Enhanced Parent Portal

Note: EPP currently does not support PowerTeacher Pro based sections. As a result the scores page page fragments may need to be removed to show assignments correctly.

Districts not utilizing the new pages added via EPP should evaluate if the stock PowerSchool SIS features are sufficient. Starting with PowerSchool 9.2 the core application provides controls to disable functionality which is also honored by the Mobile App. These settings can be found under Start Page > School Setup > Parent/Student Access.

Version 5 released! This update includes 3 major improvements:
1. Localization of all the new pages. Future updates should include other language packs as well.
2. Separation of the Parent Demographic Change files into its own plugin. This will allow you to make modifications to that page without future EPP core updates overwriting your changes
3. Database Extension table created for the demographic modify fields included.

Please install as a plugin even if you plan on using custom/web_root for your files. This will allow the localization tags and db extension to install. You may still install the web_root files within the zip to your custom/web_root if that method of customization is desired.

IMPORTANT - PowerSchool no longer allows students to edit their own student record. Because of this 1x Class Registration ONLY works when logged in as a Guardian. Students will have full Class Registration ability if 1x is enabled. I am unsure of what version this happened in, just fyi.

This is a new Parent Portal with more options for student screens.

Allows a school or district to show or hide icons on the public portal. The solution now cleans up the automatic e-mail page options when those options are hidden from normal view and displays a message when the grade & attendance page is hidden. Incorporates Roger Sprik's customization that allows a student to submit course requests just one time.

Stock PS pages that you can control;
Grades and Attendance
Score Detail
Score Detail Setup (Traditional or Traditional and Standards)
Historic Grades
Historic Attendance
Email Notification
Teacher Comments
School Bulletin
Class Registration
Balances
My Calendars

Added pages by EPP that you can control;
Grad Progress
Graduation Progress Setup (Grad proggress or Grad planer)
Demo Update
Honor Roll
Test Scores
Next years schedule (for in building grade changes)
Discipline Log
Access Log
Fees
School Info

V 1.0 - 2.X Changes included in documentation.

V3 (6/30/2011)
PowerSchool 7 Edition

  • Updated ALL pages for PS 7 UI changes
  • Added an option to select at the school level if the Graduation Progress or Graduation Planner is used. By default Graduation Progress is used
  • Added an option to select the use of the stock Scores page or if you would like to use a scores page that that combines Traditional and Standards Assignment scores
  • Custom links on the left hand side in the guardian pages do not have icons at this time if you were looking for them. :)
  • Removed Willington example for initial release

V 3.0.1 (7/4/2011)

  • Thanks to Joshua Schoeneck for modifying the EPP 2.x images to make them PS 7 compatible. Images for the links are now included

V 3.1 (8/16/2011)

  • Updated guardian_header and guardian_header_yui wildcards to correctly redirect on first logon. Also fixed unclosed span tag
  • Updated admin\schoolsetup\portals.html to correct first logon screen
  • Updated eppdialyredirect.txt to correctly redirect on first logon
  • Updated guardian\parentdemographics.html javascript to capture the Guardian name using a change in the FTL file
  • Added guardian\bulletin2.html so users can be directed to the bulletin on logon
  • Added \ftl\guardian\studentList.ftl. Added a hidden input to enable JS to capture the Guardian’s name easier

V 3.1.1 (9/8/2011)

  • Updated \guardian\scores.html fixed un-named if’s that cause all sections assignment scores to show.

V 3.1.2 for PS 7.0.1+ (11/8/2011)

  • Updated guardian_header and guardian_header_yui wildcards. The random icon (demo update, class registration) not showing when it should when switching students should be fixed
  • Updated \guardians\Scores.html added the ability to see the Weighting of final average. (Thanks MT @Shelby for all the help testing)
  • Updated admin\schoolsetup\portals.html to add on/off for the showing of the weighing
  • Updated the following files to correct the “String Key Not Found!” on 7.0.1+
    • Luncbal.html
    • Teachercomments.html
    • Termgrades.html
    • Requests.html
    • Requestform.html
    • Autuemailsetup.html
    • Scores.html

V 3.1.3 for PS 7.0.1+ (11/8/2011)

  • Updated scores.html and tgscores.html. The scores pages were not correctly handling assignments there were not published. This has been corrected

V 3.2 (1/13/2012)

  • All pages were touched in some way
  • Fixed issue where Class Reg’s submit button was off the screen
  • Fixed UI issues that become apparent on several pages after the PS 7.1 upgrade
  • Added the ability to remove the download grades link used for Alleyoop and other websites
  • Added term weighting to the Grades History Score page
  • Added standards grades to Grades History Score page
  • Removed some code from the bulletin2 (first page of day) file that will hopefully clear up the error some people were getting. I never got the error in testing

V 3.3 (2/29/2012)

  • Fixed UI issues on ppstudentasmtlist.html
  • Added link to home.html for previous page if scores page is not disabled
  • Added mobile version of the parent portal. Files in \guardian\mobile\
  • Added mobile detect code to home.html to redirect to mobile version of the portal
  • Updated tgscores.html and scores.html to fix future assignments not showing issue
  • Updated guardian_header and guardian_header_yui files to include version information. New clickable link will be added to the bottom of the page
  • Updated all guardian files to add version information

V 3.3.1 (4/12/2012)

  • Updated redirect code on pages to handle if parent is denied access but student is allowed access
  • Fixed comment/section description wrapping issue
  • Class Request page now shows the next_schools name instead of the current schools name
  • Added a full year list schedule to the bottom of the My Schedule screen

V 3.3.2 (7/30/2012)

  • Updated district\home.html to include 7.2 data validation
  • Updated wildcards to include 7.2 code
  • Added Teachers Comments page back in to prevent students from bypassing the wildcard security

V 4.0 (8/27/2017) BETA

  • Updated pages to be compatible with 8.0+
  • This download is currently not in plugin form!
  • Existing users should remove existing customized versions of /admin/district/home.home and /admin/schoolsetup/home.html. This version adds links using page fragments

V 4.0 (8/28/2014)

  • Plugin Version
  • Uses page fragments on all Pearson pages rather than customizing directly
  • Added page fragments in the /admin/schoolsetup/portals.html page so you can add new on/off switches without customizing the customization. This allows you to take future versions without redoing your customization(s)
  • Replaced /admin/district/home.html and /admin/schoolsetup/home.html with page fragments. If you have older versions you can now remove these custom pages.
  • /admin/students/more2.html now has page fragment to insert link
  • Replaced /admin/students/schedulesetup.html with page fragment. Please remove custom page if it exists from previous version of EPP
  • Replaced /wildcards/guardian_header.txt and /wildcards/guardian_header_yui.txt with page fragments. Please remove custom page if it exists from previous version of EPP.
  • Replaced customized versions of standard PowerSchool pages in guardian portal with page fragments. Please remove custom page if it exists from previous version of EPP.
    • /guardian/autosemailsetup.html
    • /guardian/home.html
    • /guardian/requests.html
    • /guardian/requestform.html
    • /guardian/schoolinformation.html
    • /guardian/scores.html
    • /guardian/teachercomments.html
    • /guardian/termgrades.html

V 4.0.2 (10/21/2014)

  • Fix for the scores page issue in some setups
  • Update page fragments to do different things when 7.x vs 8.x to account for the change from tables to lists

V 4.0.4 (02/12/2015)

  • Fix for the admin student menu issue that caused the link to show up multiple times
  • Add in link that will show in the upper left side of the admin home menu if there are any updates from the parent portal to be acted on. The link will go away once all have been completed.

V 4.0.5 (03/04/2015)

  • Fix for menu items not showing when Account Preferences is not an option for the user
  • Fix for request form. Previously would auto redirect if the checkbox value was True instead of 1. Now checks for either 1 or True.

V 5.0.0 (07/27/2015)

  • Localization tags added to all pages so that schools can localize any EPP page as needed. Future updates should include more language translations as they are being worked on right now. This modification was sponsored by Orleans Public Schools.
  • Fix for 8.3 - My Schedule page. Will not use built in schedule page if 8.3 or later and the EPP schedule page if the version is earlier than 8.3
  • Move demographics modify page into it's own plugin. This will allow you to update that section without future updates of EPP overwriting your changes
  • Migrate demographic update custom fields to a new database extension. All pages were updated to use the DB Extension. This should improve performance.

V 5.0.2 (08/20/2015)

  • Added DB Extension for 1 field in the schedule setup page
  • Update the schedulesetup fragment to use the new db extension field
  • New plugin for demo modify to fix the missing options in the portals menu and to change the fragment on the home page to use the DB Extension to speed it up

V 5.0.3 (09/11/2015) *Demo update only

  • Fixed the localization tag in html pages. Localization code existed, the tag was incorrect (thanks to cboyle for pointing it out)
  • Remove /admin/javascript/parentdemo.js
  • Update /admin/students/parentdemochange.html to have javascript inside. Update fields and buttons to use cleaner methods. Previously had not updated how the page works since v3. (thanks to vinit for pointing out how old the code was)
  • Update /admin/students/studentpages/parentdemochange.html to properly include the frn (thanks to cboyle for pointing it out)

V 5.0.4 (09/29/2015) *Demo update only

  • Fixed the approve buttons on the admin side
  • Added custom insertion points in /admin/students/parentdemochange.html and /guardian/parentdemographics.html. Insertion point is called pdsdemochange.footer. Thanks to those at PSUG-MI 2015 for the suggestion.

V 5.0.5 (10/25/2017) *Demo update only

  • Fixed performance issues by making home page query more efficient.
  • Removed pre 8.0 support
Sponsor: 
Orleans Public Schools

Customization:

Contributor: 
Brian Andle
Jason Treadwell
Matt Freund
Roger Sprik
Images: 
Plugin: 
Y
CPM Import Friendly: 
Y

Comments

Thanks so much, Brian. I will see how far I can go with it first and then if further help is required, I will get back to you. I appreciate all of your help. I have sent you off an email, however, looking for potential assistance for another project. Once again - many thanks!!

Marie Prescott

Is there a way to change the coding on the My Schedule page so that it renders the entire year's schedule rather than a single term?

Thanks,
Terron

There is not, the PowerSchool tag is taken from the admin page and it doesn't seem to listen to the Default Parent Term setting.

I modified the guardian/studentsched.html for our server to display full year. It's based on the admin-side Schedule List page. I've posted it to the downloads above as "FullYearSched.zip"... It's a LIST view, that's the tradeoff, not as "pretty". - Roger Sprik.

We just migrated from PS 6.2.2 to 7.1.2; and also moved from our
standalone environment to Pearson Hosted. In 6.2.2 we were running the Enhanced
Parent Portal from PDS, using single sign on. After migration, I could log into
Parent Portal, but needed to update screens to the 7.x version. I downloaded
the most recent EPP package from PDS; enabled CPM in PowerSchool, and imported
the EPP package. Now, I get the message "the parent Portal is currently
unavailable. Please contact your school directly for assistance." If I turn
off customizations, I can log in; what do I need to do to fix this?

Mary Creed-Pallone
Nelson County VA Public Schools

We have the same problem, but I can upload the new version. I need to delete the file that aren't compatibles and then upload. Is that correct?

Isaira Diaz
Colegio Marista, Guaynabo, PR

Isaira Diaz

Hello everyone,

I just updated to EPP V3.3 and on the admin side under Custom Screens there are two Parent Demographic Change links on the left menu. How do I get that back to one?

Thank you,
Kathy

Kathy Stainbrook
Computer Technician Student Information Manager
Centerville-Abington Community Schools
115 West South Street
Centerville, IN 47330
kstainbrook@centerville.k12.in.us
Phone: 765-855-3475 Ext 2193
Fax: 765-855-3815

Look under admin\students\studentpages. You should see 2 pages. One is not the correct one and will need to be deleted. After that run the "Rebuild Custom Page lInks" under Special Operations.

Thanks Brian,
I had a file called parentdemochange.html.bak I removed it and only have one showing up again.

Kathy Stainbrook
Computer Technician Student Information Manager
Centerville-Abington Community Schools
115 West South Street
Centerville, IN 47330
kstainbrook@centerville.k12.in.us
Phone: 765-855-3475 Ext 2193
Fax: 765-855-3815

I can not figure this out. I have the parent demographic update unchecked on the school and district parent portal setting pages. I still do not see it when I log in as a parent. Do you have a suggestion as to what I might check?
Thanks,
Jen:-)

Jennifer Bocrie
Goochland County Schools
Goochland, VA

I have this issue, as well as with the honor roll.

Thank you.

I'll look into the honor roll issue. Does it work if you move to another screen besides the home?

no, doesn't show up at all

This is explained in the documentation.

I have installed and enabled the EPP 4.0.4 (never installed the whole plugin before) and the Demographics Update won't show in the more2 UNLESS I manually set the enabledemoupdate field via Student Field Value. I assume if we want to use this function, we need to do a mass update of this field for all students?

I couldn't see anything in the EPP_Guide that says how to update this field.

Naomi Doughty
SIS Coordinator

We recently installed the Enhanced Parent Portal. Since that time - and I don't know if this is related to this installation or not, but we have a "string key was not found" under grading, etc. - this is now replacing the tab with our comments for the school was located. Our comments are all there - the only thing that has happened, is that the name of this tab is now called string key was not found. After speaking to Pearson, they advised that it was a result of a recent change to a custom page - have you heard of this happening with this package at all? Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Marie Prescott

Make sure you are on the newest version of PowerSchool which is currently 7.1.3 as of 4/9/2012. The pages are based off the newest version of PowerSchool and using them on a older version of PS will cause the error you are seeing where Pearson has changed the text tags in later versions.

Hi Brian:

Thank you for this - we are on version 7.0.0 and have not upgraded to the newer version yet. We will be doing this over the next week or so. Once again - you have saved the day. Many thanks.

Marie Prescott

Is there a way to fix this until we do our upgrade?

Marie Prescott

The parent portal setup guide attached with this looks great! Thank you for the helpful information.

Marie Prescott

After upgrading to PS 7, we installed the Enhanced Parent Portal. This is good work. Thank you for efforts on this.

Good Morning - looking at the demographic change on the EPP, it is only available for some students and not others. I have checked under district settings, school settings to ensure that these are set correctly. Has anyone else had this happening?

Marie Prescott

We did upgrade from 7.0 to 7.1.3 this past weekend - would this have affected the settings at all?

Marie Prescott

Demo Update is enabled at the student level as indicated by the EPP Instructions.

AHhhhhh - so right. Thank you!

Marie Prescott

I am using bits an pieces of this, I put in the code to store the last update on a page and it is not filling in the parent name. I am assuming this is set in a page I didn't add in? Can you tell me what is missing to get this to work?

Thanks!

var trimUser = $j.trim($j('#parentName').val());

Kimberlee Leech
Raytown C2 School District

It's part of the FTL file. If the FTL file isn't installed then the #parentName won't work.

Thanks!

Is there any way to store the username of the parent instead of firstname lastname of the parent who last submitted demographic changes?

I understand that I can turn off the grade book feature by school, but is it possible to turn it off for specific grades within a school? Our curriculum director is considering opening the portal for our elementary schools but only wants grades/scores to show for grades 3-5.

Thanks.

When I go to My Schedule in Parent Portal I get a 'file not found' error. Any idea what could be causing this? We went to PS 7.0 in December but I don't know if this was working at the time. I've just starting looking at Parent Portal. Thanks.

I updated the parentdemo.html in the Guardian folder with information we wanted parents to be able to change. When I login as a parent I can see it. When I login to Admin and go to student pages, I see the original page without my edits. Do I need to match the parentdemo.html with the parentdemochange.html file and put that in the Admin>StudentPages folder? So basically add in all my new rows and fields to both .html pages.

Yes you'll need to update the Admin page as well, but you can't simply copy the guardian changes and add them to the admin page because the approve buttons would do anything. You'll need to add the fields following the format that the admin page uses.

Almost there and this is going to be great for us once I get this working. After customizations, on the parent side, it looks good and they can submit. On the admin side I see some of the fields, Approve button works and it submits. For some fields I cannot see what the parent entered (I used my student as a test). I have copied the code exactly as it looks for the fields that work, just changed the field names. Is there something else I need to do or have I erased something needed by copying and editing? Is there a page it submits to before I see it on the Admin side?

Did you follow the layout of the input's existing parent demo file from the admin side?

After I posted my comment I decided to delete what I had done and start from scratch. The layout was the issue. Even though the fields looked correct, the order of things and exact layout was changed. It works! Thank you so much.

I have updated the Portal side with the fields that I'd like Parents to have access to change. I will do the Admin side next. But what I noticed is that when a change is made on the Portal side now, without the update to the Admin pages, the updated information goes directly into the database. Once I update the Admin side, will that force all data to "stop" and allow me to approve it first? Or have I messed something up?

Thanks.

Patti

After updating my test server to 7.2.0.1 and logging into parent portal, ALL screens are listed in left menu, regardless of parent portal settings in admin. Also, once you click on any screen in the parent portal, you get a bunch of code at the bottom of the left-side menu.

Cindy Albright
Warren Township High School
Gurnee, IL

My district is running 7.2.0.1 and I just double checked and did not see the same issue. What version of PS are you coming from and have you made sure that you are running the newest version of EPP?

Will I be able to hide the Class Registration page for specific schools? Wasn't sure about that one since it is a stock page.

we choose NOT to appear Grades and Attendance in parent portal, but parent still get email notification regarding Grades and Attendance, is there any way to stop parent email notification for period of time...? thanks

You could turn off email in PowerSchool but that would effect all PS email functionality.

I installed all the files from your zip file. There were 3 pages I had already customized so I just put my changes into your files - the admin/students/more2, wildcards/guardian_header, and the wildcards/guardian_header_yui files. When I log in as a parent I get the HTTP Status 500 exception report. I'm not sure where to start to fix it. Can you help? I should say we are on version 7.1.2.

Thank you!

What happens if you don't modify the wildcards and just use the EPP ones? That would determine if it's a EPP issue or a issue with the changes you made.

The pages work. We just started using BLImessaging Power Announcements and that's why I customized those pages. I'm not sure where I went wrong. I will keep trying.

I added this statement to the guardian_header.txt between the email notification and teacher comments. Does this statement look OK?

~[if.isguardian]

  • Power Announcement
  • [/if]

    I added this statement to the guardian_header_yui.txt after the first ~[wc:commonscripts] and before the I wasn't sure where to add the following statement.

    #btn-messagePrefs a {
    background: url("https://images.blifax.com/images/pearson/iconMessagePrefs.png") no-repeat;
    }

    Any help would be appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Kelly

    You'll want to but the UL and the CSS code in the same location as the others.

    I'm gaining. The "Power Announcement" option displays except for the "Grades and Attendance" option and the "Teacher Comments" option. Which I can live with. The icon button is not showing however which is doable. I put the following query in:

    ~[wc:commonscripts]

    #btn-messagePrefs a {background: url("https://images.blifax.com/images/pearson/iconMessagePrefs.png") no-repeat;}
    #btn-access-log a {background: url(iconAccessLog.png) no-repeat;}
    #btn-demographic-update a {background: url(iconDemographicUpdate.png) no-repeat;}

    Thanks for you help. If you see what's wrong let me know.

    Kelly

    Please email me your guardian_header files offlist to brian AT powerdatasolutions.org

    Just installed this using CPM. It is wonderful. The images for the new "icons" did not load when I imported. I went to CPM and uploaded each image separately but they are still not showing up. What could I be doing wrong? Any help would be much appreciated.

    When you imported them one by one did you upload them in the guardian folder? They should not be in the images folder.

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