Documentation for Administrators

Elementary Scheduling Setup

Updated on

The Elementary Scheduling Setup document includes information on how to set up the Elementary Scheduler, including creating subjects, managing courses and sections, and linking sections in packages.

Verifying Scheduling Parameters

Prior to creating or editing Subjects, Courses, and Sections for scheduling purposes, ensure that the following parameters are accurate for the school, even though most are set by the district.

  • The upcoming school year (not the current school year) is selected from the school year pull-down.
  • The dates for the Calendar and Marking Periods reflect the next school year.
  • The Periods and Rooms used for scheduling have been reviewed.
Verifying Subject Short Names are a Match with Grade Level Short Names

To determine which teachers should appear for which grade levels, Focus will look for the parent of the packages. The Course Number of the parent section must be located in a Subject folder where the Subject Short Name, for example,  KG, 01, 02, etc. matches the Short Name of the Setup - Grade Levels. The tabs in the Elementary Scheduler will display the title of the Setup Grade Levels.

1. Go to the Setup menu and select Grade Levels.

2. Verify the Short Name for each Grade Level.

Grade Levels

3. Go to the Scheduling menu and select Courses & Sections.

4. Click on each Subject and verify that the Short Name matches the appropriate Short Name identified in Grade Levels.

Courses & Sections

5. Make any necessary adjustments to the short names in Grade Levels and/or Courses & Sections.

6. Click Save.

If this is not setup correctly, an error will display when Elementary Scheduler is selected from the menu.

7. Go to the Scheduling menu and select Elementary Scheduler.

8. View the grade level headers at the top of the screen.

Elementary Scheduler

If there are no students in the grade level, the header will not display.

Setting Up Subjects and Courses

In addition to verifying the parameters outlined above, it is necessary to confirm that all courses being offered by the school have been set up and assigned to the appropriate subject. Subjects and Courses are housed under Courses & Sections in the Scheduling menu and it may be helpful to think of this set up as a filing cabinet. Some districts have defined naming conventions for the Subject categories and may have completed this part of the set up for all schools.

Subjects Setup

The Subject setup is the basis for building the sections offered for each course. In the filing cabinet scenario, the Subjects would be the drawers within the Courses & Sections filing cabinet.

Adding New Subject Folders

If the district has not pre-set the Subjects and Courses for the schools, all courses may be housed in the All Courses subject folder and will have to be moved. If this is the case, subjects will have to be added (if not currently in place) before the courses can be moved.

1. Go to the Scheduling menu and select Courses & Sections.

2. At the bottom of the Subjects list, click the + icon.

3. In the New Subject fields at the top of the screen, enter a Title for the subject.

4. Enter a Short Name for the subject.

The Vocational Program Number, Total Hours for Program, and Required Percentage of Hours Attended fields are not applicable, as they are used for post-secondary education.

5. Click Save and repeat the process, as needed.

Deleting Empty Subject Folders

Subjects that are no longer being offered can be deleted as long as there are no courses in the Subject folder. If there are courses, move those (see the next section) to another Subject folder or create one if necessary before deleting the old subject.

1. Click the subject in the Subjects list.

Courses & Sections

2. At the top of the screen, click Delete.

3. In the confirmation message, click Delete.

The subject is removed from the Subjects list. If there are courses and sections within the subject, a warning message will display indicating the courses and sections must be removed first before deleting the subject.

Courses Setup

Each Course is adopted from the district Course Catalog. In the filing cabinet scenario, the Courses would be the individual files within the drawer in the Courses & Sections filing cabinet.

Courses & Sections

Florida districts per state reporting guidelines: State approved courses have 7 digits and schools cannot create their own courses but districts may append an 8th digit or allow schools to add an 8th digit for identification purposes. This policy varies by district.

Districts using an 8th or 9th digit as a unique identifier will typically create the Course in the Course Catalog with the unique identifier.

Adding Courses

If the Course Catalog is being used, be sure that any new courses being offered have been added and/or assigned to your school by the district. Course fields that the district sets at the Course Catalog level are typically locked for schedulers at the Courses & Sections level.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Click the subject in the Subjects list that will house the new course.

3. At the bottom of the Courses list, click the + icon.

Courses & Sections

4. In the New Course fields at the top of the screen, select the course from the Search pull-down. To quickly locate a specific course in the list, enter the full or partial course name or number in the filter box at the top of the pull-down. The list of courses will filter. Select the desired course.

Alternatively, enter the Course Number. If the Course Catalog is enabled, the Course Number field will be red and will remain red until a valid course number is entered. Begin typing a course number to locate a specific course. As numbers are typed, a list of corresponding courses matching the numbers will display. Click the desired course or enter the full course number. The course number can contain up to 50 characters. If the "Max Course Num Length" system preference is set, then the Course Number field will only allow the number of characters set in the preference.

Once the Course Number is entered, the Title field will auto-populate based on the Course Title defined in the Course Catalog (if enabled). If an invalid number is entered, the Course Number field will remain red and you will not be able to add the course.

5. Click Save.

Moving Courses

If the district has filed all courses in the All Courses Subject folder or a course was misplaced into the wrong folder, Courses should be moved to their respective Subjects.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Click the subject in the Subjects list.

3. Click the Course that is to be moved to a different Subject folder.

4. Select the applicable Subject from the corresponding pull-down.

Courses & Sections

5. Click Save.

Deleting Courses

Courses that are no longer being offered can be deleted as long as there are no sections in the Course folder.

1. Click the subject in the Subjects list, and then click the course in the Courses list.

2. At the top of the screen, click Delete.

A warning message will display instructing you to delete the sections first if there are sections set up within the course.

3. In the confirmation window, click Delete.

The course is removed from the Courses list.

Adding/Editing Sections

Sections identify information related to that individual class. Information can be viewed or edited based on the permissions given. In the filing cabinet scenario, the Sections would be the papers within the files in the Courses & Sections filing cabinet.

Copying Existing Sections to Create New Sections

If new teachers have been added to a grade level, they will need sections created. The easiest way to create a new section is to copy an existing section and edit the teacher, room number, period, meeting dates (if applicable), and seat count if applicable. Best practice is to start with a section in the attendance/homeroom course.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Click the subject in the Subjects list, and then click the course in the Courses list that you want to copy.

Courses & Sections

3. At the top of the screen, click Copy.

4. In the confirmation message, click OK.

The copy of the course is created and displayed on the screen with "copy" appended to the Course name in the Course list.

5. Modify the Course Number or any other course fields as needed.

6. Click Save when finished.

 The Short Name must be unique for each section. Focus automatically assigns the smallest 3 digits available for the Short Name. For 1st year districts, the current naming convention from your legacy system may need to be modified due to this restriction.

Updating Section Short Names

If the district/schools decide to adopt the Focus naming convention for sections, especially if the legacy naming convention utilizes the same first three digits, it may be helpful to start with the grade level homeroom/attendance course and then use the Master Schedule Report to update all of the teachers’ sections. Related Arts/Specials should also be updated with the new short name for ease in packaging/batching sections for scheduling purposes.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Select a grade level Subject then the grade level homeroom/attendance course.

3. Click on a teacher’s section. The section information displays at the top.

Courses & Sections

4. Click the Short Name field and edit the name. All of this teacher’s sections, including their specials will utilize this short name.

5. Click Save.

6. Select the next teacher’s section and edit the Short Name.

Repeat until all this grade level’s been completed.

Select the next grade level Subject and grade level homeroom/attendance course and repeat.

Now you can use the Master Schedule Report to mass update each teacher’s sections with the new short names.

Mass Updating Short Names with the Master Schedule Report

This is a quick way to get all remaining course sections updated with each teacher’s new short name. The Related Arts/Specials sections may need to be updated individually.

1. In the Scheduling menu, select the Master Schedule Report.

2. Click Filters.

3. In the Teacher column, enter the name of the teacher whose sections need updating.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

4. Click Mass Update. A pop-up displays.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

5. In the Mass Update pop-up window, select Section # from the Column pull-down.

6. Enter the teacher's new Short Name in the Value text box, then click Update.

The pop-up closes and the Section tab of the Master Schedule Report displays with the teacher’s Section # column highlighted in yellow.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

7. If applicable, manually edit any section that should have a modified version of the teacher’s short name; for example, if there is an additional math or language arts course that is used for “enrichment” or “intensive support” but has the SAME course number, it cannot use the same short name as the primary course.

8. Click Save.

9. Remove the name of the current teacher in the Teacher filter field.

10. Enter the name of the next teacher and repeat the previous steps. Continue this process until all teachers have been updated.

Specials Scheduling

Most schools have their Specials on a rotation schedule, limited to a single day or multiple specific days of the week. In order to utilize such scheduling, be sure that Calendars, Periods, and System Preferences are all properly set up. Sections for Specials/Related Arts are created/edited in the same way as academic course sections.

1. In the Scheduling menu, select the Master Schedule Report.

2. Select the grade level Subject, Course, and the Section for the special or related art.

Courses & Sections

3. Looking at the section information, identify the fields that need to be set up or edited.

4. Select the Meeting Days for which the section will be assigned, or if Rotation Days have been enabled, select the applicable rotation day.

Either meeting days or rotation days should be set, not both.

For scheduling ease, it is recommended that Specials utilize the Short Name field to identify the classroom teacher that will be associated with the section. This makes it easier to “link, batch or package” the sections with a Homeroom or other course. It also makes it easier for the Specials teacher to identify which grade level teacher’s students are in that scheduled section when viewing their attendance or gradebooks.

Courses & Sections

5. Click Save after making changes.

Adding New Sections When None Exist

If no sections exist within a course, a new section can be created. This is where schools who have not rolled sections would begin.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Select the Subject and Course.

3. At the bottom of the Section list, click the plus sign.

4. Select a Teacher, Room, Period, Rotation Day (if used), Bell schedule (only appears if multiple bell schedules exist), Meeting Days, Marking Period (if different from the defaulted marking period), number of Seats, Short Name, whether the section Takes Attendance, is Graded and/or Affects GPA. Some fields may auto-fill from the Course Catalog; they will be grayed out (e.g. Grading scale, Calendar, Grade Posting Scheme, etc.).

Courses & Sections

5. Click the Florida tab to edit any of the state-specific fields, such as the Class Weekly Minutes, Scheduling Method, and Primary Instructor. Some fields may auto-fill from the Course Catalog; they will be grayed out (e.g. FEFP Number, Class Minutes Weekly, etc.).

Courses & Sections

6. Click Save.

Moving Sections to Another Course or Grade Level

Sometimes it is necessary for scheduling teams to move sections from an existing course to a new course; For Example: All Recess sections are sitting in one course and need to be moved to their respective grade level courses.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Select the Subject, Course, and the Section to be moved.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

3. Click on the Course name/number in the top left corner.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

4. Click Move Section at the bottom of the pop-up window.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

5. The pop-up window expands. Select the new Subject and Course to which the section is being moved.

In this example, the Per 7 RECESS1 section needs to be moved from the NON CREDIT RECESS course to the Grade 1 RECESS1  course. 

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

6. Click OK to confirm moving the section.

Sched 2 Elementary - Scheduling Setup _8/2023 - Google Docs

Once the school year has started and this option is used, the students, all attendance and grades will be moved to the new course.  If the school does not want this information to move with the students, then a new section will need to be created and the students moved through the Add/Drop course feature.

The section will now appear in the newly selected Subject and Course area. The teacher (and if the term has begun, students, grades, and attendance) have now all been moved to the new course number.

Deleting Sections or Setting Sections to Inactive

If more sections exist than are needed, there are two options: Delete the extra sections or set them to Inactive in the event they may be needed at a later time.

1. Select the Section that is not needed for scheduling.

2a. Clear the Active check box making the section inactive.

2b. Click Delete.

3. Click Save to apply changes.

Courses & Sections

Sections cannot be deleted if there are students scheduled into the section or at any time where attendance or grades were tied to the section; the section should be set to Inactive if no longer required.

If there is a red number in place of a teacher name, this indicates that the teacher no longer exists in the database.

4. If applicable, click Delete in the confirmation pop-up window to officially delete the section.

Building Co-Taught Sections

There are many scenarios where a co-teacher may be assigned to a section of a course. The co-teacher tab on the Section allows for up to 9 different teachers to be assigned as a co-teacher.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Select the Subject, Course, and the specific Section that will be assigned to the co-teacher.

3. Click the Co-Teachers tab.

Courses & Sections

4. In the first empty row, complete the co-teacher fields as needed:

  • Co-Teacher: Select the co-teacher from the list of active teachers at the school.
  • Permissions: Select the level of permissions to give to the co-teacher for attendance and the Gradebook. Select None, Read Only, or Modify.
  • Scheduling Method: Select the Scheduling Method used. If the co-teacher is an official co-teacher as designated by the state, select C - Co-teaching.
  • Highly Qualified: Setting this field is no longer needed.
  • Team Teacher Training: Select the team teacher training status. If the co-teacher is state reportable, then an option needs to be selected. Note: For Florida, at least one teacher (regular or co-teacher) needs 3 or more years of teaching experience.
  • Cert/Licensure/Qual Status: Select the co-teacher's certification status.
  • Primary Instructor: Select this check box if the co-teacher is the primary instructor for the section.
  • Report to DOE: Select this check box if the co-teacher should be submitted on the Teacher Course format for state reporting.
  • Start Date, End Date: Select the start date and end date for when the co-teacher will work with the section.
  • Start Time, End Time (Post-Secondary): For Post-Secondary sections, enter the start time and end time for when the co-teacher will work with the section.
  • Days Override: Select the days the co-teacher will work with the section.

5. Click Save.

Using the Co-teacher tab is an option for how job share teachers and/or Interns can be setup.

In some elementary schools the PE teachers are co-teachers on each other’s sections. If this is applicable, you will need to go to Teacher 1 and make Teacher 2 the Co-teacher for all sections, then go to Teacher 2 and make Teacher 1 the Co-teacher for all those sections.

Building Inclusion (Support) Sections

Though at this point in scheduling, many schools may not yet know which teacher sections will have an Inclusion section, it is important to know how to build those sections.

Use of the Inclusion tab is an alternative to creating support sections under a different course number.

1. From the Scheduling menu, select Courses & Sections.

2. Select the grade level Subject, Course, and specific Section to be designated as the Inclusion section.

3. Click the Inclusion tab.

4. In the empty row, define the inclusion teacher's information:

  • Inclusion Teacher: Select the inclusion teacher from the list of active teachers at the school.
  • Permissions: Select the level of permissions to give to the inclusion teacher for attendance and the Gradebook. Select None, Read Only, or Modify.
  • Scheduling Method: Select I - In Class One-on-One. Since this tab is for inclusion sections only, I is the only scheduling method option.
  • Highly Qualified: Setting this field is no longer needed.
  • Team Teacher Training: Select the team teacher training status. This is required for the inclusion scheduling method. Note: For Florida, at least one teacher (either team teacher) needs 3 or more years of teaching experience.
  • Cert/Licensure/Qual Status: Select the teacher’s certification status. If using the HQ/Lic process, this field will be locked and will update automatically.
  • Primary Instructor: Select this check box if the inclusion teacher is the primary instructor for the section. For inclusion, this is typically set to No (unchecked).
  • Report to DOE: This field is set to Yes by default. Deselect the check box if the inclusion teacher should not be submitted on the Teacher Course format for state reporting.
  • Course Num: If the course number for the inclusion section is different from the regular course number, enter the course number in this field. Focus will populate upon extract the course number from the primary section and prepend the section ID with an I to make it unique.
  • Section Num: If the section number for the inclusion section is different from the regular section number, enter the section number in this field.
  • Inclusion Minutes Weekly: Enter the number of minutes the inclusion section meets each week. If no minutes are added to the inclusion section, then the inclusion section will have 0 minutes on the schedule record and the S section will have its normal number of minutes. If minutes are added to the inclusion section, then the minutes on the inclusion schedule record will display this number. The minutes on the associated S section will be the S weekly minutes minus the inclusion section weekly minutes. If the inclusion section is removed from the student or the student is dropped from the inclusion section, the minutes are added back to the S section. Note: If the system preference "Do not subtract minutes when using the Inclusion tab" is enabled, the number of minutes set in Inclusion Minutes Weekly on inclusion sections are not subtracted from the Class Minutes Weekly on the associated section. Florida only: An error message will display when attempting to Save if the Inclusion Minutes Weekly are greater than the Class Minutes Weekly.
  • Inclusion FEFP: Select the FEFP number for the inclusion section. 
  • Inclusion Reading Intervention Component: Select the reading intervention component for the inclusion section. 
  • Inclusion ELL Instructional Model: Select the ELL instructional model for the inclusion section. 
  • Start Date, End Date: Select the start date and end date for when the inclusion teacher will work with the section.
  • Inclusion Rotation Days: If an advanced rotation is set up for the school, select the rotation days the inclusion section meets. 
  • Days Override: Select the days the inclusion teacher will work with the students in this section. Note: A teacher may work with a section one or more days during the week; select the appropriate days. To be reported for state reporting class size, Friday should be selected.

5. Click Save.

Teacher Schedules Report

If Courses & Sections were rolled over from the previous year, and/or sections were added for the new year, the Teacher Schedules Report will display a list of all teachers with assigned sections provided the sections have been assigned to periods. This report can be used to make changes to a master schedule by literally dragging and dropping sections around.

1. In the Scheduling menu, click Teacher Schedules Report.

2. Click the Show pull-down to display different information in the report. You can select as many items as needed. Click Apply to display the selected options in the report.

a. Select Room Numbers to display the room number the section is assigned on the report.

b. Select Co-Teachers to display the sections the teacher is a co-teacher for on the report.

c. Select Course/Section Numbers to display the course number and the section short name on the report.

d. Select Terms to display both Semester 1 and Semester 2 classes on the report.

If Terms is not selected to display, only classes scheduled into the term selected at the top-right corner of the screen will display on the report.

e. If rotation days are enabled at your school, select Rotation Days to view the rotation days each section meets on the report.

f. Select Total number of students for the entire period to display the total number of students for each period at the bottom of the table, based on the content displayed in the report. For example, if you have the report filtered by subject to only display English sections, the period totals will only include those English sections.

g. Select Totals to display the total number of students scheduled in each period as well as the total number of students in all of the teacher's sections (the Total Students column displays on the right side of the report).

h. Select Highlight on Double Scheduled to highlight periods that have more than once section scheduled for a teacher in red.

i. Select All Teacher Sections (when filtered by subject) to display all of a teacher's sections when filtering the report by subject.

j. Select Limit to Singletons to display all of the sections that are singletons (only one section of the course is offered).

k. Select Limit to Doubletons to display all of the sections that are doubletons (only two sections of the course are offered).

3. For schools using a rotation schedule, select the Rotation Days to view only the selected rotation day on the report. Click Apply to update the report.

4. To assign rotation days to a section, select one or multiple rotation days from the pull-down.

5. To filter the report by subject, select the subject in the Filter by Subject pull-down. Once the subject is selected, click Apply to update the report.

The report is refreshed and displays teacher schedules for the selected subject.

6. Click on a section to view the section information in the Courses & Sections screen, opened in a new tab. Edits can be made to the section information as needed.

7. Click the blue cross next to the section and drag the section to a different period or teacher.

Teacher Schedules Report 2022-22 Owl HS
Filter For Teacher

When moving sections from one teacher to another, or to display teachers who have been departmentalized, filters can be used to display only those teachers.

1. Click Filters.

2. In the Teacher column, type in a Teacher name next to the + sign.

3. Click the + sign to add another teacher name.

Teacher Schedules Report 2022-22 Focus Elementary School - 0311

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 (if applicable) until the necessary teachers are displayed.

5. To access a section’s information, click the underlined class section title.

Teacher Schedules Report 2022-22 Focus Elementary School - 0311

A new browser pop-up displays the Courses & Sections screen for the selected class. From here, tweaking the section information can be performed, as well as setting up Co-Teacher or Inclusion options, and tweaking any applicable Florida state reporting fields.

Master Schedule Report

This report serves as an overview of Sections, Courses, Co-Teacher Sections, Linked Sections, and Inclusion Sections and can be helpful for cleaning up sections and verifying all required fields have values prior to linking or packaging teacher sections.

1. In the Scheduling menu, select Master Schedule Report.

Viewing the Sections Tab

The Sections tab displays section information for the sections set up at your school. Changes to the section information can be made directly on the report.

1. Click the Sections tab if not already opened.

All the sections set up at the school are listed, along with all the section fields.

2. Click the i icon next to the Subject Title, Course #, or Section # to to open the subject, course, or subject information in Courses & Sections in a new tab or window.

3. Click the i icon next to the Teacher to open the teacher's user record in a new tab or window.

Viewing the Courses Tab

The Courses tab displays course information for the courses set up at your school. Changes to the course information can be made directly on the report.

1. Click the Courses tab.

All the courses set up at the school are listed, along with all the course fields.

2. Click the i icon next to the Subject or Course # to open the subject or course information in Courses & Sections in a new tab or window.

3. Make any edits to the course fields as needed.

The changes are auto-saved.

Viewing the Co-Teacher Sections Tab

The Co-Teacher Sections tab displays any sections that have co-teachers. Changes to the co-teacher fields can be made directly on the report.  

1. Click the Co-Teacher Sections tab.

Any sections that have co-teachers defined in the Co-Teachers tab in Courses & Sections are listed, along with all the co-teacher fields.

2. Click the i icon next to the Subject, Course, or Section # to open the course or section information in Courses & Sections in a new tab or window.

3. Click the i icon next to the Primary Teacher or Co-Teacher fields to open the teacher's user record in a new tab or window.

4. Make any edits to the co-teacher fields as needed.

The changes are auto-saved.

Viewing the Linked Sections Tab

The Linked Sections tab displays any parent/child sections that are set up at the school, such as elementary school homeroom sections that are linked to academic courses and specials, or secondary sections that are linked together like Economics and Government. Only the Take Attendance and Graded fields can be edited on the parent section or linked section on the report.

1. Click the Linked Sections tab.

Any parent/child linked sections set up at the school are displayed.

2. Click the i icon next to the Parent Course, Parent Section, Linked Course, or Linked Section to open the course or section information in Courses & Sections in a new tab or window.

3. Make edits to the Takes Attendance or Graded fields for the parent section or linked sections as needed.

The changes are auto-saved.

Viewing the Inclusion Sections Tab

The Inclusion Sections tab displays any inclusion sections set up at the school with the setup fields from the Inclusion tab in Courses & Sections. Changes to editable fields can be made directly on the report.  

1. Click the Inclusion Sections tab.

Any inclusion sections set up at the school are displayed.

2. Click the i icon next to the Subject, Course, or Section # to open the subject, course, or section information for the primary section in Courses & Sections in a new tab or window.

3. Click the i icon next to the Primary Teacher to open the teacher's user record in a new tab or window.

4. Make edits to any of the inclusion section fields as needed.

The changes are auto-saved.

Filtering the Report

The Filters feature is used to filter the report based on data in a particular column. Filters are available in each tab of the report.  

1. Click the desired tab.

2. Click Filter so that it says Filter: ON.

Filters display above the columns that are able to be filtered.

Master Schedule Report - Google Chrome

3. In the filter text box, begin typing the filter criteria.

The report will filter as you type.

4. Click the down arrow to select a filter option.

5. To add an additional filter to a column, click the green plus icon.

6. To remove a filter from a column, click the red minus sign.

7. To remove all filters, click Filter so that it says Filter: OFF.

Mass Updating the Report

The Mass Update feature is used to make updates to course or section information en masse. Only editable fields can be mass updated.

When mass updating the Master Schedule Report, be sure you have filtered the report to only view the items that need to be updated. Even though you can only see one page of the report, this feature mass updates all pages.

1. Click the desired tab.

2. Click Mass Update.

Master Schedule Report - Google Chrome

3. In the Mass Update pop-up window, select the Column to update.

4. Enter or select the Value.

5. Click Update.

6. The column is updated with the value entered. The fields where the value was changed from the original value are highlighted in yellow.

7. Click Save.

Packaging Sections

Package Scheduling ties multiple sections together for ease in scheduling (may also be referred to as parenting, batching, linking). The Homeroom section is most commonly identified as the Parent Section. All other sections assigned to the teacher are called the Child Sections--this includes Specials or Related Arts sections.

A package can only have 1 Parent Course and can have multiple Child Courses. A Child Course cannot also be a Parent Course. Ensure each section to be included in a package have identifiable short names.

Packaging Sections in Create Packages

1. In the Scheduling menu, click Create Packages.

2. Select the Parent/Homeroom Section.

If any child sections are already linked to the parent/homeroom section, the sections are selected in the Child Sections pull-down and are also displayed in a list beneath the Child Sections pull-down.  

3. To link sections to the parent/homeroom section, select the Children Sections. One or multiple child sections can be selected.

The selected sections are displayed in a list beneath the Children Sections pull-down for easier viewing.

4. Click Save when finished.

Removing a Section from a Package in Create Packages

1. Select the Parent/Homeroom Section.

2. In the Child Sections pull-down, deselect each section to remove from the package, or click Clear selected to deselect all child sections.

3. Click Save.

Appendix: Section Fields

The following are fields that may be present on sections available in courses and sections.

Courses & Sections
  • Teacher: Select the teacher assigned to the section. The teachers staff number displays next to the teachers name. Only active users with a Teacher profile will be available for selection.
  • Room: Enter the room number. If rooms have been set up in Setup > Rooms, select the room from the pull-down. If the Homeroom Number field is set in the Teachers tab of the users record, the room number will auto-populate in the Room field on the section when the Teacher is selected.
  • Resource Display Room: When the system preference Default section display room to resource display room is enabled in Setup > System Preferences > Scheduling tab, the Display Room column is available in Setup > Rooms. When a Display Room is defined on the Rooms screen, it is populated in the Resource Display Room field on the section. The Resource Display Room displays as the room for the section throughout Focus, including on the Teacher Schedules Report, Student Schedule, Print Student Schedules, etc. The Display Room Option field on the section in Courses & Sections can be used to override the Resource Display Room.
  • Display Room Optional: If the room number that should display on schedules differs from the room number in the Room field or the Resource Display Room field, enter the display room number or room name (e.g. gym, band).
  • Period: Select the period the section will meet. If the system preference Enable Ending Period is turned on in Setup > System Preferences > Scheduling tab, select the beginning period in the Beg field and the ending period in the End field.
  • Bell Schedule: Select the bell schedule the section will follow if there is more than one bell schedule set up for the school in Setup > Periods. If the school only has one bell schedule, this field will not display on the section.
  • Rotation Days: If the school uses rotation days, select the rotation days the section will meet. If the section meets on all rotation days, select all the check boxes; do not leave them blank. The length of the rotation and the rotation day label (letters or numbers) are set up in Setup > System Preferences > Scheduling tab using the Advanced Rotation and Rotation Day Label preferences. If the school does not use rotation days, this field will not display on the section.
  • Meeting Days: Select the days of the week the section meets (for state reporting). If rotation days are being used, do not modify the meeting days.
  • Marking Period: Select the full term of the course (full year, semester 1, semester 2, quarter 1, etc.). This indicates the seat time of the course.
  • Seats: Enter the maximum number of students who can be enrolled in the section. The Scheduler will never exceed this value when scheduling students, though administrators can override the seat maximum when manually scheduling students.
  • IEP Seats: Enter the maximum number of IEP students (students who have an entry in the ESE Exceptionalities logging field marked as Primary) that can be enrolled in this section by the Scheduler. If this field is left blank, there is no restriction.
  • ESOL/ELL Seats: Enter the maximum number of ESOL/ELL students that can be enrolled in this section by the Scheduler. If this field is left blank, there is no restriction. Logic for determining ESOL/ELL students:
    • Florida - English Language Learner (custom_626) has a value of LY
    • Texas - Bilingual/ESL/LEP History log field (custom_400010549) - LEP Code (log field 4) has a value of 1
    • Baltimore - English Language Learner (custom_626) has a value of ELL
  • Short Name: The Short Name will auto-populate with the next increment but can be edited as needed. Short names must be unique for all sections within a course.
  • Course History Term: Select when grades should be sent to Course History (e.g. at the end of each quarter, at the end of each semester, or at the end of the school year).
  • Double Blocked: The Double Blocked field is used for posting grades. This is typically used if one school in the district uses a 4x4 block schedule and the rest do not. If a course in the Course Catalog is assigned 1 credit for a Full Year grade posting window, but the section is a double-blocked section meeting every day, then the 1 credit needs to be posted at the end of the semester. When this check box is selected, the system will post the credit at the semester instead of the end of the year for this section. This field is also used to calculate the credits/units set in Student Requests and the Requests Reports. This field is only displayed on the section if the system preference Enable Special Double-Blocked Posting Averaging is turned on in Setup > System Preferences > Grading tab.
  • Takes Attendance: Select the check box to designate that this section takes attendance.
  • Graded: Select the check box to designate that this section is graded.
  • Affects GPA: Select the check box to designate that this section affects GPA.
  • Active: Select the check box to designate that this section is an active section. Deselecting the check box will prevent students from being enrolled in the section. Only sections that do not have students currently enrolled can be marked as inactive. Inactive sections do not display on the Teacher Schedules Report. Attempting to add an inactive section to a students schedule in Student Schedule or Mass Add Course will display an error message.
  • Gender Restriction: If enrollment in the section is limited based on gender, select the appropriate gender.
  • Grade Levels: If enrollment in the section is limited based on grade level, select the appropriate grade levels.
  • Team: If your school uses team scheduling, select a team to restrict enrollment in this section to students assigned to the team. If teams are not set up in Scheduling > Teams, this field will not display on the section. SeeAssigning a Team to a Section below for more information.
  • Grading Scale: Select the grading scale used to post grades for the course. Grading scales are set up in Grades > Grading Scales & Comments. The grading scale can be set to null (blank) if the section does not post final grades. The teacher will not receive alerts to post final grades for the section, and the teacher will not display on the Final Grades tab of the Teacher Completion report for the section.
  • Standards Grading Scale: Select the grading scale used to post standards grades for standards assigned to the course. Standards grading scales are set up in Grades > Grading Scales & Comments. The standards grading scale can be set to null (blank) if the section does not post standards grades. The teacher will not receive alerts to post standards grades for the section, and the teacher will not display on the Standard tab of the Teacher Completion report for the section.
  • Grade Posting Scheme: Select the grade posting scheme, which designates how semester and full year grades are calculated for the section. Grade posting schemes are set up in Setup > Grade Posting Averaging.
  • Calendar: Select the calendar the section will follow (if there is more than one calendar set up for the school).
  • Parent Section: Select a parent section for the section, if applicable. Sections are packaged for the purpose of linking the sections together for scheduling. This is most often used in elementary scheduling when sections for language arts, math, science, art, music, etc. are packaged together with the homeroom section as the parent section. When scheduling students, students scheduled into the parent section will automatically be scheduled into the child sections. SeePackaging Sections in Courses & Sections below for more information.
Appendix: Florida Fields
  • FEFP Number: Select the FEFP number corresponding to the section. The FEFP number will filter to student schedules. FEFP numbers can be modified on the student schedule as needed.
  • District of Instruction: Enter the district number only if the district of instruction is different from the enrolled district.
  • School of Instruction: Enter the school number only if the school of instruction is different from the school where the schedule is built. The School of Instruction will filter to student schedules.
  • Day of Week Scheduled, Alternate Date Certain: If applicable, select the day of the week for the alternate date certain. The Student Course extract and Class Size Report will take this day into account when outputting data.
  • Class Minutes Weekly: Enter the number of minutes this class meets each week. This should correspond with the bell schedule where possible. The Class Minutes Weekly will filter to student schedules. Note: This field cannot be blank or 0. The DOE will not accept 0 minute sections. Florida only: An error message will display when attempting to Save if the Class Minutes Weekly is less than the Inclusion Minutes Weekly set in the Inclusion tab.
  • Scheduling Method: Scheduling MethodSelect the scheduling method, as defined by the DOE.
    • S - Self-contained: One teacher provides total instruction for the entire class period.
    • A - Alternate Week Schedule: Teacher meets with different groups of students in same course/classroom on same day, but alternate weeks. Note: When this option is selected on a section, there must be a matching section.
    • B - Block: Course is scheduled so that students may earn one credit in the course of a semester.
    • C - Co-teaching: A classroom in which two or more teachers share responsibility for planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction for all students in a class. In order to be considered co-teaching, this delivery system is provided whenever a class/subject is taught by two or more teachers and must continue for the entire class period.
    • G - Individual or Small Group Instruction: Teacher meets with an individual student or small group of students on an individualized basis within a traditional classroom but not as a co-teacher. Note: The Pull-out check box in the Florida tab must also be selected for the section to be excluded from class size. Without the Pull-out check box selected, the section is treated as S - Self-contained for class size.
    • I - In-class One-on-One: Teacher meets with an individual student or small group of students on an individualized basis within a traditional classroom but not as a co-teacher.
    • M - Multiple Use Classroom or Pod: More than one class meets during the same period in a space designated by one FISH number but separated by temporary walls."
    • W - Wheel Class:Same course meets in the same room with the same teacher during the same period on multiple days of the week, but with different groups of students.
  • Exclude from FTE: Select the check box to exclude the section from FTE, for example, homeroom and study hall classes.
  • Exclude from FASTER: Select the check box to exclude the section from FASTER transmissions, for example, homeroom and study hall classes.
  • Facility Type: Select the facility type where the section is held. By default, this should be set to 00-School District Facility. If the section is held at a local college, DJJ facility, off campus OJT, virtual instruction, hospital homebound, or is set in another location, select the correct value.
  • Distance Learning: Select whether or not the section requires students to attend in class, or if the class can be held via internet, video conference, or by other means. This field is used for post-secondary education. This field should not be used for K-12 since the Online Course field in Grades > Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank is available.
  • Online Course: Select an option to designate if this is an online course. This is used for K-12 courses to designate whether a student meets the online course requirement. This field cannot be edited on the schedule. This field can be set and pulled from the Course Catalog.
  • Dual Enrollment Indicator: Select the type of dual enrollment for the course (for eligible secondary students or home education students in post-secondary courses creditable toward high school completion, career certificate, or associate or baccalaureate degree). All courses with a U or C school of instruction require a Dual Enrollment Indicator of A. Depending on the technical articulation agreement, adult technical courses may be B or C. If the Dual Enrollment Indicator is used, the FEFP code for K-12 must be 103. This field can be set and pulled from the Course Catalog.
  • Dual Enrollment Institution Type: Select the institution type for the dual enrollment section. This field can be set and pulled from the Course Catalog.
  • Primary Instructor: Select the check box to indicate the teacher assigned to the section is the primary instructor. For sections with an S scheduling method, the Primary Instructor check box should be selected. If a co-teacher is assigned to the section, only one teacher can be designated as the primary instructor.
  • Course Flag 1, Course Flag 2, Course Flag 3, Course Flag 4: Select the applicable course flags. Course flags are defined at the state and district level and will likely flow down from the Course Catalog.
  • Cert/Licensure/Qual Status: Select the teachers certification status. For teachers certified and licensed in their field, select I - Certified/Licensed in field being taught. For out-of-field teachers, select the correct value. If using the HQ/Lic process, this field will be locked and will update automatically.
  • Highly Qualified: Setting this field is no longer needed.
  • ESSA Title III: Select the check box to indicate this section is for language instruction for LEP and immigrant students funded by Title III money.
  • Reading Intervention Component: Select the code to indicate whether or not the course is used to provide reading intervention for all students. This value filters to student schedules.
  • PMRN: Select the check box to indicate this section is where students are receiving reading instruction. When selected, the teacher ID for this section is reported to the Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network during Survey 8 on the Student Demographic format.
  • Pull-out: Select the check box to indicate this section is a pull-out section for students leaving their traditional class to receive extra instruction. Note: Pull-out sections should have the Scheduling Method set to G - Individual or Small Group Instruction to be excluded from class size. In state reporting extracts, period 88 will be added as the ending period for the section to denote the pull-out.
  • Team Teacher Training: Sections with a scheduling method of C or I (with a matching S section) must have a Team Teacher Training value selected. Note: For Florida, at least one teacher (regular or co-teacher) needs 3 or more years of teaching experience.
  • Virtual Instruction Provider: If applicable, select the virtual instruction provider. This field is only used if the course is a virtual school/program course.
  • Online Course Provider: If applicable, select the online course provider.
  • Blended Learning Course: Select the check box to indicate this section is considered a combination of instructor-led and virtual/online learning.
  • Location of Student: If applicable, select whether students are in a district facility or not when taking virtual/online courses.
  • EOC Exam Term: If applicable, select the EOC exam term to determine whether the EOC exam counts as a full year exam or semester exam. This field is used to create EOC exam records.
  • ELL Instructional Model: If applicable, select the ELL instructional model. This must be set for any student/section where an FEFP code of 130 is used.
  • Gifted: Select the check box to indicate this is a gifted section. This check box is for local use and is also used in the HQ/Lic process. Use the Gifted check box if you want the gifted designation to be on the section level instead of the course level.
  • Semester Content: If applicable, select whether the content being taught in this section is for semester 1, semester 2, or for the course term.
Appendix: Departmentalization Examples
2 Teacher Split

Teacher Homerooms

Lee-L.A./S.S. 201
Smith-Math/Science 202

Teacher Schedule

Lee-L.A./S.S.
201-Lee

Smith-Math/Science
202-Smith
Lee-L.A./S.S.
201-Lee

Smith-Math/Science
202-Smith
Lee-L.A./S.S.
202-Smith

Smith-Math/Science
201-Lee
Lee-L.A./S.S.
202-Smith

Smith-Math/Science
201-Lee

HR 201 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-201
Lee
L.A.-201
Lee
S.S.-201
Lee
Math-201
Smith
Science-201
Smith
Music-201
Johnson
P.E.-201
Brown
Art-201
Kelly

HR 202 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-202
Smith
Math-202
Smith
Science-202
Smith
L.A.-202
Lee
S.S.-202
Lee
Music-202
Johnson
P.E.-202
Brown
Art-202
Kelly
3 Teacher Split

Teacher Homerooms

Lee-Math
301
Jackson-L.A.
302
Smith-S.S./Science
303

Teacher Schedule

Lee 301

Lee-Math
301-Lee
Lee-Math
303-Smith
Lee-Math
302-Jackson

Jackson 302

Jackson-L.A.
302-Jackson
Jackson-L.A.
301-Lee
Jackson-L.A.
303-Smith

Smith 303

Smith-S.S./Science
303-Smith
Smith-S.S./Science
302-Jackson
Smith-S.S./Science
301-Lee

HR 301 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-301
Lee
Math-301
Lee
S.S./Science-301
Smith
L.A.-301
Jackson
P.E.-301
Brown
Art-301
Kelly
Music-301
Johnson

HR 302 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-302
Jackson
L.A.-302
Jackson
Math-302
Lee
S.S./Science-302
Smith
P.E.-302
Brown
Art-302
Kelly
Music-302
Johnson

HR 303 Student Schedules (Packages)

Homeroom-303
Smith
S.S./Science-303
Smith
L.A.-303
Jackson
Math-303
Lee
P.E.-303
Brown
Art-303
Kelly
Music-303
Johnson
4 Teacher Split

Teacher Homerooms

Lee-L.A.
401
Smith-Math
402
Jackson-Science
403
Joyner-S.S.
404

Teacher Schedule

Lee 401

Lee-L.A. 401-Lee
Lee-L.A.
402-Smith
Lee-L.A.
403-Jackson
Lee-L.A.
404-Joyner

Smith 402

Smith-Math
402-Smith
Smith-Math
403-Jackson
Smith-Math
404-Joyner
Smith-Math
401-Lee

Jackson 403

Jackson-Science
403-Jackson
Jackson-Science
404-Joyner
Jackson-Science
401-Lee
Jackson-Science
402-Smith

Joyner 404

Joyner- S.S.
404-Joyner
Joyner- S.S.
401-Lee
Joyner- S.S.
402-Smith
Joyner-S.S.
403-Jackson

HR 401 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-401
Lee
L.A.-401
Lee
S.S.-401
Joyner
Science-401
Jackson
Math-401
Smith
P.E.- 401
Brown
Art-401
Kelly
Music-401
Johnson

HR 402 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-402
Smith
Math-402
Smith
L.A.-402
Lee
S.S.-402
Joyner
Science-402
Jackson
P.E.- 402
Brown
Art-402
Kelly
Music-402
Johnson

HR 403 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-403
Smith
Math-403
Smith
L.A.-403
Lee
S.S.-403
Joyner
Science-403
Jackson
P.E.- 403
Brown
Art-403
Kelly
Music-403
Johnson

HR 404 Student Schedules (Package)

Homeroom-404
Joyner
S.S.-404
Joyner
Science-404
Jackson
Math-404
Smith
L.A.-404
Lee
P.E.- 404
Brown
Art-404
Kelly
Music-404
Johnson
Previous Article Course Setup and Requests
Next Article Scheduling Elementary Students