Documentation for Administrators

Student Groups

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The Student Groups screen allows users to create student groups, which can be used for searching and viewing student records. For example, users can create a student group for students on the girls’ basketball team. This group can be assigned to the girls’ basketball coach so the coach can quickly and easily search for and view the records for those students. In addition, users can place limitations on the coach allowing him/her to view the records for the students in the girls’ basketball group but not edit. Similarly, groups can be set up and assigned to guidance counselors, discipline deans, and other users who need to view a specific group of students. Student groups can be created based on customized student searches or dynamic saved searches. Dynamic groups can be created using grade levels, using alpha by last name, or using saved student searches. Note: Custom student groups are not dynamic.

The ability to view and/or edit Student Groups is defined by the profile permission, Student Groups via Users > Profiles > Students tab. The Student Groups profile permission  allows the user to create and edit his/her own student groups. The ability to assign groups to other users is defined by the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users.

Student Groups Profile Permissions

Admin

1. In the Users menu, click Profiles.

2. From the Permission Type pull-down, select Menu.

3. From the Role pull-down, select Admin.

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

5. Click Submit.

Profiles

6. Click the Students tab.

7. Select the View and Edit check boxes to enable profile permissions including:

a. Student Groups: Select the View check box to allow the profile users to view student groups and students in the accessible groups. Select the Edit check box to give profile users the ability to view, create, and edit student groups. This gives users access to the My Groups tab.

b. Assign Groups to Other Users: Select the Edit check box to give profile users the ability to assign student groups to other users. When assigned to other users, the profile users can determine which other users can use their student groups. This permission gives users access to the All Groups tab. If this permission isn't enabled, users will only have access to the All Groups tab if a student group has been assigned to the user.

c. Groups Created By Others: Select the View check box to give profile users the ability to view student groups created by other users. Select the Edit check box to give profile users the ability to view and edit student groups created by other users.

Profiles

8. Click Save.

Teacher

1. In the Users menu, click Profiles.

2. From the Permission Type pull-down, select Menu.

3. From the Role pull-down, select Teacher.

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

5. Click Submit.

Profiles

6. Click the Students tab.

7. Groups: Select the View check box to allow the profile users to view student groups and students in the accessible groups. Select the Edit check box to give profile users the ability to view, create, and edit student groups.

Profiles

8. Click Save.

Creating Dynamic Student Groups

Dynamic groups can be created using grade levels, using alpha by last name, or using saved student searches.

1. In the Students menu, click Student Groups.

Student Groups

2. Select either the My Groups tab or the All Groups tab. The My Groups tab displays groups that you have created. The All Groups tab displays all groups, including groups assigned to you and other users.

Student Groups

Both tabs will display to you if you have profile permissions to Student Groups and other student groups have been assigned to you.

The All Groups tab also includes a Created By column, which displays the name of the user who created the student group.

Student Groups

3. You can create a new group on either the My Groups or All Groups tab. Begin creating a group by entering a Title in the provided text box.

Student Groups

4. If this group will be assigned to specific users, select the users from the Assigned Users pull-down.

Student Groups

You may have access to all the schools in the district and need to create a student group in order to share it with teachers/coaches who need access to student information for eligibility across multiple schools, but said teachers/coaches shouldn't have access to all the schools and extended student information. Selecting the users from the Assigned Users pull-down gives said users the ability to view the student group/report without access to the schools used to create the student group.

Student Groups

The system ensures that teachers can only see information of students who are scheduled in their sections when viewing a group they created themselves. If a group has been assigned to them, they can view student information regardless of who is scheduled into their courses.

If you do not have the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, you can only assign the group to yourself; therefore, only your name will be listed in the pull-down.

5. Select the appropriate Schools from the pull-down.

  • If the Schools pull-down is left null upon creating a student group, the group will be available for the assigned users or profiles regardless of the school selected from the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
  • If one or more schools is selected from the Schools pull-down, the group will only be available for the assigned users/profiles when they are logged into one of the selected schools via the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
  • If you have View and Edit access to Student Groups, you will be able to select the schools to which you would like to assign the group (Users > Profiles > Students tab).
  • If you have View only access to Student Groups, you will see the Schools column but will not be able to edit the Schools pull-down(s). You will also only see the Student Groups that are linked to the selected School via the pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen) (Users > Profiles > Students tab).
  • If you have access to multiple schools, but not all schools, you will only see those schools available in the Schools pull-down.
Student Groups

If the School Filter has been enabled via Setup > School Fields, the Schools pull-down displays with an additional filter, as shown in the image below. The School pull-down utilizes the sort order specified in School Info, which is then followed by alphabetical sorting. Additionally, schools that fall outside any specified minimum or maximum school years are excluded from the options presented in the pull-down.

Student Groups

6. Select the Default Search check box to set this group as the default search group for the assigned users upon conducting a student search.

Student Groups

This group will automatically populate the Student Group pull-down on the Search Screen for the assigned users. If the user needs to search outside of the default group, the user will need to select a different group or select the blank (null) option from the Student Group pull-down and enter different search options.

Student Info

Selecting the Default Search check box will limit the default Focus alerts the Assigned Users receive to data as it pertains to the assigned Student Group.

7. If the selected Assigned Users should not have access to any other students outside the assigned Student Group, select the Limit Assigned Users check box.

Student Groups

If you have not been given the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, the Limit Assigned Users check box will not display.

Currently, the Requires Eligibility indicator is not linked to a functionality that facilitates the determination of eligibility. However, rest assured this is under development and will be available soon. We appreciate your patience and promise to keep you updated on this exciting progress.

Student Groups

8. To make the Student Group available to other users outside of the Assigned Users, select the profile(s) from the Visible To pull-down. Note: Leave this pull-down blank if you do not want to give any other users/profiles access to the Student Group.

Student Groups

If you have not been given the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, the Visible To pull-down will not display.

9. Select Dynamic from the Assignment Type pull-down to create a student group that generates based on selected grade levels, last names, and saved student searches.

Student Groups

10. Select the Assigned Grade Levels from the pull-down, if you want to generate the student group based on specified group levels. In this example, a student group is being created for Focus High School Juniors, so grade 11 is selected.

Student Groups

11. Select the Assigned Last Names from the pull-down, if you want to generate the student group based on specified last names. Select the specific letters or leave All selected to pull all last names.

12. If you have saved student searches upon conducting student searches, you can apply them to student groups. Select the applicable Assigned Saved Search from the corresponding pull-down. In the example displayed, Excused Daily Attendance has been selected; therefore, the search parameters saved to that search will be applied to the student group.

Student Groups

Student Searches must be conducted and saved from a different screen, such as Student Info, in order to apply them to student groups here.

See Searching for Students for more information about how to conduct student searches and how to save searches.

13. Enter a Start Date and End Date in the provided text boxes to determine when the student group is active and available for use.

Student Groups

14. Click Save to save the student group.

Student Groups

15. Click View/Add to view the students in the student group.

Student Groups

The student group report displays the following data: Student ID, Student Name, Gradelevel, # Absences [Marking Period], # Unexcused Absences [Marking Period], # Failing Courses [Marking Period], # Processed Referrals, Course History GPA, and Honor Roll.

Student Groups
Creating Custom Student Groups

Student groups can be created based on customized student searches. Note: Custom student groups are not dynamic.

1. In the Students menu, click Student Groups.

Student Groups

2. Select either the My Groups tab or the All Groups tab. The My Groups tab displays groups that you have created. The All Groups tab displays all groups, including groups assigned to you and other users. 

Student Groups

Both tabs will display to you if you have profile permissions to Student Groups and other groups have been assigned to you.

The All Groups tab also includes a Created By column, which displays the name of the user who created the student group.

Student Groups

3. You can create a new group on either the My Groups or All Groups tab. Begin creating a group by entering a Title in the provided text box.

Student Groups

4. If this group will be assigned to specific users, select the users from the Assigned Users pull-down. If you do not have the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, you can only assign the group to yourself; therefore, only your name will be listed in the pull-down.

Student Groups

You may have access to all the schools in the district and need to create a student group in order to share it with teachers/coaches who need access to student information for eligibility across multiple schools, but said teachers/coaches shouldn't have access to all the schools and extended student information. Selecting the users from the Assigned Users pull-down gives said users the ability to view the student group/report without access to the schools used to create the student group.

Student Groups

5. Select the appropriate Schools from the pull-down.

  • If the Schools pull-down is left null upon creating a student group, the group will be available for the assigned users or profiles regardless of the school selected from the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
  • If one or more schools is selected from the Schools pull-down, the group will only be available for the assigned users/profiles when they are logged into one of the selected schools via the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
  • If you have View and Edit access to Student Groups, you will be able to select the schools to which you would like to assign the group (Users > Profiles > Students tab).
  • If you have View only access to Student Groups, you will see the Schools column but will not be able to edit the Schools pull-down(s). You will also only see the Student Groups that are linked to the selected School via the pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen) (Users > Profiles > Students tab).
  • If you have access to multiple schools, but not all schools, you will only see those schools available in the Schools pull-down.
Student Groups

6. Select the Default Search check box to set this group as the default search group for the assigned users upon conducting a student search.

Student Groups

This group will automatically populate the Student Group pull-down on the Search Screen for the assigned users. If the user needs to search outside of the default group, the user will need to select a different group or select the blank (null) option from the Student Group pull-down and enter different search options.

Student Info

Selecting the Default Search check box will limit the default Focus alerts the Assigned Users receive to data as it pertains to the assigned Student Group.

7. If the selected Assigned Users should not have access to any other students outside the assigned Student Group, select the Limit Assigned Users check box.

Student Groups

If you have not been given the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, the Limit Assigned Users check box will not display.

Currently, the Requires Eligibility indicator is not linked to a functionality that facilitates the determination of eligibility. However, rest assured this is under development and will be available soon. We appreciate your patience and promise to keep you updated on this exciting progress.

Student Groups

8. To make the Student Group available to other users outside of the Assigned Users, select the profile(s) from the Visible To pull-down. Note: Leave this pull-down blank if you do not want to give any other users/profiles access to the Student Group.

Student Groups

If you have not been given the profile permission, Assign Groups to Other Users, the Visible To pull-down will not display.

9. Select Custom from the Assignment Type pull-down to conduct a student search in order to select the applicable students. If Custom is selected, the Student Group will need to be defined based on a Student Search.

Student Groups

10. Enter a Start Date and End Date in the provided text boxes to determine when the student group is active and available for use.

Student Groups

11. Click Save to save the student group.

Student Groups

12. Click View/Add to view the students in the student group.

Student Groups

13. Click Add Students To Group to conduct a search.

Student Groups

14. Conduct a student search in order to add specific students to your custom Student Group. For information on conducting a student search, see Searching for Students.

Student Groups

Shown below is an example of a student search where all juniors need to be pulled into the Student Group.

a. To pull all students, select the Search All Schools check box.

b. Click More Search Options, select Gradelevel.

c. From the Grade Level pull-down, select 11.

d. Click Search.

Student Groups

15. From the list of students, select the check boxes next to each student to add them to the Student Group. To select all students, select the check box in the header.

Student Groups

16. Click Add Students To Group.

The students selected as per your student search display in the Student Group.

Student Groups

17. Click Add Students To Group to add additional students to the student group.

Student Groups

18. Click the delete button (red minus sign) to remove students from the student group.

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

sandbox.focusschoolsoftware.com says

b. Click Save to remove the student from the group.

Student Groups

19. Click the Student Name to open Student Info.

Editing Student Groups

1. In the Students menu, click Student Groups.

Student Groups

2. Select either the My Groups tab or the All Groups tab. The My Groups tab displays groups that you have created. The All Groups tab displays all groups, including groups assigned to you and other users. 

Both tabs will display to you if you have profile permissions to Student Groups and other groups have been assigned to you.

The All Groups tab also includes a Created By column, which displays the name of the user who created the student group.

Student Groups

3. To edit the text fields, such as End Date, click in the text box and make changes.

Student Groups

4. To edit pull-downs, click the pull-down and click Clear to start over. Then, make your new selections.

Student Groups

5. After changes are made, edited fields display in yellow; to apply changes, click Save.

Student Groups

If the Assignment Type is changed from Custom to Dynamic, the students tied to the group will be lost. Therefore, it is recommended to create a new group instead of editing the group or deleting the group.

6. To delete a Student Group, click the delete button (red minus sign) in the first column.

Student Groups

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

sandbox.focusschoolsoftware.com says

b. The deleted student group displays in gray. Click Save to complete the deletion.

Student Groups
Your Assigned Student Groups

If other users have assigned student groups to you without the permission to edit the group, you can view them on the All Groups tab, as shown below.

Student Groups

Click View to View Students in the student group, which includes the Student ID, Student Name, Gradelevel, # Absences [Marking Period], # Unexcused Absences [Marking Period], # Failing Courses [Marking Period], # Processed Referrals, Course History GPA, and Honor Roll.

Student Groups

Click Student Name to open the student's record in Student Info.

Conducting a Student Search via Student Groups

Student groups that are assigned to you or are visible to your profile will be available for selection from the Student Group pull-down on any Student Search screen throughout Focus. If a default search group has not been assigned to you, then a blank selection will populate the Student Group pull-down.

Student Info

1. Select a different group or additional group(s) from the Student Group pull-down.

Student Info

If you have been limited to viewing a specific group of students, the group will automatically populate the Student Group pull-down. In addition, you will not be able to change the group or search for students outside of the group. Note: If your profile has been selected from the Visible To pull-down upon creating the Student Group, you will have access to other groups, although you may not have access to the student records within the groups.

2. Once the correct Student Group has been selected, click Search.

Student Info

The students from the Student Group display in your search results.

Student Info

3. Click the Student name to open the student's corresponding record.

4. Click the Student Group link to open a report of all the students in said group. When clicked, the report displays in Student Groups.

Additional Features

If Student Groups screen contains several pages of information, click Prev and Next to sift through pages of groups. Click the Page text box to enter a page number. Press Enter to jump to that page.

Student Groups

To export the data to an Excel spreadsheet, click on the Excel icon in the Export section.

To print data, click on the Printer icon in the Export section.

Student Groups

Click Filters to further breakdown data.

Student Groups

a. To add more than one filter to a column, click on the green plus sign.

b. To delete an added filter, click on the red minus sign.

c. Click the gray arrow for more filtering options.

For more information see Filters.

You can also sort data by clicking on any of the headers. Click once for ascending results; click twice for descending results.

Student Groups

Use the Filter text box located at the top of each pull-down for a quick search. Begin typing the name or number of the desired field.

Student Groups

a. Click the Exact check box to filter data to match exactly what you typed into the Filter text box.

Student Groups

Click Check all to quickly select all displayed options. Click Clear to clear all selections made. In the example shown, all "focus" schools have been selected.

Student Groups

Click Message to message the students in the student group via Communication.

Student Groups

The Page Size defaults to 20 records. Click and edit the Page Size to change the number of records displayed per page. The number of records displayed determines the number of pages displayed.

Student Groups
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