secure Email check box to flag the messages as secure and require users to log into Focus in order to view the message.

9. Select the Priority check box to ensure the message will be dispatched ahead of other messages, with the only exception being emergency calls.

10. Select the Push Notification check box to send a push notification to mobile app users when the message is sent.

11. Select the Add Log Record check box to log the message in the students' and/or users' Letter Log record in Student Info and/or User Info. The message will be logged when the message is sent. Messages are also logged for students when the message is printed.

12. Select the Copy Self check box to copy yourself on the email so a copy of the email is sent to you as well as the selected recipients.

13. Select the Send as District check box to send messages (and attachments) to recipients from the "district;" the message displays as if sent by the district and doesn't include your name or information. Once sent, you will receive a confirmation that the message was sent, but the message will not display in your Sent folder.

14. Select the Allow Student/Parent Reply to allow student and parent recipients to reply to your message. If this check box is left cleared (disabled), students and parents will not be able to reply to this message.

When enabled, students and parents can reply to your messages directly from the received email (external email address used; such as personal email address); email responses will be sent to a centralized [email protected] email, which will ensure the response is tracked in the appropriate Inbox tab.

15. Enter the Subject of the message in the provided text box. If a subject is not entered, the subject defaults to New Message.

16. To copy other users on the message/email, enter the emails addresses separated by semicolons in the Cc text box. For example, [email protected]; [email protected]

17. Select the First Only check box to copy the entered email addresses in the Cc text box on one email only. When the check box is cleared, the email addresses entered in the Cc text box display on all emails sent.

18. Enter the Email (message) in the provided text editor. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting and the ability to add links and images.

Follow the steps below to attach a File, SMS, and/or Call before sending.

19a. Click Send to send the message right away. Once sent, the message displays in the Sent tab.

19b. Click Schedule to schedule when the message should be sent.

a. Select the Send Date using the calendar pop-up and enter the send time in the provided text box.

b. If the message is Recurring, select the recurring method from the pull-down, such as Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annually.

i. If you set a recurring method, enter a Final Date in the provided text box to establish the time frame for which the message should run.

c. Click Save.

Once scheduled, you can view the message in the Scheduled tab.

19c. Click Save Draft to save the message as a draft. If saved as a draft, the message will be saved with all attached data in the Drafts tab.

19d. Click Discard to to discard the message if you do not wish to save it or send it.

20. Click Print to print the message.

1. Follow the steps for Composing Messages.

2. Be sure a Subject has been entered, then click Assign to User.

3. From the first pull-down, select the user to whom the message is being assigned.

If you have access to multiple schools, the pull-down allows you to filter by school, such as Focus High School, as displayed in the image below. The schools displayed are dependent on the schools to which you have access and schools that contain active users. Schools that fall outside any specified minimum or maximum school years are excluded from the options presented in these pull-downs.

4. Enter a Note in the provided text box to explain to the assigned user why you are assigning the message draft to them. Note: The message entered in the Note text box will also display as the Draft title for the assigned user.

5. Click Assign to User.

6. Click Done in the confirmation pop-up window.

1a. If a message has been assigned to you, you will first receive an Alert on the Portal page.

1b. From the Communication screen, the assigned message displays on the Drafts tab.

2. Select the assigned message.

3. Edit and send the message. See Composing Messages for details.

4. If you have permission to assign messages, you can re-assign the message or send it back to the originator by clicking Assign to User.

a1. In the pop-up window, to assign the message back to the originator, click Assign back to [User Name (User ID)]. Clicking Assign back to [User Name (User ID)] automatically populates the recipient pull-down.

a2. To assign the message to a new user, from the first pull-down, select the user to whom the message is being assigned.

b. Enter a Note in the provided text box to explain to the assigned user why you are assigning the message draft to them. Note: The message entered in the Note text box will also display as the Draft title for the assigned user.

c. Click Assign to User.

d. Click Done in the confirmation pop-up window.

1. Follow the steps for Composing Messages.

2. In order to preview the message(s) or to print the message(s), click Print.

A PDF Print Preview window opens with the message(s) composed.

3. If printing, you have additional options to consider before printing including:

a. Include Student's or User's Name/ID on Each PDF Page: Select the check box to include the student's or user's name and identification number on each printed page (as it pertains to that person).

b. Redirect to print Avery Labels for students upon closing modal?: Select the check box to automatically navigate to the Print Avery Labels screen in order to create and print mailing labels for students if mailing the printed letters to students/parents.

c. Print Original: Select the check box to print the original message drafted as opposed to the messages generated based on the recipients' preferred language.

d. Print in Primary Contacts Language: Select the check box to print the messages in the recipients' primary contact language as opposed to the original composition language; i.e. this option translates all letters into the primary contact's language, which is determined by the linked user attached to the primary contact with a sort order of 1.

4. Click Generate Letter to regenerate the messages using the Print Options selected.

5. Click the Print icon to print the messages. Clicking the Print icon opens another printing window which depends on your computer settings and printer settings.

6. When finished, click the white X to close the PDF Print Preview window.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2a. Click the Templates tab.

a. Click the pencil icon to create a new template.

2b. Click the Compose tab.

a. Click Template.

3. Enter the Title of the template in the provided text box.

4. Select the Letterhead template from the pull-down that should be applied to the template.

5. Select the Profiles who can view and use this template from the corresponding pull-down.

6. Select the Schools that can access and use this template from the corresponding pull-down.

7. To make the template available on a tab, such as the Demographic tab in Student Info, select the tab from the Attach to Tab pull-down.

8. Select the applicable Academic Record category from the pull-down to determine how the template (when applied) is stored in the students' cumulative folder.

9. Select the Secure Email check box to generate a secure message upon using the template to send a message. The Student/User will receive a notification to log into their portal account to view the secure message.

10. Select the Priority check box to ensure the message will be dispatched ahead of other messages, with the only exception being emergency calls, when the template is used.

11. Select the Push Notification check box to send a push notification to mobile app users when the template is used.

12. Enter the Subject of the template in the provided text box. If a subject is not entered, the subject defaults to New Message.

13. From the Email tab, enter the contents of the email in the provided text editor. When the template is used, the email contents will be sent to the select profile users.

For Student Profiles, the email will be sent to the student's primary email address. For User Profiles, the emails will be sent to the users’ email address.

Follow the steps below to attach a File, SMS, and/or Call before saving the template.

14. Click Save to save the template.

Click Discard to to discard the template if you do not wish to save it.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Templates tab.

3a. Select the template from the list.

3b. Click the Table View icon to view all templates in a table view, as displayed below.

From the table view, you have the ability to view and edit the Title, Profiles, Schools, Attach to Tab, Letterhead, Academic Record Category, and Created By.

a. From the table view, click List View to view all templates in the original panel.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Templates tab.

3a. Select the template that needs editing from the list.

3b. Click the Table View icon to view all templates in a table view, as displayed below.

From the table view, you have the ability to view and edit the Title, Profiles, Schools, Attach to Tab, Letterhead, Academic Record Category, and Created By.

a. From the table, click Edit for a singular view of the template where you can make changes as well.

4. Edit the general fields, as needed, including the Title, Letterhead, Profiles, Schools, etc. and the contents of the Email. See Creating Templates for more information.

5. Click the File, SMS, and Call tabs to edit or add data.

6. Click Save to apply changes.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2a. Click the Compose tab to create a new message.

a. Click Use Template at the top or click use a template in the body of the message.

2b. Click the Templates tab, then select the applicable template.

a. Click Use This Template.

2c. Click the Templates tab, then click the Table View icon to view all templates in a table view.

a. From the Table View, click Use.

2d. Click the Drafts tab, then select the draft.

a. Click Use Template.

You can also click use a template in the body of the message if a message hasn't been entered yet.

3. In the Use Template pop-up window, click the correct template Title to apply to your message.

The Use Template pop-up window displays the following information as it applies to the template(s): Title, assigned Profiles, assigned Schools, Attached Tab, Letterhead, Academic Record Category, and Created By.

The data from the template loads and populates your message.

See Composing Messages for more information about how to complete a message, save the message as a draft, schedule the message, or send the message.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Templates tab.

3a. Select the template that needs to be deleted from the list.

a. Click Delete.

b. Click Delete in the conformation pop-up window.

3b. Click the Table View icon.

a. From the Table View, click delete button (red minus sign).

b. Click OK in the conformation pop-up window.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2a. Click the Announcements tab.

a. Click the pencil icon to create a new announcement.

2b. Click the Table View icon.

a. Click New Announcement.

2c. Click the Compose tab.

a. Click Announcement.

3. Enter the Title for the announcement in the provided text box.

4. Enter the Active start date and end date in the text boxes provided. Enter the start date to determine the date in which the announcement should be posted to the Portal and the end date to determine when it should be removed.

The Active start date defaults to Today while the end date defaults to No Expiration. If an end date isn't specified, the announcements displays on the Portal until deleted or end dated.

5. Select the Profiles who can view this announcement from the corresponding pull-down.

6. Select the Student Contacts from the pull-down to determine which group of student contacts should view the announcement; options include Primary, All, Once Per Family, and Teachers Of. See explanations of each type below:

• Primary limits to the contacts marked as custody.
• All includes all users and/or persons in a students addresses and contacts.
• Once Per Family sends the message to the student's custodial contacts and/or contact with a Sort Order priority of 1. The Linked Students section in Student Info > Addresses & Contacts is also used to determine which students are in the same family. Within a sibling group, one student within the group who has at least one contact is selected randomly and all of their custodial contacts are messaged. If that student has two contacts with the same linked user, those two contacts are deduped into one, and the user can see the message when logging in, or through any attached notifications.
• Teachers Of sends the message to all the students' current teachers.

7. Select the Schools for which the announcement should display from the corresponding pull-down.

8. Select the Grade Levels of students and parents of students who should view the announcements on their portals from the corresponding pull-down. Note: If Grade Levels are selected, Students enrolled in the grade level will see the announcement, as well as parents of students in the enrolled grade level (if the Parent profile is selected from the Profiles pull-down). For example, if the Parent Profile is selected, and Grade Levels 10 and 11 are selected, parents with children/students enrolled in grade level 10 and/or 11 will see the announcement.

9. Enter a Sort Order in the provided text box to set a defined order in which announcements display. If no Sort Order is defined, by default they will appear by Active publish date. If some announcements have sort orders and other do not, the announcements with sort orders will take precedence over those without. If multiple announcements have the same Sort Oder, the secondary Active publish date will be applied in order to sort them.

Note: Entering a Sort Order is completely optional, since the announcements will sort naturally with the most newly available announcement at the top for all users, if it is not set.

10. Select the Public (Mobile App) check box to make the announcement visible to users in the Mobile App who are not logged into Focus. Note: This is only applicable to customers utilizing the Community Mobile App.

11. Select the Push Notification check box to send a push notification to mobile app users when the announcement is posted.

12. Enter the Announcement in the provided text editor. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting and the ability to add links and images.

Follow the steps below to attach an Email, File, SMS, and/or Call before posting.

13. Click Post.

Click Discard to discard the announcement if you do not wish post it or save it for a later date.

Once posted the Announcement displays on the Portal in the District & School Announcements section.

Announcements that are set up without any schools selected will display with the subtitle District Announcement in the District & School Announcements Portal block.  Announcements with a single school selected will display the school’s name in the subtitle. Announcements with multiple schools selected will display without a subtitle.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Announcements tab.

3a. Select the announcement that you want to view.

3b. Click the Table View icon to view all announcements in a table view, as displayed below.

From the table view, you have the ability to view and edit the Title, Start Date, End Date, Profiles, Schools, Grade Levels, Student Contacts, Push Notification, and Public (Mobile App).

4. From the table view, click List View to view all announcements in the original panel.

5. From the Table View or List View, click the Inactive icon to include inactive announcements in the list of announcements. Inactive announcements include announcements where the Active end date has passed.

Click the Inactive icon again to hide the inactive announcements.

6. From the Table View or List View, click the All Schools icon to display announcements that have been set up with All schools designated.

Click the All Schools icon again to hide announcements designated to all schools.

You can select multiple icons to display at once, such as Inactive and All Schools.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Announcements tab.

3a. Select the announcement that needs editing from the list.

3b. Click the Table View icon to view all announcements in a table view, as displayed below.

From the table view, you have the ability to edit the Title, Start Date, End Date, Profiles, Schools, Grade Levels, Student Contacts, Push Notification, and Public (Mobile App) using the text fields and pull-downs, or check boxes.

a. From the table, click Edit for a singular view of the announcement where you can make changes as well.

From the table view, click List View to view all announcements in the original panel.

4. Edit the general fields, as needed, including the Title, Active date, Profiles, Schools, etc. See Creating Announcements for more information.

5. Click the Announcement, Email, File, SMS, and Call tabs to edit or add data.

6. Click Post to apply changes.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Announcements tab.

3a. Select the announcement that needs to be deleted.

a. Click Delete.

b. Click Delete in the conformation pop-up window.

3b. Click the Table View icon.

a. From the Table View, click delete button (red minus sign).

b. Click OK in the conformation pop-up window.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Inbox tab.

All incoming messages are displayed along with the sender's name and their associated school. The number of unread messages displays next to the sender's name.

3. Click the sender's name to open the messages.

Click the pencil icon to create a message from the Compose tab.

Once selected, all incoming and outgoing messages between you and the selected user displays. The date and time is displayed along with all messages.

The icons next to the messages determined the message status and allow various tasks.

The clock icon indicates that the message is processing.

The envelope icon determines the email was sent.

The paperclip displays for attachments. These files can be clicked and downloaded/viewed.

The x icon displays when a message couldn't be sent; the reason the message wasn't sent displays when you hover over the x icon normally because No Contact Information was found. This means the message was delivered to the recipient's Focus Inbox but the recipient was not notified otherwise due to invalid contact data. 

The phone icon displays when the phone call was sent.

The message bubble icon displays when a SMS was sent.

4. Click the flag icon next to incoming messages if the message is inappropriate and should be flagged as such.

In the pop-up window, click Confirm.

Once flagged the message is removed and replaced with "Message Content Flagged."

a. Click the red flag icon for more options, such as Add Referral (for students), View Message, Remove Flag.

i. Click Add Referral to add a referral via Add Referral for students. In the pop-up window, select the applicable options and follow the steps for adding a referral to complete the process. Then, click Save.

ii. Click View Message to display the message while keeping it flagged.

iii. Click Remove Flag to remove the flag from the message.

5. To respond to incoming messages, type your message in the provided text area. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting and the ability to add links and images.

6a. Click Send to send the message right away.

6b. Click the clock icon to schedule the message to be sent at a later date and time.

a. Select the Send Date using the calendar pop-up and enter the send time in the provided text box.

b. If the message is Recurring, select the recurring method from the pull-down, such as Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annually.

c. Click Save.

Once scheduled, you can view the message in the Scheduled tab.

6c. Click the pencil icon to continue writing the message from the Compose tab where additional options are available, if needed.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Sent tab.

All outgoing messages are displayed along with the recipient's name and associated school.

3. Click the recipient's name to open the messages.

Click the pencil icon to create a message from the Compose tab.

Once selected, all outgoing and incoming messages between you and the selected user displays. The date and time is displayed along with all messages.

The icons next to the messages determined the message status and allow various tasks.

The clock icon indicates that the message is processing.

The envelope icon determines the email was sent.

The paperclip displays for attachments. These files can be clicked and downloaded/viewed.

The x icon displays when a message couldn't be sent; the reason the message wasn't sent displays when you hover over the x icon normally because No Contact Information was found. This means the message was delivered to the recipient's Focus Inbox but the recipient was not notified otherwise due to invalid contact data. 

The phone icon displays when the phone call was sent.

The message bubble icon displays when a SMS was sent.

4. Click the flag icon next to incoming messages if the message is inappropriate and should be flagged as such.

In the pop-up window, click Confirm.

Once flagged the message is removed and replaced with "Message Content Flagged."

a. Click the red flag icon for more options, such as Add Referral (for students), View Message, or Remove Flag.

i. Click Add Referral to add a referral via Add Referral for students. Follow the steps for adding a referral to complete the process.

ii. Click View Message to display the message while keeping it flagged.

iii. Click Remove Flag to remove the flag from the message.

5. To send additional messages, type your message in the provided text area. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting and the ability to add links and images.

6a. Click Send to send the message right away.

6b. Click the clock icon to schedule the message to be sent at a later date and time.

a. Select the Send Date using the calendar pop-up and enter the send time in the provided text box.

b. If the message is Recurring, select the recurring method from the pull-down, such as Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annually.

c. Click Save.

Once scheduled, you can view the message in the Scheduled tab.

6c. Click the pencil icon to continue writing the message from the Compose tab where additional options are available, if needed.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Scheduled tab.

Scheduled messages are displayed with the date for which they are scheduled along with One-time or Recurring.

3. Click the scheduled message to view details and make changes.

Click the pencil icon to create a message from the Compose tab.

Once selected, the scheduled message displays. Edit the message, as needed. For details, see Composing Messages.

4. Once all edits have been made, click Reschedule to reschedule the message for a different time and/or date, or click Save to apply the changes to the already set time and date.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Drafts tab.

Drafted messages are displayed with the date and time saved and the type of message, such as Email.

3. Click the drafted message to view details and make changes.

Click the pencil icon to create a message from the Compose tab.

Once selected, the drafted message displays. Complete composing your message and prepare to send the message or save it as draft again. For details, see Composing Messages.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Select the Compose tab, Scheduled tab, or the Drafts tab depending on where you need to import recipients.

3. If you selected the Scheduled or Drafts tab, select the applicable scheduled message or draft.

4. Click Import Recipients / View Imported.

5. From the pop-up window, click Upload CSV of Recipients.

6. Select the CSV from your computer, and click Open.

7. In the Import CSV - Column Setup pop-up window, select the correct column headers from the provided pull-downs to match the data from the file to the system.

8. If your file contains a header, select the Header check box.

9. Click Submit.

All imported data populates populates in the Imported Recipients window.

10. Click Done.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Select the Compose tab,  Scheduled tab, or the Drafts tab depending on where you need to view or delete recipients.

3. If you selected the Scheduled or Drafts tab, select the applicable scheduled message or draft.

4. Click Import Recipients / View Imported.

All imported recipients are displayed in the Imported Recipients pop-up window.

5. Click the delete button (red minus sign) to delete a single entry/recipient or click Delete All to delete all imported recipients.

a. In the confirmation pop-up window, click OK.

6. To upload more recipients, click Upload CSV of Recipients and follow the steps explained in Importing Recipients.

7. Click Done.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Select the Compose tab, Templates tab, Announcements tab, Scheduled tab, or the Drafts tab depending on where you need to attach the files.

3. Select the applicable message, template, announcement, scheduled message, or draft.

4. Click the File tab to scan or drag and drop files to be attached. Once attached, the File displays with the message for the user to download. If an email is also attached, the file will be sent as an attachment in the email as well.

5a. Drag and drop the file from your computer to the file area.

5b. Click Choose a file or drag it here to select and download the file from your computer. Select the file, and click Open.

5c. Click Scan to scan a file from your scanner directly to Focus. Select the Scanner, Color, Format, etc., then click Scan.

5d. Click Take Photo to upload a file using your computer camera. Once your camera loads, click Take Photo.

6. Once a file is attached, click the download icon to download the file to your computer or click the delete icon to file.

To remove the files from the message, click the X next to File.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Select the Compose tab, Templates tab, Announcements tab, Scheduled tab, or the Drafts tab depending on where you need to attach the SMS.

3. Select the applicable message, template, announcement, scheduled message, or draft.

4. Click SMS to attach an SMS text to the Announcement. When the announcement becomes active, the SMS text is sent to the selected profile users. This option is only displayed for users with the SMS profile permission enabled.

• For Student Profiles, the SMS is sent to the student's primary phone number on their Address card where SMS enabled. 
• For Parent Profiles, the SMS is sent to the custodial contact with the SMS flag.
• For User Profiles, the SMS is sent to the users’ phone number.

5. Select the Emergency check box to send an emergency text message regardless of the enabled Blocked feature on the student/contact record and/or the system preferences enabled disallowing users from sending notifications during specific time frames. Note: The system will still respect the Callout flag on the student/contact record.

6. Type the SMS in the provided text box.

7. Click Insert Field to insert select fields from Focus into the SMS, such as student demographic information.

8. The pop-up defaults to Student Fields; click User Fields to insert Focus fields applicable to users, and click Finance Fields to insert Fixed Assets fields.

a. Select the Keep Window Open check box to select multiple fields without closing the pop-up window.

b. Once all fields have been selected, click Done.

To remove the SMS from the message, click the X next to SMS.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Select the Compose tab, Templates tab, Announcements tab, Scheduled tab, or the Drafts tab depending on where you need to attach the call.

3. Select the applicable message, template, announcement, scheduled message, or draft.

4. Click the Call tab to type a text-to-speech message or record a template call to be attached to the message.

5. Select the Emergency check box to send an emergency phone call regardless of the enabled Blocked feature on the student/contact record and/or the system preferences enabled disallowing users from sending calls during specific time frames. Note: The system will still respect the Callout flag on the student/contact record.

6. Caller ID phone numbers must be set up via Settings > Caller ID Phone Numbers in order for the call tab to be available to you and other users. Once applied, they will display on the Call tab upon attaching a call to a message.

If only one number is setup or available to you, the title of the phone number displays next to Caller ID, as shown below.

If more than one number is setup and available to use, a Caller ID pull-down displays from which you can select the Caller ID you wish to use.

To remove the Call from the message, click the X next to Call.

Setting 1: Messages are automatically translated based on parents' and students' Preferences > Display Options > Language.

Setting 2: Messages are automatically translated based on the Primary Student Language set in Student Info.

The specific language field depends on the field set as the student's primary language via Setup > Translations > Change Default Language Field.

As shown below, when the message is sent, the message is automatically translated to the Language selected by the parent/student or set as the student's primary language; in this case, French.

The messages previously sent are in English before the parent set their preferred language to French.

Parents and students can click View Original to view the original message sent in English.

a. The original displays. To view the translation again, click View Translation.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the applicable tab, such as Templates, Announcements, or Drafts.

3. Select the applicable template, announcement, or draft from the list.

4. Click Edit Translations to manually translate the message into another language.

5. Select the language of translation from the provided pull-down.

6. Enter the message to be translated in the provided text area.

7. Click Add Language to add another language of translation.

8. Select the second language from the provided pull-down.

9. Enter the message to be translated in the provided text area.

10. Add as many language as needed. To delete added languages, click the X next to the selected language.

11. Click Save.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. Select the Remove from Messaging Search check box to remove yourself from the staff recipients pull-down when composing new messages. Users still have the ability to respond to your messages but cannot generate new messages to you when the check box is selected.

4. Select the Include Student and User names/ID On Each PDF Page check box to add the staff/student name and ID to the header of every printed page.

5. Select the Expand Table List When Viewing Announcements or Templates by Default to view the Templates and Announcements data in the table view by default. Without this setting enabled, the Templates and Announcements tabs default to and open in List View.

6. Select the Opt In for Push Notifications on all messages check box to receive push notifications for every message sent to you via the mobile app.

7. Select the Opt Out of Email Notifications check box to opt out of receiving notifications for new messages.

8. Click the Email Signature tab to create and save your personal email signature that will be added to the end of your sent messages.

a. Type your signature in the provided text area. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting and the ability to add links and images.

9. Click the SMS Signature tab to create and save your personal SMS signature that will be added to the end of your sent text messages.

a. Type your signature in the provided text area.

10. If you will be out of the office and want to set up a message that will be sent automatically in response to incoming messages during this period, enter the Out of Office: Start Date and End Date in the provided text boxes.. Then, enter the message in the text area.

11. Click Save.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. In the Teacher Attendance Alerts section, enter the Title of the attendance reminder.

4. Click Edit to create an attendance reminder message to be sent out when the selected criteria is met.

a. Enter the Email (Subject and message) in the provided text editor. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting, insert fields, and the ability to add links and images.

b. Attach Files, generate an SMS, and/or Call by clicking the corresponding tabs.

c. Click Done to close the pop-up when your message is complete.

5. Select the Schools for which this attendance reminder applies.

6. Select the Periods from the pull-down for which this attendance reminder applies. The pull-down defaults to All.

7. Enter the Minutes Threshold in the text box to determine how many minutes should pass after the period has started before the attendance reminder is sent to the teacher.

8. Select the Letterhead template that you'd like applied to your message from the pull-down, if applicable.

9. Enter the Start Date and End Date to determine when this attendance alert should be active. You can enter the Start Date only until this attendance alert should no longer be used; at which point, you can enter an End Date.

10. Press the Enter/Return key to add the attendance alert, and click Save.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. In the Attendance section, enter the Title of the attendance-based message.

4. Click Edit to create an attendance message to be sent out when the selected criteria is met.

a. Enter the Email (message) in the provided text editor. There are a variety of tools available, including text formatting, insert fields, and the ability to add links and images.

b. Attach Files, generate an SMS, and/or Call by clicking the corresponding tabs.

c. Click the white X to close the pop-up when your message is complete.

5. Select the Type to determine the frequency of the message.

Select Period to look at the students period attendance, this will be run as often as the scheduled job is set. Period attendance triggers an alert for each period that meets the attendance criteria.

Select Daily to look at the students daily attendance, this can be ran once a day. Daily attendance triggers an alert when the daily attendance code has been generated that meets the attendance criteria.

6. Select the Half Days check box if the students have a half day attendance; when enabled, the calls go out for half day attendance. The option only appears when the selected school has the attendance calculated by minutes and the minutes for half day present is less than the minutes for full day present.

7. Select the Attendance Codes that drive/trigger the message, such as Absent.

8. Select the Schools for which this job will be run.

9. Select the applicable Grade Levels from the pull-down if you need to limit the attendance messages to select grade levels. The pull-down defaults to All.

10. Select the applicable Periods from the pull-down if you are create attendance messages based on Period attendance not Daily attendance (selected from the Type pull-down).

11. Select the Letterhead template that you'd like applied to your message from the pull-down, if applicable.

12. Enter the Start Date and End Date the job should run to send out this attendance message.

13. Enter the Send Time the scheduled job should run in order to send out this attendance message.

14. To ensure messages are not sent out beyond a specified time, enter an End Time in the provided text box.

15. Select the Once Per Day check box to ensure the message is only sent out once a day regardless of how many times the criteria is met. I.e. The Once Per Day check box sends one notification once per day per student. The check box is enabled for selection when Period is selected as the Type.

16. Press the Enter/Return key to add the attendance message, and click Save.

Attendance messages are sent when the scheduled job Communication Queue is run. See Scheduled Jobs for more information.

Attendance-based messages can be edited as needed by clicking any of the fields and making changes including the Edit button to edit the attached Email, Files, SMS, and Calls.

1. File Requirements: At a minimum, a file with a header row and one column to be mapped to a lookup field is required for the Integration. Optionally, districts can include additional columns in the file that will serve as variables that can be inserted into the Communication Message.

2. Uploaded-Assets Diretory: For each Integration, a new directory will need to be created within uploaded-assets.

Import Files for processing should be uploaded to the directory. When the Communication Queue scheduled job runs and a file is available in the directory, messages will be generated and the results are inserted into the communication_integration_logs table.

The processed file will be moved to {IMPORT_DIRECTORY}/processed/{DATE}/my_file.csv to avoid processing the same file twice.

3. Integration Templates: Communication Integrations use Templates to pull predefined content into the messages generated by the import file. To create an Integration, a Template must first be created. 

Navigate to Templates > New Template. Set up an Email, SMS, and/or Call message template that will be sent to the recipients designated in the import file.

Insert Fields as well as Custom Variables from the Import File can be pulled into Messages to generate content specific to the recipient. To populate a variable field from the Import file, insert the Column Header Name in Brackets on the template. For Example:

Import File Sample:

Template Sample: Bus Route {ROUTE} is {VARIABLE_1}

Results:

     Recipients matching KWH2 receive → “Bus Route KWH2 is Delayed 20 Minutes”

     Recipients matching KAC3 receive   → “Bus Route KAC3 is Now on Time”

4. Click the Settings tab.

5. In the Integrations section, enter a Title in the text box.

6. Select the Template with predefined content to be used as the message from the provided pull-down.

7. Select the desired recipient type for the message from the Student Contact Type pull-down. Options include: All Contacts, Once Per Family, Primary Contacts, Student Personal, Students, Students & All Contacts, Students & Primary Contacts, and Teachers Of.

8. Select the Student/User Field used to match on the first column of the imported CSV from the Lookup Field pull-down.

9. Enter the directory to search for CSV import files in the File Directory text box. This location must be within uploaded-assets.

10. Enter the date range in which the Integration should be active in the Start Date and End Date text boxes.

11. Enter the Start Time and End Time in the provided text boxes to determine the time in which messages are sent; messages will not be sent before the designated start time or after the end time specified.

12. Press the Enter or Return key to save the integration. You can also click Save.

1. In the Students menu, click Communication.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. In the Caller ID Phone Numbers section, enter a Title for the phone number to be used as Caller ID. Note: The Title is for internal use only and doesn't display as caller information.

4. Enter the Phone Number that will display as Caller ID for outgoing phone calls.

5. If the Phone Number is made Public, you can determine the Schools that should have access to the Public caller ID phone number from the corresponding pull-down. If no schools are selected from the pull-down and the Public check box is selected, all schools will have access.

6. Select the Public check box to allow other users to select the phone number from the Caller ID pull-down upon adding a Call to your message. Note: The pull-down displays if there are multiple phone number set up from which to choose.

7. Select the School Default check box to make this number the default number for anyone at the selected school(s). Note: If a user doesn't have any schools selected in their user enrollment record, they will have the district default as their default.

8. Select the District Default check box to make the phone number the default for the entire district. Note: There has to be one number set as the District Default in order to send calls. If you try to add two district default numbers, the most recently added one will be treated as the default.

9. Press the Enter key to add the phone number, and click Save.

Once the phone numbers have been added, they will display on the Call tab upon attaching a call to a message.

If only one number is setup or available to the user, the title of the phone number displays next to Caller ID, as shown below.

If more than one number is setup and available to use, a Caller ID pull-down displays from which users can select the Caller ID they wish to use.

Communication Status Updates

If the phone numbers supplied by recipients is unreachable, there is a form published to that student/parent or user in order to collect their updated contact information. Once completed, the scheduled job collects data regarding the unsuccessful calls and publishes the form completed by the receipts containing updated contact information to the appropriate users. Note: The appropriate forms must be set up via Setup > Application Editor and the forms must be selected in System Preferences > Default School Preferences > General tab from the Call Out System Student Reenrollment Form and Call Out System Parent Reenrollment Form pull-downs.

Note: This scheduled job requires the purchase of the Communication / Call Out System add-on module.

Communication Queue

This scheduled jobs tracks and generates emails throughout the SIS and ERP systems including all messages created using the Communication screen. All emailing is centrally tracked and controlled by the running of this scheduled job. This scheduled job will be installed by default, and set to run every 15 minutes. The timing of this job should not be adjusted or the distribution of emails from Focus will be delayed to end-users.

This scheduled job locates all scheduled messages being held in the queue and prepares them to be sent out. This job applies to all scheduled messages created by administrative users and teachers. Scheduled messages will not be sent out without the execution of the Communication Queue scheduled job. Each time the job is set to run, it will send out any messages scheduled for the time at or before the current time of processing. Scheduled messages are held in the Scheduled tab. This scheduled job also sends all Attendance messages set up from the Settings tab in the Attendance section. Emails are sent out when the message is scheduled; however, calls and text messages still respect the “Do Not Send Calls, SMS Messages or Push Notifications Before This Time” and the “Do Not Send Calls, SMS Messages or Push Notifications After This Time” system preferences set via Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > General. Note: The Communication Queue job replaces the old Phone Communication Processing job present in version 11.

This scheduled job must be run in order to send push notifications.

Communication Email Replies

When the Reply functions are enabled in Communication, Focus allows users to reply to email communication directly from their email. This scheduled job populates users’ inboxes with responses that have been sent directly from emails.

The communication module respects the hide schedules preferences set via Setup > System Preferences > Scheduling tab. If the "Hide scheduled from teachers" setting is enabled, the student pull-down for the teachers is blank. If the "Hide schedules from students and parents" setting is enabled, the teacher pull-down is not populated for parents or students.

Upon adding images to messages, you can click the image to utilize the Summernote plugin to enhance image attributes. Click the image to open the attribute menu where you can link images, work with images more effectively within the editor, and enable the inclusion of linked images in communications.

The system field titled, Exclude from Communication, can be enabled via Setup > School Fields and added to School Information. By default, this field is disabled, with no permissions enabled upon installation. To enable from Setup > School Info, you can select the Exclude from Communication check box.

Activating this feature has several implications. Primarily, it removes the excluded school from district-wide communication. This means users and students of the excluded school will no longer appear in the recipient pull-down for communications. Additionally, users associated with these schools lose access to Callout, SMS, or Attendance Communication Platform expansion features.

For schools marked as excluded, communication is restricted to within the school. Features like SMS and phone calls are disabled, and the Send as District option is modified to Send as School. This change ensures that any communication sent displays the school's title and logo, rather than the district's.

Furthermore, announcement emails sent from these schools will list the school’s title as the From Name.

In the Communication Report, these emails will show School as the source and the school title under the From field. See Communication Reports for more information.

If the system preference, Always Confirm Recipient Count when Sending Communication, is enabled, a confirmation pop-up window indicating the number of recipients displays instead of only displaying the confirmation when the recipient count is over 100. This preference only affects staff users, and not parents and students. This setting can be enabled, via Setup > System Preferences > School Preferences / Default School Preferences > General tab.

If the system preference, Default Student Recipient Type, is enabled, the Student Recipient pull-down defaults to the selection made by the district, such as Primary Contacts.

You cannot send new messages when a prior school year is selected in the session.