Overview

Flow Chart: Admin Steps:

Flow Chart: Parent Steps:

Terminology

Be sure you are familiar with the following terminology:

Terminology:

Form Types:

Uploaded documents cannot be updated online by parents; they can by viewed, printed, completed by hand, and returned to the campus. Uploaded documents forms will vary by campus and district, and can be delivered in various formats, such as Microsoft Word, PDF, spreadsheet, etc. Calendars are an example of static documents. Any documents you upload should be ADA compliant.

Dynamic forms are presented online and can be completed and submitted online. These forms may include student online registration and demographic updates, as well as document attachment fields and uploads. Dynamic forms are built from a list of available fields. The list of available fields can be found later in the document.

Standard forms are predefined district-level forms that are common throughout Texas. The forms cannot be edited, but you can determine whether or not they are available to parents by including (or excluding) them from groups. Most forms are submitted annually; the Home Language Survey only needs to be submitted once during the student's lifetime enrollment in the district.
- Forms list:
  Ethnicity and Race Data Questionnaire
  
  Falsification of Documents & Identify Verification
  
  FERPA and Directory Information Notice
  
  Food Allergy Disclosure
  
  Home Language Survey *
  
  Migrant Education Program - Family Survey
  
  Military Connected Student Data
  
  Statement of Special Education Services
  
  Student Directory Information Release
  
  Student Health Information Sheet
  
  Student Media Release
  
  Student Residency Questionnaire (McKinney-Vento)
  
  History of School Attendance - Secondary
  
  * Only needs to be submitted once during the student's lifetime enrollment in the district.
- Download Standard Forms:

Custom forms are forms that parents can complete and submit online. These forms include district-created questions which are not covered by dynamic and standard forms, such as polls, surveys, and event registration.

Before you Begin

The following information will assist you in implementing ASCENDER ParentPortal New Student Enrollment, Returning Student Registration, and Student Data Maintenance in your district.

Accessing the Tools & Assigning Staff

Determine who will be responsible for managing the tasks:

❏ The Form Management setup steps must be completed by a user with a district admin login for ASCENDER ParentPortal. These setup steps cover New Student Enrollment, Returning Student Registration, and Student Data Maintenance.

❏ Campus tasks such as enrolling students and accepting data changes must be completed by a user with access to the applicable pages in ASCENDER Registration. This user must have a role ID with appropriate access to necessary campuses and the following ASCENDER Registration pages:

New Student Enrollment:

Registration > Maintenance > Online Registration > New Student Enrollment
Registration > Maintenance > Parent Portal > Letters > Print > Letter Criteria
Registration > Maintenance > Parent Portal > Letters > Print > Print Letters
Registration > Maintenance > Student Enrollment > Forms (Be sure this tab is enabled in Security Admin.)

Returning Student Registration and Student Data Maintenance:

Registration > Maintenance > Student Enrollment > Forms (Be sure this tab is enabled in Security Admin.)
Registration > Maintenance > Online Registration > Register Student
Registration > Maintenance > Online Registration > Pending Updates
Registration > Reports > Registration Reports > Student > SRG0700 - Student Missing Forms
Registration > Reports > Registration Reports > Student > SRG0710 - Standard Forms (Home Language Survey)
Registration > Reports > Registration Reports > Student > SRG0720 - Online Registration Forms Related Reports
Registration > Reports > Registration Reports > Student > SRG0730 - Percentage of Forms Submitted per Campus
Registration > Reports > Registration Reports > Withdrawal > SRG2300 - Student Information Request

Planning Ahead

❏ During the planning phase, contact your regional service center for assistance in developing your forms.

❏ Discuss how your campus and district will implement New Student Enrollment (method and location).

What method will you be using (CAPTCHA or email verification)?
Where will you be hosting the enrollment event (campus, home, during a Kinder Roundup event or open house, etc.)

❏ Determine who will be responsible for completing the form management setup and ongoing maintenance. It is recommended that 1 or 2 staff persons set up and maintain online forms.

❏ Review all of the district's current registration documents, and compare them to the available forms.

Determine whether static forms are needed, and which built-in dynamic and standard forms will be used.
Make changes to built-in forms as needed.
Determine if custom forms are needed using district-created questions.
Contact your service center consultant for assistance with individual situations.

❏ Develop a plan to explain how the returning student registration process will work.

❏ It is recommended that you communicate in advance to parents that they need to verify that their ASCENDER ParentPortal account and email address are current. Recommendations:

Send a letter to parents (or use messaging system) to notify them that Returning Student Registration will be available on xx/xx/xxx (or during a particular event). Example: The letter can be created from ASCENDER Registration > Reports > Create Registration Report. Select the student contact fields, create the report, and then filter the report by email and populate a mail merge with an electronic form template.
Enable online student data updates before the Returning Student Registration event. This will give parents an opportunity and a reason to log on to ASCENDER ParentPortal, which may assist districts in reconciling ParentPortal account issues.
NOTE: Registration > Maintenance > Student Enrollment > Contact: The Email field for contacts marked as Parent/Guardian must match for ALL students associated with the ParentPortal account in order for Registration features to be activated for the parent. This email address must also be the address entered on the parent’s ParentPortal account and it must be validated.

❏ Because custom instructions cannot be added to standard forms, consider creating a static form that is listed at the beginning of the standard forms which provides any instructions or additional information you would like to communicate to the parent before beginning the registration process.

❏ Consider whether you need to have translators available for any enrollment events.

Troubleshooting Tools

❏ The Guardian Verified field on Registration > Maintenance > Student Enrollment > Contacts can be used to allow verification of ParentPortal accounts for parents who do not have access to a valid email address.

If Guardian Verified is selected, the contact's email address can immediately be matched to the email address entered by the parent when registering for an ASCENDER ParentPortal account. If the two addresses match, the contact can complete online registration and update the student's data. This allows you to bypass the normal email verification process for short-term situations where the normal email address verification process cannot be completed.