The Calendar feature allows administrators to create and manage a personal calendar in Focus. Additionally, time slots can be defined to indicate availability for scheduling conferences with parents. Requests for parent conferences can also be initiated from the Calendar feature.
The Calendar screen allows users to create and manage a personal calendar in Focus. One-time or recurring events can be added and shared with particular staff, parents, and students. Additionally, administrators can define blocks of availability to schedule conferences. Conferences can be requested by the administrator, parent, or (with the proper profile permission) students. Requests can then be approved or denied by the administrator.
1. Go to the Users menu and select Calendar.
The current month and year are displayed in the top left corner.
2. Click the blue arrows to scroll to a previous and/or future month.
On the left side of the screen is a list of the upcoming events.
3. To filter the list, begin typing the event title in the Search field.
4. Click on an event to view the event details in a pop-up window.
5. To filter the calendar to display only events in a specific category or categories, click the category pull-down in the center of the screen and select/deselect the categories.
Categories that you have created will display with an asterisk in front of the category name. Categories that have been shared by other administrators will display at the bottom of the list without an asterisk.
6. The blue bell icon displays with a number if a parent has requested a conference. By clicking the blue bell icon, a list of pending conference requests displays.
7. The green plus icon can be used to Add an Event, Add Recurring Event, or to Request a Parent Conference.
8. Selecting Month displays the calendar view by month (this is the default).
9. Selecting Week displays the calendar view by week.
10. The Setup button opens a screen where Availability Settings, Event Categories, and District Categories can be set and/or customized under the respective tabs.
The Availability Settings tab is used to set up days and times that parents and students can request a conference. If administrators, parents, and students will not be requesting conferences through the Request Conferences feature of Calendar, then times do not need to be added to the Availability Settings tab.
If parents will be requesting conferences with administrators through the Request Conferences feature, then the times that administrators are available must be entered in the Availability Settings tab under General Availability for parents to select a conference time slot.
Availability modifiers can be used to break up availability into specific time slots so that when parents are selecting from time slots to request a conference, the time slots will list the begin and end time according to the information set here.
1. Click the Setup button.
2. Verify that the Availability Settings tab is selected.
3. Scroll down to the Availability Modifiers section of the screen.
Availability Modifiers must be set up in order to schedule conference requests by time slot. If not set up first on this tab, a pop-up will display with a prompt to set them up.
A meeting length needs to be set in order to split up availability times on the request conference screen.
Meeting Length
The Meeting Length is used to set a length for a pre-defined time slot. For example, if an availability window is set for 4:00-6:00 on Tuesday evening with a meeting length value of 20 minutes, then parents will be restricted to submitting a request for a conference for a 20-minute time slot, such as 4:00-4:20.
1. Click the Meeting Length (minutes) field and enter the meeting length, in minutes. Note that a maximum of 60 mins (1 hour) can be entered for meeting length.
2. Click enter or click outside of the field to save the minutes indicated.
Time Padding between Meetings/Classes (minutes)
Time Padding can be added to provide a specified amount of time between each meeting/conference that is scheduled. For example, if a meeting length of 20 minutes is entered, and a padding length of 5 minutes is entered, the time slots available will be listed as every 20 minutes, with 5 minutes following each time slot. This will be calculated in to the available time slots that parents can choose to sign up for when requesting a conference time.
1. Click in the Time Padding between Meetings/Classes (minutes) field and enter the time padding length in minutes. Note that a maximum of 60 mins (1 hour) can be entered for time padding length.
2. Click enter or click outside of the field to save the minutes indicated.
- Set up the Availability Settings tab using the steps outlined above.
- Which section of the Availability Settings tab must be completed first? Why?
- How can students or student groups be given the ability to request conferences with an administrator?
General Availability is used to indicate the days and times that an administrator is available to meet each week. The days/times entered here will display as available time slots each week unless otherwise modified by the administrator. Availability Modifiers must exist. Profile Permission for “Can set availability to students” must be enabled to utilize the "Make me available to" pull-down in order to select students/student groups (if setup and assigned).
1. Select the Setup button. The screen defaults to the Availability Settings tab.
2. In the Make me available to pull-down, select applicable recipients or use the Check all link to allow all students or members of student groups/teams to request a conference with an administrator.
The Make me available to pull-down menu allows students to request a conference with an administrator in the same manner as requesting a teacher conference.
3. Click the green plus sign/calendar icon next to the applicable day of the week to add a timeframe.
4. In the first text box, enter the start time for the first window of availability in the hours: minutes format. Click or tab outside of the time text box and the time will autosave.
5. In the second text box, enter the end time for the first window of availability in the hours: minutes format. Click or tab outside of the time text box and the time will autosave.
If a time is entered without am/pm, Focus will populate am or pm based on the logic of a typical school day. For example, if you enter 7:00, Focus will populate 7:00 a.m. If you enter 3:00, Focus will populate 3:00 p.m.
To add an additional time for the same day, select the plus sign again to enter the start and end times for the second time frame. This can be useful for offering meeting times, for example, before school and after school on the same day.
To remove an unnecessary time frame window, select the red X icon in the time field.
Repeat steps 3-5 to continue adding time windows for other days of the week as needed.
Date-Specific Availability allows administrators to enter specific dates and meeting times that differ from the times set in General Availability.
For example, if an administrator adds a General Availability window every Monday from 4:00-5:00 but will not be available one Monday out of the month, this can be configured under Date Specific Availability. If administrators would like to add additional availability windows for a specific date, such as Parent Teacher Conference night, this can be added under Date Specific Availability.
1. Select the Setup button.
2. On the Availability Settings tab, locate Date-Specific Availability section.
In the blank row, fill in the following:
3. Click the Date text box and enter the date or select the date from the calendar.
4. In the Time Start and Time End text boxes, enter the window of time in the hours : minutes am/pm format.
If a time is entered without am/pm, Focus will populate am or pm based on the logic of a typical school day. For example, if you enter 7:00, Focus will populate 7:00 a.m. If you enter 3:00, Focus will populate 3:00 p.m.
5. In the Available pull-down, select Yes to indicate availability or No to prevent the time slot from displaying for parents to request.
6. Enter any Notes, if needed. Notes are for personal use only and are not visible to the public/students.
7. Press Enter to add the row.
8. A red minus sign displays to the left of the date when it is saved. Select the red minus sign to remove the entry.
Click the Date header to re-sort the date order to chronological order.
9. Repeat steps 3 - 4 to continue adding date specific availability, as needed.
Event categories can be used to organize the events in Calendar. Prior to adding an event, a minimum of one event category must be created so that events can be assigned to a category on the calendar.
Events cannot be added to the calendar unless an event category is created.
1. Select the Setup button.
2. Select the Event Categories tab.
Any previously created event categories display in the table.
3. In the top row of the table, click in the Color field to display the category highlight color pop-up.
4. Select the applicable Font Color in which events will be displayed when they are assigned to the specified category on the calendar.
a. Click Choose to close the pop-up window.
5. Enter a Title for the category.
6. To restrict use of the category to specific school years, select the Min School Year and/or Max School Year from the applicable pull-downs.
Leaving the Min School Year and Max School Year pull-downs blank will make the category available in all school years.
7. Press Enter to save the event category.
Once the category has been added, it will display in the table with a red minus sign to the left of the category color.
Event categories can be deleted by selecting the red minus sign. If a category will no longer be used during a school year, set the Max School Year pull-down to the previous school year for the specified category.
Event categories will display in the pull-down on the Calendar screen and can be filtered by selecting the applicable categories.
Event categories that are created will display as a background color behind the title of an event when it is added to the Calendar.
Once a minimum of one event category has been created, events can be added to the calendar.
- Set up an Event Category.
- Create a calendar event and assign the new category created.
- Why would you set a Min School Year and/or Max School Year?
One Time Events, Public Events, and Recurring Events can be added to the Calendar. Selected staff, parents, and students will receive notifications on the Alerts section of the Portal page.
One time events can be added to the calendar and shared with specific staff, parents and/or students at a school. After at least one category has been created, an event can be added.
1. Click Return to Calendar if you are in setup.
Add a one-time event to the calendar using one of the following options.
2a. Hover over the green plus icon and click Add an Event. The event details pop-up displays.
2b. Hover over the applicable calendar square for a specific date. A green plus icon will appear on the cursor. Click on the desired date square. The event details pop-up displays.
3. Enter a Title for the event (required to save).
4. Select the Profiles with whom the event should be shared from the pull-down.
5. To share the event with specific users, select the Staff, Parents and/or Students or select Check all to share with all users in a pull-down.
If this is an event for your own calendar, leave these fields blank.
6. Select the Category for the event.
7. Enter or select the event start Date; the end date field will auto populate with the same date. If you clicked on a date on the calendar, the start and end dates are auto populated. If the event will last multiple days, enter or select the end Date in the second date field. A date is required to save the event.
8. Select the All Day check box to schedule the calendar event for the entire day making the Set Time inactive.
9. Select the Public check box to make the calendar event public, not based on profiles. If selected, the Profiles, Staff, Parents, and Students pull-downs become inactive.
10. In the Type pull-down, select SSS Service or the applicable logging field.
The Type pull-down is tied to Caseload & Services in SSS, if the district has the SSS add-on module enabled. The Type pull-down is used to add an SSS Service event or create a log record for a student.
Only logging fields you have the profile permission to create records for that have a date and time field will be available for selection. Once you have selected a logging field, the field will display at the bottom of the event window.
a. After selecting SSS Service and saving the event, the “Add New Service” button becomes available which when clicked, opens the Caseload & Services screen to add a service for a student.
11. If you have access to multiple schools, they will display in the pull-down; users with profile permission to a single school will only see that school in the pull-down. Select the School(s) to determine how the calendar event is shared.
If the event is Public, a school selection is required.
12. Enter the beginning and end Set Time for the event in the format of hours:minutes am/pm.
If All Day is selected, the Set Time fields will be hidden.
If a meeting length was set up in the Availability Settings tab, the end time will auto-populate based on the length set when a start time has been entered.
13. Enter any notes for the event as needed. Notes are not required; however, notes will display when the event is selected on the calendar.
14. Click Save.
The event will be added to the calendar, highlighted in the category color.
If the event is shared with other users, it is populated on their calendar. The category that the event is assigned to displays in the pull-down without the asterisk.
When the event is added as a Public event, the event will be listed in the Upcoming Events calendar on the Portal block for users with whom the event was shared.
In addition to a one-time event, users can add recurring events that may be held weekly, biweekly or monthly.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Hover over the green plus sign icon, and select Add Recurring Event. The event details pop-up displays.
3. Complete the fields indicated in the event pop-up.
4. Enter a Title for the event (required to save).
5. Select the Profiles with whom the event should be shared from the pull-down.
6. To share the event with specific users, select the Staff, Parents and/or Students or select Check all to share with all users in a pull-down.
If this is an event for your own calendar, leave these fields blank.
7. Select the Category for the event.
8. Select the All Day check box to schedule the calendar event for the entire day making the Set Time inactive.
9. Select the Public check box to make the calendar event public, not based on profiles. If selected, the Profiles, Staff, Parents, and Students pull-downs become inactive.
10. In the Type pull-down, select SSS Service or the applicable logging field.
The Type pull-down is tied to Caseload & Services in SSS, if the district has the SSS add-on module enabled. The Type pull-down is used to add an SSS Service event or create a log record for a student.
Only logging fields you have the profile permission to create records for that have a date and time field will be available for selection. Once you have selected a logging field, the field will display at the bottom of the event window.
a. After selecting SSS Service and saving the event, the “Add New Service” button becomes available which when clicked, opens the Caseload & Services screen to add a service for a student.
11. If you have access to multiple schools, they will display in the pull-down; users with profile permission to a single school will only see that school in the pull-down. Select the School(s) to determine how the calendar event is shared.
If the event is Public, a school selection is required.
12. Enter the beginning and end Set Time for the event in the format of hours:minutes am/pm.
If All Day is selected, the Set Time fields will be hidden.
If a meeting length was set up in the Availability Settings tab, the end time will auto-populate based on the length set when a start time has been entered.
13. Enter any notes for the event as needed. Notes are not required; however, notes will display when the event is selected on the calendar.
14. Select the day(s) of the week that the event will occur.
15. Select the Pattern of the event to determine if the frequency will be Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly Forward, or Monthly Backward.
Monthly Forward > looks for first available day of week after Start date.
Monthly Backwards > looks for first available day of week before Start date.
Click the From: and To: fields to select the applicable date that the event will start in the From: field. The date in the To: field will automatically populate and adjustments can be made accordingly.
16. Select Generate Scheduled Days.
The dates for the recurring event will be listed based on the days of the week, pattern and date range selected.
Select the red minus sign to the left of a date on the list generated to indicate that the event will not be held on that date. For example, if an event falls on a day that students will not be in attendance, the date can be removed so that the calendar displays accordingly.
17. Select Create Recurring Event.
The event will display on the selected days on the calendar for all users with whom the event was shared.
If the recurring event was made public, the event will display on the Upcoming Events Portal block.
- Add a Recurring event to the Calendar.
- Once you have clicked Generate Scheduled Days, how can dates that conflict with non-student days be removed?
- What does the Monthly Forward pattern in the Pattern pull-down do? Monthly Backward?
Event details can be modified by the user who created the event after the event has been saved and shared with users.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Select the event from the calendar.
The event details pop-up window displays.
3. Make modifications to the event as necessary.
4. Click Save.
The modifications made to the event will display for all users who have access to the event.
When editing a recurring event, a single instance of a recurring event can be edited, or all instances of a recurring event can be edited.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Select the event from the calendar.
If a single instance of a recurring event will be modified, ensure the event for the applicable date is selected.
The event details pop-up window displays.
3. Make modifications to the event as necessary.
4. Click Save.
A pop-up window displays indicating that the event was created using the recurring event option.
5. Select Yes to update all instances of the recurring event. For example, if the time of the event was changed, and the time should be changed for all instances of the event, select Yes.
Select Cancel to apply the updates only to the event for the specific date selected. For example, if the time of the event was changed, and the time should only be changed on this particular date, then select Cancel.
The modifications made to the event will display for all users with whom the event was shared.
Events can be deleted for all users with whom the event was shared by the user who created the event. Recurring events can be deleted by single instance in a series or the entire series can be deleted.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Select the event from the calendar.
The event details pop-up window displays.
Once Delete is selected, the event will immediately be deleted. Ensure the proper event is chosen from the calendar prior to selecting Delete.
3. Click Delete.
The event will be deleted from the calendar for all users with whom the event was shared.
When deleting a recurring event, a single instance of a recurring event can be deleted, or all instances of a recurring event can be deleted.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Select the event from the calendar.
If a single instance of a recurring event will be deleted, ensure the event for the applicable date is selected.
The event details pop-up window displays.
3. Click Delete.
A pop-up window displays, indicating that the event was created using the recurring event option.
Select OK or press the Enter/Return key to delete all instances of the recurring event.
Select Cancel or press the ESC key to delete only the event for the specific date selected.
Once Delete is selected, the action cannot be undone. Cancel will delete a singular event in the series and OK will delete the entire series. Ensure the proper event is chosen from the calendar prior to selecting Delete.
Administrators can request a conference with a parent through the Calendar.
1. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
2. Hover over the green plus sign icon and select Request Parent Conference.
3. Click in the Parent pull-down to select the parent with whom a conference will be requested.
Use the Filter text box to type the name of the parent. This will bring the corresponding parent to the top of the list.
4. In the Reason text box, type the reason that the conference is being requested. This will display for the parent when hovering over the alert for the conference in the parent portal, as well as in the email that is generated indicating that a request for a conference has been submitted.
A reason must be entered in order to submit the request for a parent conference.
5. Click Request.
By default, the request will display for the parent in the Alerts section of the Parent portal, stating that a request for a conference has been submitted.
If the parent has an email attached to the user record, then an email will be sent to the email on file in addition to the alert on the Portal page. Parents can access a link in the email to complete the process of requesting a specific time to meet with an administrator.
If the parent does not have an email attached to the user record, then a message will display indicating that an email was not sent because an email is not tied to the specified parent. The parent will continue to receive a Portal alert notifying them of the parent conference request through the parent Portal.
When a parent or student submits a request for a conference through the Parent or Student Portal, administrators will receive a Portal alert in the Alerts section of the Portal. The Portal alert will state Pending Parent/Student Conference Requests and the number of requests that are pending. There are two methods that can be used to access the Pending Conference Requests screen.
1a. Click the Portal Alert.
a. The Pending Conference Requests screen will display inside of the Calendar menu.
1b. From the Users menu, select Calendar.
When a request for a parent or student conference is pending, a number will display in the box with a bell indicating how many requests are pending.
a. Select the blue bell icon.
The Pending Conference requests screen displays inside of the Calendar menu.
1. Locate the request that will be approved. In the Requested Meeting Time(s) column, select the time for which the conference will be scheduled.
A time must be selected to schedule a conference. Only one time can be selected.
2. Click Approve.
The time slots that were not selected will automatically be denied and will be available for other parents to select when requesting a parent conference.
The conference will display on the calendar for the parent/student and administrator for the specified time and date.
If the parent/student has an email associated with the user account, an email will be sent stating the confirmation of the conference.
Parents and students can track the status of conference requests through the portal under the Approved/Denied Requests tab in the Request Conferences sub-menu.
In the event that a parent or student has submitted a request for a conference during times which the administrator will not be available, the requested times for the conference can be denied.
1. In the Pending Conference Requests pop-up, locate the request that will be denied.
2. Select Deny All.
A pop-up warning displays indicating that a reason for why the conference times are being denied must be entered.
3. Click OK.
4. Enter the Reason for denying this conference.
5. Click OK.
The request will be removed from the pending conference requests pop-up window.
If an email is associated with the parent’s account, then an email will be sent indicating that the conference times have been denied and the reason for the denial will display in the email.
Parents can also track the status in the Request Conference sub-menu under the Approved/Denied Requests tab for the request status and reasons provided.
The number on the bell icon on the Calendar screen, along with the number of pending parent/student conference requests listed in the Portal alert will decrease as the conference requests are approved and/or denied. Once all requests have been approved/denied, the number will be removed from the bell icon and the Portal alert will be removed from the Portal screen.