1. In the menu, click Preferences.

2. This navigates to the Preferences screen, which defaults to the Display Options tab where you have the ability to customize the appearance of Focus.

3. You first option is the Language; this defaults to English. For a different language, select the radio button next to the desired language. Note: The language will not change until you click the Save button to apply changes.

Options include Chinese, English, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Russian, English (Canada), and Spanish.

4. The next option is the Highlight Color, which applies to menus, tabs, and headers. In the image shown, green has been chosen. Once saved, all menus, tabs, and headers will turn green; see the image shown for an example.

In the image shown below, the Highlight Color has been set to green.

5. Select how you want student names displayed on the Portal from the Portal Student Name Format pull-down. Note: If this setting is not available, your district has not enabled it to display, and the format of student names will display as determined by the district.

Displayed below is an example of the student information block on the Portal page when First name is selected from the pull-down.

6. You can choose how student information is displayed using the Student Info Layout pull-down. The options include One Column, Two Columns, and Three Columns. The default set up is one column. See the image for an example of two columns.

In the image shown below, the student information layout on the Child Info screen has been set to Two Columns.

7. Select the Default Filters On check box so all filters are automatically turned on upon navigating to screens that contain the Filters feature.

8. Select how you want the date to display via the Date Format pull-downs. Choose whether you want the day of the week (Wed) to display. Choose how you want the month to display; options include Oct, October, and 10. The options for the day include [0]18, 18, and 18^th. If you want the year displayed, choose either 2023 or 23.

9. Once you select how you would like the date to display, you can select the format in which it displays, such as Month Day, Year or Day Month, Year.

10. When all selections have been made, be sure to click Save to apply changes made.

1. In the menu, click Preferences.

2. Click the Notifications tab.

3. Hover over the icon in the Status column for information regarding the status of your notifications.

4. Your name will be displayed in the Name column. If your email has been registered, it will display in the Email column.

5. Upon setting up your Notifications, you can also set up the Frequency you receive selected notifications from the pull-down; options include: Never, Daily, Weekly, or Custom.

6a. Select the Summaries you would like emailed to you by selecting the corresponding check boxes, such as Attendance, Discipline, Upcoming Assignments, Grades Link, and/or Events and Announcements.

6b. If you selected Custom from the Frequency pull-down, you set these customized notifications from the Summaries section.

a. Grades: Course Average drops below: Choose to receive an email when the students grade drops below a specified course average; enter the grade in the provided text box, such as 65.

b. Grades: Course Grade becomes: Choose to receive an email when the student grade drops below a specified letter grade; select the letter grade(s) from the provided pull-down, such as C and/or D.

c. Grades: Assignment scores below a X %: Choose to receive an email if a student scores below a specified score below a specified percent on an assignment; enter the grade in the provided text box, such as 70%.

d. Absences: X days absent in a X day period: Choose to receive an email if a student has a specified amount of absences in a specified amount of days; enter the number of days absent in the first text box and enter the number of days in a monitored attendance period. For example, you could customize the data so you are notified when your student is absent 2 days out of a 20 day period.

e. Discipline: Select the Received Referral check box to receive a notification if the student receives a referral.

f. Billing: Owes more than $X: Choose to receive an email when billing cost goes above the specified dollar amount; enter the alert amount in the provided text box, such as $1,000. If the outstanding balance goes above the amount entered, in this case $1,000, you will receive a notification.

7. When all selections have been made and all information has been entered, click Save.